Depression can have a variety of triggers and come in a variety of forms. What helps against depression is therefore also dependent on the type of depression. Below, you will find out what types of depression there are and what options are available for treating depression.
How is depression classified?
Depression in medicine used to be divided into endogenous, psychogenic and organic depressions – now, depressions are rated more according to symptoms, severity, duration of illness and risk of recurrence. However, the old classification can still be found in many books.
In addition to depressive episodes and recurring depressive disorders, so-called secondary depressions can also occur, i.e. depressions that arise as part of another underlying mental illness ( anxiety disorder, bulimia, addiction). Depressive disorders are delimited from this, which are associated with somatic diseases, i.e. diseases of the body.
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forms of depression
On the one hand, it can be assumed that around 25 per cent of all chronically ill people develop depressive symptoms – which everyone can understand because a chronic illness severely impairs everyday life. On the other hand, there are several diseases in which depression is one of the symptoms: Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, multiple sclerosis, but also heart failure, many autoimmune diseases, porphyria and diabetes mellitus.
There is also a whole range of particular forms of depression: in atypical depression, those affected eat and sleep a lot, and seasonal depression usually does not occur in spring and autumn but mainly in winter.Â
In addition, many terms that have been used for years, such as whining depression or depression in old age (from the age of 60), are still used for individual subtypes of the new classification. The term whining depression used to be used for people who are driven by inner restlessness and anxiety – they often complain of heart palpitations and shortness of breath. Today, one speaks of an agitated depression.
What can you do about depression?
Depression needs to be treated quickly by a specialist. A first point of contact can be your family doctor, who can help you find a specialist doctor or therapist. Telephone counselling or crisis services can also offer initial help.
The therapy can consist of intensive discussions about the causes of the depression, and no drug treatment is necessary – this is more likely to happen with a mild depressive episode.
A combination of drug treatment and psychotherapy is usually used because many studies show that the combination leads to faster and more lasting success than individual therapy.
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Medications to treat depression
Es gibt sehr viele verschiedene Medikamente gegen Depressionen. Diese Medikamente werden Antidepressiva genannt und müssen je nach Schweregrad der Depression, Ausprägung der Symptome, Lebensalter und weitere Erkrankungen sorgfältig ausgesucht und miteinander kombiniert werden. Beispiele für Antidepressiva sind die Wirkstoffe Mirtazapin und Citalopram.
Psychotherapie und Psychoedukation
Bei der Therapie einer Depression spielen Psychotherapie und die sogenannte Psychoedukation eine wichtige Rolle:
Im Bereich Psychotherapie gibt es verschiedenste Formen wie Verhaltenstherapie, interpersonelle Psychotherapie oder kognitive Psychotherapie.
Eine immer größere Rolle spielt die Psychoedukation: Damit ist die gezielte Aufklärung des Patienten über seine Erkrankung gemeint. So wird das Selbsthilfepotenzial des Patienten und seiner Angehörigen gefördert. Meist werden Gruppenprogramme von Kliniken oder psychiatrischen Praxen angeboten.
Weitere Formen der Therapie bei Depressionen
Weitere Therapieoptionen, die nur in speziellen Fällen eingesetzt werde, sind
Die Magnetstimulation ist eine neue Behandlungsmethode, die weniger belastet und möglicherweise bald die Elektrokrampftherapie ablösen kann.
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Was kann man selbst außerdem tun?
The most important step to overcome depression is to seek professional help. Even if it’s difficult: Try to see things more positively again and listen to your therapist’s recommendations.
The following tips may help you cope with depression:
- Try to accept your illness.
- Try to continually become aware of the positive aspects of life and your strengths.
- Do yourself something good.
- Let family and friends encourage you to do activities you once enjoyed.
- In consultation with your doctor, sport and physical activity can be considered part of therapy – this can help increase your self-esteem.
- Make it a goal to make crucial decisions yourself, but only do so when you can do so again.
React quickly if depression returns.
If you’ve ever had depression, you already know what therapy helped you. If you feel unwell again, do not hesitate to contact your doctor quickly. Dealing openly with your friends and family about the illness can help you quickly get support if you fall into a deep hole again.
What can relatives do?
Friends and relatives can also support those affected by depression by being there, listening, taking time and giving the person affected time. They can also encourage you to seek professional help.
As a family member, consider the following advice:
- Give emotional care and acceptance, even if the person’s perspective differs from your own.
- Encourage the person concerned in their positive behaviour and successes – this will increase their confidence in their abilities.
- Avoid well-intentioned but irrelevant statements such as “It’ll pass” or “You just have to pull yourself together.”
- Help the person affected to set realistic goals that neither over nor under-challenge them.
- Do not be discouraged if those affected show exhaustion, lack of strength and discouragement and resist your efforts – this is part of the illness.
- Be patient and cheer up or distract – without overwhelming the person concerned or flooding them with stimuli.
It can also be difficult for relatives and friends to support someone with depression – that is why there are also various offers of help available to people in the immediate vicinity.
