Risk of depression!

There are many types of depression, such as major depressive disorder, the most common and severe, and dysthymia, which is weaker but lasts longer, We often hear of postpartum depression, common in Northern Europe such as seasonal affective disorder, and many other types. Since major depressive disorder is the most common, what we call "depression" in everyday life mostly refers to major depressive disorder.

The most common risk factors for depression are:

1, genetic

Genetic factors are the most important factor. Studies show that if parents suffer from depression, the risk of the child suffering from depression is 2 to 3 times higher than the general population. At present, the incidence of depression in China is generally said to be about 5%. However, considering that Chinese people do not pay much attention to mental illness and few people seek medical treatment, the real rate may be close to the world depression rate of 11%. This means that people with a family history of depression have a 20 to 30 percent chance of developing it in the future. It is worth noting that in the case of a, if the parents of the depression is recurrent depression (once a while attacks), or when they are small (20 years ago) have depression, so the incidence of children 4 ~ 5 times higher than the average person, the incidence of means in the future could be as high as 50%, this is a very dangerous state.

However, the above only increased the risk, does not represent a certain disease, most diseases are produced under the joint action of genes and environment, since the genetic factors are not controllable, so we have to work harder on other factors.

2, women

Gender is another uncontrollable factor. Epidemiology shows that women are twice as likely to suffer from depression as men, and twice as likely to attempt suicide among depressed women. Perhaps the only consolation is that men have a much higher success rate than women.

3. History of childhood trauma

Mainly psychological trauma, but also almost uncontrollable factors, such as the loss of a parent or parent in childhood, neglect by an adult (lack of the most basic physical and psychological care), physical or psychological abuse, etc. Experiencing parental divorce in childhood may also play a role in developing depression in adulthood.

Stressful events in your life

This is a major direct trigger for depression, stressful events such as divorce, loss of a loved one, job loss and so on. Although stress in life and work is inevitable, how to deal with it and adjust the emotional state in the face of such stress is controllable. Learning how to regulate emotions is especially important for people with a family history of the disease.

5. Personality factors

Studies have found that people who have low self-esteem, are too dependent on others, are pessimistic and prone to self-criticism have a higher risk of depression, possibly because people with these characteristics experience more stress in stressful events than others.

6. Bad living habits

Heavy drinking and smoking are both strongly linked to depression. On the one hand, alcoholism and smoking are both possible causes of depression. On the other hand, depressed people are more likely to drink and smoke than ordinary people. Especially for smoking, both smoking and quitting can cause depression. For example, "Does quitting cause depression? The answer. It is therefore best to avoid these unhealthy habits in people with a family history.

7, social

Most people in modern society are becoming more indoorsy, and socialising is declining not only in quantity but also in quality (e.g., with their heads buried in their phones at parties). I have to say that this phenomenon has something to do with the increasing incidence of depression. Studies on social interaction alone have shown that people who lack emotional support from family and friends and have low quality social interactions are more than twice as likely to suffer from depression.

8, other

Other factors include certain diseases such as cardiovascular disease, and certain surgical and medical treatments.

So when it comes to prevention, in addition to the above uncontrollable factors, learning how to regulate emotions, try to improve personality, avoid bad habits, and maintain social quality is an effective way at present. It is also necessary to seek psychological counseling or treatment as soon as possible if the stress is too great to deal with. It goes without saying how important it is to keep exercising as a cure-all in enhancing your physical and mental state.

Thankfully, depression is not nearly as impossible to prevent or treat as dementia. Before 1980, there were no clinical studies proving that depression could be prevented. But in the 30 years since, clinical studies have successfully reduced the incidence of depression. For example, the most successful CWD course (Coping with Depression), which uses cognitive-behavioral intervention, has been proved to effectively reduce the risk of Depression by 38%. It is believed that it will be opened in China soon. And if this trend continues, there will be more and more interventions that are more effective, and we have our own antidepressants and recovery programs that have had good results, so hopefully they'll be available a day earlier.