• Traditional classification : – endogenous depression – reactive and neurotic / psychogenic depression – somatogenic (symptomatic / organic) depression
• The current classification is based on the severity and course of the disease : – mild / moderate / severe / psychotic – depressive episode or recurrent form of depression
• The following forms are distinguished as special forms : – postpartum depression – atypical depression – age-related depression – seasonal (autumn-winter) depression
The main symptoms of depression
The main symptoms include depressed mood, decreased stimuli and speed of thinking, as well as sleep disorders.
Mental symptoms of depression :
• Depressed mood, joylessness
• Loss of interest
• Decreased motivation, loss of energy
• Self-doubt / guilt / internal emptiness
• Decreased thinking speed / inability to make decisions
• Fear / pessimism about the future
• Delusions are possible
• Daytime fluctuations
• Suicidal thoughts
Somatic symptoms of depression:
• Vital disorders
• Sleep disturbance (early awakening, the ability to wake up)
• Disorder of appetite
• Constipation
• Sensation of compression of the skull, dizziness, feeling of compression
• Vegetative symptoms
Examples of erroneous depressive judgments in depression:
1. Excessive generalization. General conclusions are drawn on the basis of individual events, for example: “Nobody likes me.”
2. The effect of “short circuit”. In the absence of supporting facts or in circumstances completely opposite to the prevailing judgment, a conclusion is arbitrarily drawn, for example: “Other people look down on me, I will always be depressed.”
3. Personalization (close perception). For no apparent reason, the events are projected onto their own personality, for example: “It’s my fault that N.’s colleague is in a bad mood.”
4. “Tunnel effects.” Attention focuses only on certain, in most cases negative things, events, for example: “My colleague does not like me” (and what other colleagues do is ignored).
Important : A pronounced risk of suicide in patients with depression! 15% of patients with severe depressive disorders die due to suicide. 20-60% of patients with depression have a history of suicide attempts, from 40 to 80% of patients during depression have suicidal thoughts.
If depression is based on physical symptoms, we can talk about somatized (larvae / masked) depression.