Where to seek treatment for postpartum depression?

Written by Yue Hua
Obstetrics and Gynecology
Updated on September 08, 2024
00:00
00:00

Postpartum depression is a type of mental illness in puerperal women, so it is best for such women to see a psychiatrist, as psychological treatment for depression is very important. The key is to enhance the patient's self-confidence and raise their self-esteem. Additionally, it can provide individualized psychological counseling based on the patient’s personality traits, psychological state, and the causes of the condition, and it can eliminate the psychological factors causing the illness. Common clinical treatments include medication and psychological counseling.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Du Rui Xia
Obstetrics
44sec home-news-image

How to relieve postpartum depression

When postpartum depression occurs, the family must provide comprehensive care. For example, it is important to ensure that the new mother gets enough sleep by having family members take care of the baby and handle daily tasks. It is recommended that the mother and baby sleep separately to allow the mother sufficient rest, which can also help alleviate depression. Additionally, choosing a room with plenty of sunlight and ventilating it by opening windows daily can also reduce the symptoms of postpartum depression. More importantly, family members need to communicate psychologically with the new mother, engage in more conversations, and avoid keeping their feelings bottled up.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
52sec home-news-image

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
55sec home-news-image

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
1min 4sec home-news-image

Can depression recur?

Relapse in patients with depression is a relatively common issue in clinical practice. Large-scale studies have found that even with systematic, standardized treatment with sufficient dosage and duration of antidepressant medications, still 15% of patients do not achieve clinical recovery. Even with persistent standardized treatment, the relapse rate remains at 20%. If treatment is discontinued, the relapse rate can rise to as high as 85%. For patients who have recovered, there is still a 20% chance of relapse within six months. 50% of patients relapse within two years after their first episode. Therefore, the relapse rate is higher in patients over the age of 45. Thus, depression is characterized by a high rate of relapse, yet it is also highly treatable. Therefore, during the course of pharmacological treatment, psychological and physical therapies should be concurrently employed as adjunctive treatments to improve cure rates and reduce the likelihood of relapse.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
48sec home-news-image

Is mild depression normal?

Patients with mild depression, although also experiencing symptoms such as low mood, decreased interest, reduced motivation, slow thinking, and reduced volition, may have difficulty falling asleep and frequently wake up during sleep, among other related symptoms. However, patients often retain most of their social functions, causing some disturbance to daily life and work. Through self-adjustment, standardized psychotherapy, and medication, patients often achieve good treatment outcomes. Sometimes, the symptoms of some patients are relatively mild, and they may appear normal outwardly, but their inner experience is indeed pathological. Therefore, it is still necessary to undertake standardized, systematic, and scientific treatment to achieve clinical recovery.