Yesterday morning, I heard from a colleague that a lady jumped off the building the night before. This lady was a family member of his friend. She was in her thirties and her child was only 9 months old. The reason for jumping was depression. .

In the past two years, I have heard that there are far more people jumping off buildings than in previous years, and most of these people suffer from depression. Recently, a colleague of mine called in sick and asked why. It was a severe depression.

Churchill has a famous saying: "Depression in my heart is like a black dog. It bites me every chance it gets." After Churchill, the black dog became the symbol of depression in the English-speaking world. synonym.

What exactly is depression?

There was a time when I was depressed and anxious. In order to seek changes, I started to sign up and study psychology on my own, thus learning some knowledge about depression.

We often confuse depression with a depressive state, especially when the term depression becomes popular or we just learn psychology. It is easy for us to apply the concept of depression to ourselves or others. I think this may be due to the psychology of being different when the term depression was not yet popular. After the term depression became popular, when everyone was discussing depression, in order not to Isolate yourself from the world and force it on yourself. Human psychology may be so contradictory. Sometimes, we hope that we are unique, and sometimes, we do not want to be incompatible with others.

We all have times when we are in a state of depression, such as being depressed, having poor grades, losing a job, quarreling, feeling a little sad on a rainy day, and sometimes even feeling depressed for no reason. ...

I remember that the teacher once briefly talked about the degree of psychological problems. The mildest is general psychological problems, followed by neurosis, and the most serious is mental illness. Depression is a relatively serious type of mental illness.

Depression is similar to depressive mood, but the degree and symptoms are quite different.

Typical symptoms of depression include the following:

Long-term low mood (depressive symptoms are only temporary or short-term low mood);

Loss of things you like Interest (no interest in anything);

Loss of appetite;

Sense of worthlessness or excessive guilt;

Too much or too little sleep;

Difficulty concentrating;

Irritability or sluggishness;

Decreased energy;

Recurrent suicidal thoughts (in people with depression) Typically, people will have suicidal thoughts, and they will not give up the suicidal thoughts just because of a single suicide attempt).

From a microscopic perspective, depression is related to abnormal transmission or depletion of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, etc., and these are substances that bring happiness and relaxation to people. .

Depression will not change because of our thoughts. If there is no intervention and treatment, it will continue and seriously interfere with work, behavioral abilities and emotions.

How does depression occur?

Science shows that the causes of depression are complex, but what is certain is that its occurrence is related to genes and environment. The symptoms of depression are invisible, and it's hard to know who may seem fine but is actually struggling. This is why we are often surprised by why those who usually seem cheerful and have a circle of friends full of positive energy suffer from depression. We have no idea what they are going through in their hearts.

If someone around us is experiencing depression, what can we do for them?

I think the most important thing is that if we have not experienced depression, we should not compare their pain with the low mood we usually experience, and compare the distress they endure with the common depression. The combination of sadness and sadness will aggravate their self-blame.

We need to encourage them to seek help. Most patients with depression are ashamed to speak up and find it difficult to cross the threshold of seeking help from a therapist. Point out that it is a disease, like diabetes, asthma, etc., that needs treatment, that it is not your fault that you have depression, and that we cannot just push through it because it does not heal on its own like other diseases.

Talking openly can reduce their shame and make it easier for them to seek help. Encouraging them to express their true emotions will have great results. Talking about suicide will reduce their suicide rate.

Regular exercise is as effective as antidepressants in relieving mild/moderate depression. Keeping an emotional diary, writing down your thoughts on paper is cathartic and often helps you see problems clearly and record things you are grateful for.

There is a "black dog" living in everyone's heart, but some black dogs are silent and some are very active. Whether it is ourselves or the friends and relatives around us, the most important thing to remember is that no matter how bad the situation becomes, as long as we move in the right direction and find the right people to communicate with, the days when the black dog comes will definitely pass.