Subscribe
Depression
Where is the best place to massage for depression?
The massage points for depression vary according to different diagnostic types of the condition in Chinese medicine. For example, for patients with liver depression and spleen deficiency, massage can be given at Taichong, Fenglong, Zusanli, and Tiantu. For patients with liver depression and qi stagnation, points such as Baihui, Yintang, Shenmen, Neiguan, and Taichong can be massaged. In cases of heart and spleen deficiencies, the massage points include Shenmen, Xinshu, Pishu, Sanyinjiao, Zusanli, and Zhangmen. For patients with kidney deficiency and liver depression, key points are Taichong, Qimen, Neiguan, Danzhong, and Guanyuan. As for patients with heavy damp-heat in liver and gallbladder, massage points like Xingjian, Sanyinjiao, and Zhongji can be selected during massage.
Is elderly depression easy to treat?
Depression in the elderly is difficult to treat because compared to younger patients, depression in the elderly tends to last longer with an average duration often exceeding one year, and episodes occur more frequently, often becoming chronic. Additionally, the prognosis for elderly depression is worse compared to other age groups, primarily due to the coexistence of cerebrovascular diseases and other physical comorbidities, recent acute illnesses, long-term ongoing diseases, as well as the presence of delusions and a lack of social support systems. Thus, depression in the elderly is quite challenging to treat.
Is moderate depression serious?
Patients with moderate depression are quite serious. The core manifestations in clinical practice include low mood, inability to feel happy, reduced energy, and predominantly negative thinking. These symptoms often lead to a decline in the patient's social and occupational functioning, affecting their work, study, life, social interactions, and family life. Patients typically present with a lack of desire to groom themselves or pay attention to their attire, and they often have a dull gaze and an unpleasant emotional experience. There is generally a lack of energy and interest. In terms of cognitive thinking, they often exhibit feelings of worthlessness, pessimism, guilt, uselessness, or despair. Behaviorally, they often show psychomotor retardation, meaning they walk and act slowly, think sluggishly, cannot relax, and sometimes exhibit symptoms of restlessness.
Can people with mild depression drink alcohol?
Patients with mild depression are generally advised not to drink alcohol, especially those who have sleep problems and rely on drinking to solve these issues; they are strongly urged to abstain completely. Patients with mild depression may experience mood swings, slow cognitive responses, and an inability to feel joy. They might have difficulty falling asleep or frequently wake up during sleep. Some patients might attempt to alleviate their symptoms or improve their depressed, suppressed mood through drinking. The adverse consequences of this are an increase in the severity of depression and ultimately the potential development of a substance dependency on alcohol, which negatively impacts the treatment of depression. Therefore, for patients with mild depression, it is clinically advised to forbid or reduce alcohol consumption, with abstinence being the best treatment approach.
Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder Symptoms
Premenstrual dysphoria is a symptom of premenstrual syndrome, which can manifest as mood instability, fatigue, changes in diet, sleep, libido, lack of concentration, inability to work normally or reduced work efficiency, and even a tendency to have accidents at work. There may also be criminal behavior or suicidal thoughts. Therefore, family members should actively take the individual to the hospital for treatment. With the comfort and guidance of a psychologist, the patient with premenstrual dysphoria can relax and re-enter life in a relaxed state, adapting to their role. At the same time, under the doctor's advice, some antidepressant medications should be taken, along with a reasonable diet and appropriate physical exercise, specifically following the doctor’s instructions.
Do patients with mild depression need to be hospitalized?
Patients with mild depression can choose inpatient treatment or outpatient treatment. The main decision depends on the communication between the patient, their family, and medical professionals. Patients with mild depression have relatively mild depressive symptoms, so psychological therapy is primarily used, with pharmacotherapy and physical therapy serving as supplementary treatments. Psychological therapy mainly employs cognitive-behavioral therapy to improve the patient’s unreasonable beliefs and alleviate emotional stress. This includes identifying automatic thoughts, recognizing the irrationality of cognition, and employing reality testing, ultimately aiming to improve the patient's symptoms. Pharmacological treatment primarily uses serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and patients can adhere to a regular medication schedule at home during outpatient treatment periods. Physical therapy consists mainly of transcranial magnetic stimulation, which can be administered either as an outpatient or inpatient treatment. The final treatment choice should involve comprehensive communication with the patient's family and physicians to make an informed decision.
Will mild depression get better?
Mild depression can achieve good therapeutic effects. Patients with mild depression may experience low mood, slow thinking, and decreased volition, but its severity is relatively mild. These patients primarily show lack of concentration, or slightly lower self-evaluation, and abnormalities in diet and sleep. Generally, the overall mental state of the patients is still relatively good. Therefore, in clinical practice, the main treatment for patients with mild depression is psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy, to improve the patients' distorted and unreasonable cognition, ultimately leading to cognitive reconstruction and achieving good therapeutic effects. Antidepressant drugs can also be used for systematic treatment, such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which have an effective cure rate of over 85%.
Dietary Cautions for Geriatric Depression
Patients with geriatric depression currently find antidepressant medications and electroconvulsive therapy to be quite effective. However, due to lack of appetite and poor mental responsiveness in these patients, their nutritional status often remains unfulfilled. Therefore, we should enhance the dietary nutrition of elderly patients with depression. The focus should be on protein-rich foods such as eggs, shrimp, fish, chicken, and duck. Additionally, attention should be given to including roughage in the diet, ensuring daily fruit intake and vegetables in every meal.
Can mild depression recur?
Patients with mild depression also have the possibility of relapse. Clinical research investigations have found that systematic antidepressant treatment can lead to clinical recovery in 85% of patients. However, even with persistent and standardized treatment, nearly one-fifth of patients still experience relapse. This signifies that some patients may have a relapse rate exceeding 70% if they cease treatment. For those who recover, there is still a one-fifth chance of relapse within six months, and nearly half might relapse within two years after the initial episode. Therefore, relapse is a significant challenge for depression patients. Thus, treatment should be systematic and standard, including pharmacotherapy. Additionally, psychotherapy plays a crucial role in treating depression by improving patients' irrational cognitive patterns and adjusting their cognitive reconstruction systems, ultimately achieving a healed state.
Symptoms of depression
Patients with symptoms of depression often experience a persistent low mood throughout most of the day, along with a loss or decrease in interests and pleasure. They commonly experience fatigue, an increase in feelings of exhaustion, and more. Additionally, these patients may have poor concentration, low self-esteem, decreased self-confidence, a sense of worthlessness, self-blame, and a bleak outlook on life with no perceived future, including suicidal thoughts. There are also significant changes in their sleeping and eating habits. Therefore, if these symptoms persist for more than two weeks and adversely impact the patient’s work, studies, lifestyle, or social abilities, it should be considered indicative of depression. Thus, once diagnosed, systematic and standardized treatment should be administered to prevent the worsening of the condition.