Can mild depression recur?

Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
Updated on March 06, 2025
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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.

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Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
47sec home-news-image

What to do about insomnia caused by mild depression?

Patients with mild depression who experience insomnia symptoms can partly manage this through self-adjustment. For example, they can improve insomnia through exercise, especially two hours before bedtime, with medium intensity exercises to expend excess energy and ultimately achieve comprehensive muscle relaxation, leading to good sleeping habits. Additionally, in the treatment of mild depression, sedative antidepressants such as paroxetine, fluvoxamine, mirtazapine, and trazodone can be used, sometimes including tricyclic antidepressants like amitriptyline, which have been very satisfactory in their effects. Therefore, clinically, for insomnia in mild depression, both pharmacological treatment and self-adjustment methods can be adopted.

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Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
1min 5sec home-news-image

Causes of Depression

The causes of depression are often unclear and may be closely related to multiple factors such as biological, social, and psychological aspects. From a biological perspective, genetics is a primary factor, especially as indicated by family studies, which have found genetics to play a significant role. Genetic factors typically involve multiple gene loci. Furthermore, neurochemical factors like serotonin and norepinephrine are notably related. Beyond biological factors, psychological elements, particularly in individuals with certain depressive traits or personality characteristics, significantly increase the incidence of developing the condition. Social environmental factors are primarily associated with adverse major life events. After experiencing acute life events, individuals may become susceptible to depressive episodes. Hence, it is observed that depression in patients results from multifactorial influences rather than a single factor, culminating from a complex interplay of these elements.

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Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
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How to explain mild depression

During the guidance process for patients with mild depression, cognitive behavioral therapy can be used. Cognitively speaking, the patient's low mood is caused by negative cognitions about themselves, the world, and the future, which we call the cognitive triad. They feel incompetent, worthless, and disliked in regards to themselves. They perceive the world as incapable or negative. Regarding the future, they feel unable to succeed and see themselves as failures, among other expressions. Therefore, the patient exhibits irrational and distorted cognitions. By observing these irrational cognitive patterns, we guide the patient to look for evidence, seek alternative explanations, make predictions, judgments, and responses, and resolve internal conflicts of thoughts through reality check methods, ultimately alleviating low moods. Additionally, behavioral methods, such as organizing a good life schedule and engaging in interesting activities, can also be used to enhance the patient's sense of pleasure and control, thereby improving their mood and ultimately achieving therapeutic effects.

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Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
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Does depression cause dizziness?

Patients with depression can experience symptoms of dizziness. Depression is primarily characterized by low mood, slow thinking, and reduced volition. Patients may also have physical discomfort, especially in middle-aged and elderly patients with depression, whose main complaints are often physical discomforts when seeking medical advice such as dizziness, headache, palpitations, fatigue, weakness, gastrointestinal discomfort, frequent urination, urgency, and fluctuating body temperatures. Therefore, symptoms like dizziness can also occur in patients with depression. The main treatment involves the use of antidepressant drugs for systematic and standardized treatment, particularly the use of second-generation antidepressants, such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which are effective. (The above drugs should be used under the guidance of a doctor.)

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Obstetrics
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Can postpartum depression be cured?

Postpartum depression is generally curable. Women may face physical and psychological stress after childbirth, and those who previously had mood issues may be more susceptible to postpartum depression. Once depression occurs, it is crucial to take care of the mother both physically and mentally. Besides ensuring that the mother gets enough sleep and avoids exhaustion, and maintaining a cheerful mood, psychological support from family members is extremely important. It is essential not to let the mother become overly impatient, to communicate with her frequently, and to encourage her to smile often, as these measures can significantly help alleviate depression.