Depression is often caused by a situation in which a strong stressful relationship is evidentor a tragic event, and depression - as a depressive reaction to this event. A classic example is the Romeo reaction convinced of the death of his beloved Julia, who in one moment found himself in the depths of depression and the decision to commit suicide:
How beautiful you are! I have to think,
That the disembodied even death succumbs
Influences of love? That skinny monster
Is he holding you like a mistress in the dark?
Afraid of this, I will stay with you
And never, I will never leave it again
Palace of the night; here, I will live here ...
Translation by Józef Paszkowski
Reactive depression
Dramatic emotional overload is a typical cause of depressive reaction. It may be a loss of a loved one, dramatic returns of a fortune, a threat to life or being entangled in a hopeless personal situation. All these situations can cause too much emotional overload and, as a result, reactive depression. If, however, by some luck, a bad fortune could be reversed, if the person considered to be missing returned and the threat to life turned out to be only a diagnostic error, it would also give way to depression. A sick and unhappy man who had been depressed would have been "healed" the same.
One of my patients wrote this in the face of a threat that resulted from her husband's serious illness:
My 44-year-old husband has always been in excellent health and, as is usually the case with such people, almost did not pay attention to his own well-being. No wonder that when he caught a cold in the beginning of the winter instead of going to the doctor, he bought aspirin, checked out over the weekend, and went to work on Monday morning. He decided that if he had a fever, he did not have a problem, but he was worried about his cough that came back in the evenings. I tried to send him to the clinic, but to no avail. Anyway - this symptom also after a while he gave up and apparently everything returned to normal. Throughout the winter, Krzysztof was fine, but in the early morning he complained of joint pain, he was easily tired and sweating. When joint swellings appeared, he finally went to the doctor. He referred him to a lung x-ray and on the basis of the photograph he initially recognized a rare and sometimes dangerous (may lead to cancer) disease of the immune system - sarcoidosis. Krzysztof went to the hospital for detailed examinations and observation, and in a moment the whole world collapsed on his head. I felt a man without a back. I have been with Krzysztof for 12 years and during this time we have developed our own rhythm of life. I was afraid for my husband. Doctors do not tail that sarcoidosis can even threaten life. I tried not to think about the worst, but I could not reckon with such an eventuality. I was terrified that I could be alone without him. How will I manage? I do not have children, I'm an only child and my husband and mother do not have a family anymore. Only now did I understand what mental support my husband was for me - how will I live without support? I was also terrified of financial matters: an unpaid apartment - will I be able to maintain it myself? But this fear was already secondary, I was the most afraid of whether I would break down in the face of the possible death of Krzysztof, or whether I would just stand it or not go crazy. I was going through all of his examinations (these were actually small bronchoscopy procedures), I was always in the subconscious expectation of a catastrophe, I lived like in lethargy. I apparently dealt with something specific (eg, I wrote, cleaned, I did shopping) but in reality I lived in hospital visits and waiting for phone calls with news. I was asleep.I explained to myself that disaster is an inseparable part of every existence - I understood it, but emotionally I was unable to come to terms with this truth. I had a nightmare, though not always related to the situation of dreams (some chases, funerals, abductions). However, contrary to the pessimistic forecasts, the disease began to recede. After two weeks, Krzysztof was allowed home for the weekend, after the next two - he was discharged, of course, with the recommendation to apply for follow-up examinations. I was overjoyed, but for a long time somewhere in my interior there was fear: I woke up in the middle of the night, uncertain whether my husband was at home, I dreamed of a hospital and illness.
Is the depressive reaction to random drama a "real" depression?
Recognizing such a reaction as a depression has a long tradition and is still used as an emphasis on the relationship between psychological trauma and the reaction to it. The distinction between reactive and endogenous depression has also the value that indicates the necessity of energetic pharmacological treatment of the latter.
Neurotic depression
Depressions of this type are similar to reactive reactions. They are characterized by not too severe symptoms of depressed mood and drive. On the other hand, they are characterized by repeatability to the often occurring stimulus that gives them a feature of chronicity and frequent anxiety manifestations. However, there are no psycho-physical symptoms (somatic) characteristic of most depressions.
A message from the author for the reader
Depression is an emotional state characterized by sadness, less activity and the inability to enjoy life. It is one of the most common psychological problems. The whole of the study presented on our website presents typical symptoms of depression as well as its various variants. In the following chapters, we also describe how to deal with this disease and how to deal with a person suffering from depression. The characteristics of depression are enriched by authentic statements of patients, descriptions of their ailments and difficulties in overcoming the disease. The author has been conducting extensive private practice for years, in which depressive patients make up the majority of applicants.
Dr. Janusz Krzyżowski, MD, psychiatrist
