Can mild depression cause fantasies?

Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
Updated on September 11, 2024
00:00
00:00

In clinical settings regarding patients with mild depression, hallucinatory symptoms generally do not occur. It is commonly believed in clinical practice that patients with moderate to severe depression might experience hallucinations. However, according to the new mental illness diagnostic standard, IC11, it is considered that patients with mild depression may also exhibit symptoms of delusions and hallucinations. Therefore, the presence of hallucinations and delusions in patients should be assessed based on the severity of the condition. Typically, the occurrences of hallucinations and delusions indicate a higher severity of depression, generally moderate to severe. If diagnosed with psychotic depression, the clinical approach should involve the combined treatment using antidepressants and antipsychotic medications to address both the psychotic and depressive symptoms effectively.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Yue Hua
Obstetrics and Gynecology
38sec home-news-image

Where to seek treatment for postpartum depression?

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
51sec home-news-image

How to manage mild depression

Mild depression is primarily treated clinically through self-adjustment, psychotherapy, or physical therapy. Self-adjustment often involves exercise, which can stimulate the brain to release endorphins, playing an anti-depressive role. Additionally, exercise is an effective relaxation training that can divert attention and stimulate feelings of control and pleasure. Furthermore, psychotherapy is also used in clinical settings, particularly cognitive behavioral therapy, which is crucial in helping patients identify thoughts, correct irrational cognitive patterns, and rebuild their cognitive systems. Effective training in social and other activities is also necessary to enhance social or occupational functioning. In terms of physical therapy, repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (rTMS) is the main treatment method.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
56sec home-news-image

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.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
58sec home-news-image

How is depression diagnosed?

The diagnosis of depression in clinical settings involves four aspects: First, the collection of medical history, which includes understanding the onset, progression, treatment, and outcome of the illness, as well as past treatment experiences, etc. Second, psychiatric assessment, involving examinations with the patient concerning their sensations, perceptions, consciousness, thinking, emotions, intelligence, memory, self-control, willpower, and other aspects. Third, the use of scales to measure depression, which includes self-rating scales or observer-rating scales for depression to assess the severity of the patient's condition. Fourth, through related auxiliary examinations, excluding physical illnesses that may cause symptoms of depression. Ultimately, the diagnosis of depression is determined by integrating information from these four areas.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
1min 7sec home-news-image

How is depression diagnosed?

The diagnosis of depression in clinical practice includes understanding the patient's clinical manifestations, conducting in-depth psychiatric examinations, scale measurements, and excluding auxiliary examinations related to depression. Clinically, it is important to fully understand the occurrence, development, progression, and treatment process of depression-related manifestations in patients. Additionally, psychiatric examinations focus on detailed assessments of the patients’ sensations, perceptions, consciousness, thinking, emotions, attention, memory, intelligence, and self-control, to further understand their overall psychological state. Scale measurements often involve self-assessment scales, depressive symptom self-rating scales or external assessment scales for comprehensive evaluation. Exclusion diagnostics primarily involve corresponding tests, such as thyroid examinations, to rule out physical diseases that may cause symptoms related to depression. After compiling all the information mentioned above, a definitive diagnosis of depression can be made.