The transition from summer to autumn is often accompanied by melancholy.
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We are not the first, and we are certainly not the last, to suffer from a bad mood and lack of vitality in the fall. The main thing is to distinguish a serious illness from seasonal melancholy.
Remember, in Pushkin’s “Eugene Onegin”:
“A disease whose cause
It’s time to find it long ago
Similar to English spleen,
In short: Russian blues
I mastered it little by little;
He will shoot himself, thank God,
I didn’t want to try
But I completely lost interest in life.”
The transition from summer to autumn is often accompanied by melancholy. “I have autumn depression” – some say this to attract attention, while others confuse this feeling with a real illness.
But for doctors, psychologists and psychiatrists, the difference between depression and simply a bad mood is enormous.
“People usually understand the word depression as a bad mood,” psychologist Elena Yarikova, candidate of psychological sciences, tells KP.RU. – Our mood is dynamic, it can change. And indeed, during a period of temporary depression, a person looks at the world through a gray prism, with a gloomy and pessimistic view of everything. But still, autumn blues and depression are two different things. And it is important to monitor your own condition and not ignore dangerous symptoms that indicate the onset of the disease, and not temporary sadness.
Psychologist Elena Yarikova
Photo: Personal archive
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SLEEP AND DEPRESSION?
WHEN IT APPEARS
Handra: In the cold season, when summer ends, there is little sun.
Depression: Regardless of the time of year.
TRIGGER
Handra: Except for the weather, there is none. The body rebuilds and adapts to the cold. Hence the apathy and fatigue, which soon disappear.
Depression – arises as a result of severe stress or in the context of unresolved internal/interpersonal relationships that torment and torment a person for a long time. As a rule, a person knows that there is a problem.
WHEN IT HAPPENS
Moody: After adapting to climatic conditions. Or by distraction due to new activities, positive events.
Depression: If left untreated (do not seek help from a psychiatrist or neurologist), it will progress and the condition will worsen.
WHAT WILL HELP YOU cope?
Blues: positive emotions, relaxation, meditation, communication with friends and family, change of activity – even wrapping yourself in a blanket and watching a TV series helps improve your mood.
Depression: Conventional methods do not help. If depression is at its peak, the person loses the ability to rejoice and have fun. Psychological and medical assistance is needed.
DANGEROUS SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION:
– Bad mood that lasts more than two weeks.
– Lack of appetite (or, conversely, attempts to eat in a bad mood).
– Problems with sleep.
– Inability to independently control and cope with your condition and negativity. Endless pessimism and negative outlook on the future.
– Anhedonia is the inability to receive pleasure, even from things that have always provoked positive emotions.
– A painful feeling of guilt (for not being able to experience the same emotions, for not having the strength to do ordinary things), decreased self-esteem.
– Cognitive impairment (decreased memory, attention, concentration).
BY THE WAY
“Depression in older people can be caused not only by external factors, but also by chronic diseases: Alzheimer’s disease, thyroid diseases, diabetes and the intake of certain medications. In any case, if these symptoms appear, a visit to the doctor should not be postponed,” says Professor Oksana Drapkina, academician at the Russian Academy of Sciences.
