Depression

It is not yet clear why people become depressed. Particular and extremely stressful life circumstances or even genetic predisposition can trigger depression. Studies show that a variety of factors interact, such as a neurochemical imbalance, genetics, stress, social factors such as loneliness, and psychological factors, i.e. a person's characteristics and personality traits.

The treacherous thing about depression is that it is not at all easy to recognize and diagnose. Often, those affected do not even know that they are suffering from an illness. This is because the complaints and symptoms are not always clear. Depressed people have trouble concentrating, feel empty and exhausted, are irritable or very sensitive, are emotionless, feel physically unwell or lose their appetite. Often, those affected think of themselves as failures. After all, all this is "only psychological". However, anyone suffering from depression is ill and needs intensive treatment.

If at least two main symptoms occur at the same time and consistently for longer than 2 weeks, then you should see a doctor or physician.

Main symptoms:

• depressed, depressive mood
• loss of interest
• joylessness
• Lack of drive

• Decreased self-esteem
• Fear of the future
• Sleep disturbances (too much/too little)
• Loss of appetite or overeating
• Aggression, anger, propensity to violence
• Suicidal thoughts

On a societal level, there is still too much ignorance and prejudice towards people with depression. This prevents those affected from seeking help and thus receiving the necessary treatment as quickly as possible.

Depression is still seen as a "flaw" in a person. People who suffer from it are not taken seriously. Sufferers often hear phrases such as: "Everyone has a bad day," "Pull yourself together," "Why are you sad? "Why are you sad? There's no reason to be sad." Such superficial statements are not helpful and tend to cause the affected person to withdraw further and feel ashamed of his or her supposed weakness.

Finally, sufferers have to wait far too long to get an appointment with a specialist in psychiatry and psychotherapy or a medical or psychological psychotherapist. People with acute depression wait an average of 22 weeks for a place in therapy!

If detected in time, depression is often easily treatable.  The most important pillars of treatment are medication with antidepressants and psychotherapy. There are four psychotherapy methods that are currently supported by health insurance. These include behavioral therapy, depth psychology-based psychotherapy, psychoanalysis and systemic psychotherapy. In most cases, psychotherapy takes place as individual therapy. For most forms of therapy, group treatments are also possible.  In addition, there are other therapeutic offers such as light therapy or rehabilitation sports, which can contribute to the improvement of the symptomatology, the coping with everyday life and the quality of life.

DOs in dealing with those affected by depression

Because depression is so hard to explain to others, we've put together some tips on how to help a loved one suffering from depression - and how to avoid making the situation worse:

Listen, listen, listen!

• Take the thoughts and feelings of the person seriously.
• Help the person to seek (professional) help.
• Don't be alone with it if it overwhelms you.
• Don't make the person feel guilty for being depressed. Depression is not something you chose or wished for. It will only make them feel worse and possibly isolate them from you.
• Instead of trying to fix the problem yourself, ask directly what you can do to help them cope with depression. Offer to take the person for a walk or cook for him*her if he*s too tired or upset to do it himself - whatever makes sense for your relationship!
• Be patient and understanding - it may take some time for the person's condition to improve, but your support will go a long way toward keeping him/her hopeful that things will get better.

Relatives should try to understand their loved one's depression and support the person in any way possible. If a loved one sees that the depressed person is sad or upset, they should not ignore the problem. Instead, they should find out why their loved one is feeling this way and help them find a solution.

Especially important:

• Don't give well-intentioned advice à la 'Get a grip', 'Go back to exercising', etc.
• Do not give instructions that put the person under pressure or increase feelings of guilt.
• Not taking feelings and thoughts seriously, putting them into perspective and dismissing them as unimportant.

It is also important that loved ones do not avoid the depressed person when dealing with them. If a loved one avoids their loved one because they don't know how to react when the person is upset or sad, it can make the situation worse because the person will feel even more isolated and alone.