Depression – acute neurosis, diagnosis, treatment

Posted onOctober 29, 2021

Depression (lat. Depressio – “depression”) is a psychological syndrome characterized by oppression of the main psychological processes, the formation of an anxiety dominant, a chronic feeling of melancholy, apathy, headaches    

For a quarter of a century, our clinic has provided comprehensive diagnostics and introduced the principles of drug-free therapy for depression and neuroses in their various forms and manifestations. In the USA and Canada, similar to our technologies for combating depression using transcranial magnetic stimulation of the brain entered clinical practice only after 2010.

A common feature of depression is the loss of a sense of life satisfaction. A person with such an attitude constantly feels a sense of guilt, no matter what, avoids other people. Against the background of such a neurosis, emotions and feelings are dulled, the processes of higher nervous activity are inhibited, the social component suffers.

Sad statistics

The prevalence of depression is so great that neurologists have been claiming the beginning of a pandemic of this neurosis since the end of the 20th century. According to statistics, in the United States alone, about 7-9% of working-age people experience bouts of depression every year, and by 2020 it is expected to become the leader among all mental disorders in the world. This means that neurosis also has a negative economic impact.

Manifestations

The main symptoms of depression have been known since antiquity, when it was called melancholy or spleen. As an independent pathology, this neurosis was identified by Z. Freud, who clearly separated it from the typical feeling of grief, pointing out that during such an illness a person directs his own negative experiences against himself.

Most often, this neurosis develops after prolonged or intense experiences. Grief begins to be perceived as irreparable, it seems to the patient that nothing is already capable of improving the situation for the better. In addition to psychological changes, depression leads to other disorders of the body: it reduces the content of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine. In this case, memory, thinking, and other functions of the brain are impaired. At a certain stage, the process can become irreversible, significantly complicating the treatment.

Diagnostics

To diagnose depression, the doctor must identify at least two main, two additional signs in the patient:

The main

Additional

Depression of the emotional background in any conditions.

Anhedonia – loss of interest in previously enjoyable activities.

Pessimistic attitude.

Low self-esteem.

Constant tiredness, fatigue.

Suicidal tendencies, neuroses.

Difficulty concentrating, making decisions.

Increased or decreased appetite, fluctuations in body weight.

Inability to fall asleep or vice versa – excessive sleepiness.

Depression in children, which is less common, is characterized by a different symptomatology:

  • lack of appetite;
  • nightmares;
  • decreased learning ability;
  • character violations: seclusion, resentment, unmotivated aggression;
  • in adolescence – alcoholism or drug addiction as a consequence of depression.

Treatment

Antidepressants considered a panacea. As statistics show, such drugs do not work on 40% of patients. At the same time, they smooth out the symptoms, causing addiction, but not eliminating the disease by 100%. Modern drugs, of which fluoxetine (Prozac) is considered to be a representative, work only for severe symptoms. But their effect is often indistinguishable from placebo.

In addition, these drugs are not without side effects, for example, increase the risk of suicide among adolescents.

Treatment is carried out after diagnosis – taking anamnesis, examining a neurologist, registering electroencephalography, evoked potentials, EEG video monitoring, ECG, biochemical analyzes. 

Psychotherapeutic approach

It has a varying degree of effectiveness, which depends on the training of the doctor and the severity of the disease.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS)

This technique is becoming more popular today in the treatment of patients with depression, neuroses. Especially in relation to patients who are not helped by drugs. Or if there are contraindications to medicines. The principle of the technique is that induction coils are attached to the patient’s head, which create a magnetic field that stimulates the nerve cells of the brain.

This method is able to act directly on the source of depressive tendencies, it has a fairly well-pronounced effect in most patients.

Physiotherapy instead of medication

The Clinic for Restorative Neurology has widely and successfully used transcranial magnetic stimulation for such patients since 1993 on the basis of scientific data obtained at the Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, where this process is led by professor-neurologist, neurophysiologist, Ph.D. Gimranov R.F.

Thanks to the use of this technique, our clinic for restorative neurology shows some of the best results in the treatment of depression both in Russia and among the CIS countries.

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