Seasonal mood depression

Introduction Depression is a mental disorder characterized by abnormally low mood as the main clinical manifestation. The state of mind in depression is similar to the sorrow that people are familiar with, but it is more persistent. Since the beginning of winter, the number of people with depression in the psychological counseling clinic has also increased suddenly. Such patients have seasonal depression. Seasonal depression, also known as seasonal mood disorder , is a type of depression (or depression). It occurs at the same time every year, often beginning in the late fall and early winter, ending in the late spring and early summer. Not just winter depression, or cabin fever. A rare seasonal mood disorder Summer depression begins in late spring and early summer and ends in autumn. People with seasonal mood disorders have more melatonin levels than normal people, which affects their mood. Scientists have not yet investigated why women are twice as likely to develop this disease as men. "USA Today" reported that Michigan patient Jenita said that his symptoms began to appear seven years ago, when he didn't want to do anything, he could sit still all day. Doctors are now using antidepressants and phototherapy to help alleviate her symptoms. Currently, there are three commonly used methods for treating "seasonal mood disorders": antidepressants, phototherapy, and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Reports show that certain antidepressants, such as fluoxetine (also known as Prozac), have a therapeutic effect on 50% to 60% of patients with this disease. This method of medication can work quickly and at a lower cost than phototherapy.

Cause

With the gradual shortening of the winter sun exposure time, people's brain activity and behavior will change accordingly. Seasonal depression patients tend to go to extremes once negative emotions are not effectively vented.

According to the influence of latitude, the change of sunshine exposure time is a factor. The chemical substances transmitted by the brain in patients with seasonal mood disorders are affected by sunlight. Sunlight can make it balanced.

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These depressed patients often showed significant memory loss, slow thinking, slow movement, loss of appetite, increased physical illness, and some even bedridden, do not eat or drink, and some suicidal thoughts.

Differential diagnosis

1. Depressive neurosis or mood disorder: a neurosis characterized by persistent (at least 2 years) mild to moderate depression. The patient's interest has subsided, but it has not been lost. He is pessimistic and disappointed with his future, but he is not desperate. His self-evaluation is declining. He is willing to accept encouragement and praise. He is conscious of serious illness, but he is actively seeking medical treatment. Often accompanied by significant anxiety, physical discomfort or pain and sleep disorders. The symptoms are highly volatile, and the ability to live is not seriously affected. There are often obvious psychological and social stress factors and quality factors before the illness.

2. Psychogenic (reactive) depression: Other points are closely related to onset and mental symptoms and psychosocial factors. Clinical symptoms fully reflect the content of psychology, mood swings are large, vulnerable to external environment, and insomnia is mostly asleep. Difficulties, emotional reactions are mostly blaming.

3. Schizophrenia Schizophrenia: may be associated with depressive symptoms, but its emotional response is mainly to the surrounding apathy, lack of depression and inner experience, and delusional content is also absurd. Tension in schizophrenia should be differentiated from stupor depression. The former mental symptoms are inconsistent with the environment, often accompanied by violations of tension and tension. Post-psychotic depression refers to the depression caused by mental illness, due to psychological stress on mental illness, difficulty in adapting to social life, or unbearable adverse reactions of psychotropic drugs. This situation is not uncommon and should cause clinical attention. That is, there is a difference in the history of mental illness.

4. Epileptic pathological mood is bad: the beginning and end of bad mood are more rapid, the duration is generally shorter, lack of typical emotional depression and motor inhibition symptoms, but mainly stress and fear. These depressed patients often showed significant memory loss, slow thinking, slow movement, loss of appetite, increased physical illness, and some even bedridden, do not eat or drink, and some suicidal thoughts.

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