There is a Depression in Cats?

The answer to this interesting question is positive: Yes, it happens. Of mental balance cat may knock the change in daily routine, to which she was accustomed, or the feeling of loneliness. She experiences stress, and when a stranger appears at home, as well as in any other situation, if she feels that she is in danger. The sufferer (sorry, cats going through a lot silently) walks with a missing eye, stops eating, and to wash, starts bad to navigate, even in familiar surroundings.

From time to time it is a negative mental discharge: cute fluffy creature demonstrates behavior that is unacceptable in human understanding (“Oh, what a nightmare!”), – scratch, bite and irrigates the urine that is handy, for example untouchable Persian carpet. An unexpected change in the cat’s “personality” can be a symptom of one of many diseases. However, if the veterinarian will rule out all possible physiological causes of the new state, then you can be sure: your pussy is going through a nervous crisis. What is the cause of such deviations from the norm?

In search of an answer to this question, let’s remember who are cats and how they like to live. Some of them, as in the good old days, lead a real cat’s life: walk through the stables and gardens, explore the neighborhood, protect their territory, exposed to natural hormonal cycle. Home run only to eat and warm tired limbs. Then again go about their business, following the secret, they are a well-known trails. These lucky people, who behave in accordance with their nature, never face the problem of existence in the world. With them and in them all flows naturally.

Living conditions in the big city radically changed the old style of cat life. Fans of these animals (and their cities getting bigger) out of a desire to protect Pets from danger and the sense of responsibility for unregulated reproduction put them under house arrest. Fluffy little rascal has a guaranteed sofa for rookery and a bowl full of tidbits that do not need to produce their own, but it lacks the most important in life-freedom. What is to be surprised when the “prisoner” literally squeaks his teeth, seeing that the window glass separates him from the world. Cat falls into the clutches of unbearable boredom. People who perceive Pets in their own, human categories, make a serious mistake. For example, they do not understand what it means for a small predator to be unable to hunt.

Hunting is a fundamental need of every “domestic tiger”. Dissatisfaction in this sphere of life often leads to nervous disorders. How can you keep your mental balance if you can’t climb roofs, sit on fences and climb trees? How not to succumb to sadness when you are doomed to a monotonous life in four walls, without entertainment, without a single mouse or at least a moth for fishing? How not to die of boredom, when there is nothing to do but to meet with home appliances-incomprehensible devices and household appliances that can not be scratched, and when constantly driven away from the most interesting place – the kitchen?

Unless the cat is interesting, fun to watch with the owner of the Mexican television series or with the owner – the next match “Spartak – the champion!”? Boredom becomes a source of various incidents. Due to the lack of a real daily portion of physical and mental stress, the animal has only one goal of interest – the moving legs of the owners. “Home tiger” quietly creeps up hides, crouches to the floor, and then sudden surge rushes to “production” (master’s thigh, calf, ankle), and often with a wild cry. Then instantly disappears.

People don’t tolerate such antics, asking his players an earful. And in vain. After all, what, in their opinion, it is unacceptable for a cat is perfectly normal. Inattentive owners do not understand: this behavior is a symptom of mental illness of the animal, devoid of natural stimulating factors and so necessary physical activity.

Watch your pet. Cats usually behave with dignity, restraint. However, even the most balanced “personality” must from time to time defuse the accumulated tension. Those of them who live in freedom, carry out their “wild dance” over the caught victim – affect the excitement and joy.

He has to release the accumulated energy during his “five minutes of madness.” Calm Murka suddenly transformed into a real fury-flying around the apartment, like a witch in the broom, disguised tail rushes to the obstacles, riding on the carpet, jumps on the windowsill, one jump reaches the sofa and paused for a moment, instantly unfolds-the bullet flies out of the room. Then he calms down and from the terrible Gorgon turns into a balanced Mrs. Hutson. Let’s say you’ve already begun to understand that your four-legged is depressed. What should be done in this case? You can refer to the tablets and powders. Cats, by the way, the fit of the drugs used in the treatment of nervous system disorders in humans. But that alone is not enough. Modern therapeutic techniques recommend to accompany pharmacological treatment with dense psychological support: to surround the patient with care, to pay special attention to him, to please with tasty, fragrant, useful food, even to feed from hands. So in the case of a nervous breakdown in your pet should not immediately run to a cat shrink – with this trouble can be dealt by yourself at home. Take care of the necessary amount of entertainment; think about games with which the animal will be able to defuse emotional tension and give vent to the manifestation of hunting instinct. Remember: the game is a panacea for many cat troubles. What brings your pet the most joy? In addition to food – it is a game! All items designed for gnawing, braking, skating, shaking and grabbing satisfy not only the cat’s natural need to “hooliganism”, but also distract her attention from your carpets, furniture, shoes. Thanks to the games, the animal maintains physical shape, develops intelligence, does not yearn, does not get bored when he spends long hours alone in the daytime.

The household is filled with items suitable for hunting: toilet paper, paper bags, brushes, boxes, cabinets, Laundry baskets and so on. Every item that can roll, scratch or throw, will awaken even the most avid liebore fighting spirit and zeal. Look around you. Paper (in any case not polyethylene!) the package will certainly cause your pet great interest. The cat will enthusiastically greet the advent of cardboard boxes with cut out entrance or a cardboard tube. The desire to hunt will cause her ball of rustling wrapper, coil of thread, cork of wine, a ball of wool or a light spot, put on the wall of a flashlight – that is, everything that moves when touched (focus with a flashlight, of course, suggests an accomplice). Joint games long autumn evenings will not only rally your friendship, but also help the owner not to fall into the November melancholy.

Thus, if you want to make your pet was healthy "body and soul", should remember one thing: do not have a cat to entertain you and you cat.

How to Cope with Depression?

“I have depression” – we often hear these words. But most often people call depression the usual attacks of melancholy and bad mood, which often pass by themselves a maximum of a few days. Real depression is a disease that can poison life for many years and never goes away without treatment.

What is depression?

Depression is a serious illness characterized by clear symptoms that distinguish it from a bad mood.

The main signs of depression include:

• A joyless, oppressed state;
• Frequent and sudden mood swings;
• Anhedonia, the loss of feelings of pleasure (“Nothing pleases and is not interested»);
• Inability to concentrate, memory impairment;
• The inability to make a decision, the constant return to the same issues;
• Fear, anxiety, panic attacks, attacks of aggression;
• Chronic feeling of fatigue, lethargy (“Wake up broken”);
• Sleep Disturbance, insomnia or, conversely, constant drowsiness;
• Loss of appetite, weight loss, digestive problems;
• Depression libido;

Feeling of pressure, heaviness in the abdomen and chest, shortness of breath; various vegetative symptoms, such as excessive sweating, tremor, dry mouth and others.

If these symptoms occur simultaneously and last for several weeks, then there is every reason to suspect depression.

We used to believe that depression is always a consequence of some sad events – the loss of loved ones, divorce, loss of favorite work. But that’s not exactly true. There are three main types of depression – reactive, somatic and endogenous. Jet really is the consequence of abrupt changes in life or of trauma. Endogenous arises as if “out of the blue”, without any obvious reasons. In fact, there are reasons, they are just not so noticeable to others. Endogenous depression can be the result of hormonal imbalances (especially well-known postnatal depression), taking some drugs, alcohol or drugs. Somatic depression is one manifestation of another disease, such as Alzheimer’s disease, hypothyroidism, traumatic brain injury, or even the common flu.

In addition, residents of the Northern latitudes are often observed seasonal depression associated with a lack of sunlight.

It is very dangerous to underestimate or poetize depression. In this state there is nothing attractive or romantic, it destroys the life and personality of a person, affecting not only himself but also his loved ones. Tips “stop whining” and” pull yourself together ” are not only useless, but also very harmful – a depressed person is unable to control this condition in the same way as a patient with a broken leg can not run a hundred meters. Reproaches of friends lead only to the fact that a person is even more confident in his weakness and worthlessness and even deeper immersed in this state. It is also wrong to believe that the disease is the result of the tendency to analyze too much and”wind yourself”. Even small children who have barely learned to speak can suffer from depression.

This disease is one of the most common mental disorders – it affects more than 350 million people of all age groups. Every year, about 150 million people in the world are deprived of working capacity due to depression. At the same time, women get sick twice as often as men – although doctors explain such statistics not by the “resistance” of the stronger sex, but only by the fact that men are less likely to turn to specialists and “are treated” mainly with alcohol or other similar means. There is another disturbing fact – according to statistics, the risk of getting depression increases three times if someone in the family already suffers from this disease.

Treat, cannot be deferred!

Getting rid of depression quickly is very difficult, and without the help of doctors and psychologists – it is impossible. But the disease is successfully treated with the right approach. Complex measures are usually prescribed.

First to fight drugs – antidepressants. They should be selected by a doctor-as a rule, such tablets can not be bought without a prescription, and uncontrolled intake of funds of this group can lead not to recovery, but to deterioration. Antidepressants relieve the main symptoms. As a rule, the stage of medical treatment lasts from several weeks to several months. As a Supplement to antidepressants, sedatives are often prescribed. In some cases, a good effect is also given by physiotherapy, light treatment, acupuncture.

After improving the condition, there is a period of consolidation of the results. This stage of treatment is equally important – depression is insidious and can return again in a few months or even years. In order not to leave the disease a single chance, you need a course of psychotherapy and individual work with a psychologist. To combat depression, there are many techniques-cognitive psychotherapy, which aims-to change the perception of man about himself and the world; interpersonal psychotherapy, helping to resolve conflicts with others; behavioral therapy designed to change the behavior that leads to stress and depression; psychodynamic method that resolves internal conflicts of a person with himself and many others. The duration of this stage depends on the severity of the condition and how the patient is ready for cooperation: it will take from several sessions to several months of work with a specialist.

Alternative opinion

The author of the book “The Loss of sadness: how psychiatry transformed normal sadness to a pathological depression,” Jerome Wakefield argues that depression could be the impetus for positive changes in your life, allowing you to understand the desires and to learn from mistakes.

How to beat depression, or antidepressant advice

You can overcome depression only if you really want it. And if the fight against the disease is limited only to the formal taking of pills and visiting doctors, the result will not be achieved or the path to recovery will stretch for months or even years. To get back in shape as soon as possible, “antidepressant measures” need to be actively incorporated into everyday life. There are no trifles in the treatment of depression. Of course, these tips will not help cure the disease without medication and psychotherapy, but can significantly speed up the process.

Switch attention

For depression are typified by obsessive thought, get rid of which very difficult. If you feel that for the hundredth time you are scrolling in your head the same memories and questions, switch your attention to any subject. Lift a stone from the ground, consider it, note the color, texture, weight, twist in your hands, think what it looks like. Instead of a stone, you can use any other object – a key, a leaf from a tree, anything that comes to hand. It is important to concentrate on contemplation. In a few minutes, the gloomy thoughts will recede.

Sport

This is not psychology, and pure physiology – during exercise, like them or not, the brain produces endorphins – hormones of happiness and joy, the lack of which provokes depression.

Create

Art therapy is a whole section of psychotherapy. Creativity really helps to cope with depression. Any result of creative work increases self-esteem, while the process itself is important. But the artistic value does not matter much.

Do not hold emotion in itself

The demands to “pull myself together“,”keep the blow” and “do not get unstuck“, as we have said, only drive a person into an even deeper depression. Pent-up emotions are like a bomb exploding inside. Even healthy people, who keep everything in themselves, pay for their apparent composure with neuroses and psychosomatic diseases. If you want to cry-cry, I want to scream-scream, I want to rampage-beat the sofa cushion.

Please yourself

Start to keep a diary in which you will celebrate all the pleasant moments, even if they were very fleeting and insignificant. Pay attention to what pleases you most often, and strive for it.

Endogenous depression is a mental disorder, the classic signs of which are:

• Depressed, sad mood;
• Motor and mental retardation;
• Irrational anxiety;
• Slow thinking speed;
• Depersonalization;
• Decreased appetite;
• Sleep disturbance;
• Suicidal tendencies.

The state of the persons suffering from this disorder are characterized as depressed with a hopeless, oppressive melancholy. Although patients separate their feelings from the natural sadness and sadness, they can not explain what specific differences are endowed with the emotions they experience. Symptoms of the disease-pronounced and intense in strength manifestations, it has a strong painful effect on patients, forcing a radical change in the usual way of life.

Anxiety in endogenous depression manifests itself depending on the severity of the disorder in different ways: from the sense of inevitability of a catastrophic event with vegetative symptoms to agitation-anxiety numbness, reaching a state of complete stupor. Moreover, patients often can not distinguish between the state of panic anxiety and debilitating anguish, since these feelings merge together with the disease and they are characterized by stagnant pathological affects.

Endogenous depression occurs without the presence of external circumstances and outside influence, not depending on what happened or the present events in the life of the individual. No favorable moments: positive news, pleasant events, activities that bring normal pleasure, do not affect the mood and well-being of the person. People suffering from endogenous depression are not characterized by crying, but they are completely absorbed in the painful ideas of self-criticism, self-blame and self-abasement. That is, given these facts, the experts distinguish a disease from a psychogenic disorder and are diagnosed with endogenous depression.

A feature of endogenous depression, occurring in a mild form, is the daily cycle of mood changes, when after waking up in the morning, a person feels the maximum peak of a sad mood, while in the evening the feeling is slightly softened. In severe form of the disease there is a syndrome of” perversion of the daily rhythm”, when in the afternoon there is a noticeable decrease in mood, increased anxiety.

An important indicator for the diagnosis of endogenous depression is a pronounced mental retardation: slowing down the speed of thinking, the pace of speech. Sick for a long time to comprehend the information received, they require a much longer time than normal to formulate their answers and to describe the arisen thought. Persons suffering from the disorder note that their thoughts and decisions have become illogical, inconsistent, arise slowly with a tremendous effort of will. In contrast to asthenic States, the slowdown in the rate of speech is observed throughout the dialogue with the patient. Constant and constant is the decrease in motor activity-patients describe feelings of fatigue, lack of strength and energy, fatigue, which do not disappear even after a long rest.

Even in the presence of all these manifestations, endogenous depression often remains without due attention, most patients do not consider themselves sick and, accordingly, do not apply to a psychotherapist in a timely manner. This is due to the fact that in this disorder there are no visible external causes, there are almost always no bodily ailments, somatic manifestations are rare and non – intensive.

“Dreary” depression can be both an independent mental illness, and can act as one of the phases in the course of bipolar disorder (manic-depressive psychosis).

The leading place in the formation of prerequisites for endogenous depression belongs to the internal hereditary-genetic, biochemical and organ-somatic factors, that is, the main reason for the occurrence of the disorder lies in the individual characteristics of the human body. In most patients with this diagnosis, hereditary severity of various mental disorders is recorded. Very rarely, the onset of the disease is provoked by a strong negative or positive stress factor, but quite quickly the connection of low mood with a stressful event is lost.

Endogenous depression is classified as a severe depressive disorder with no psychotic symptoms. Despite the severe course of the disease, these diseases are attributed to the predicted favorable, as amenable to successful treatment with drugs (antidepressants).

The complexity of the treatment of this disorder is the absence of a real problem, as it is not clear what to fight and what should be corrected. Endogenous depression is associated with a high risk of suicide, and thoughts of suicide do not depend on the severity of the disorder.

Causes of endogenous depression

This disease belongs to the so-called predisposition disease, since the main factor in the presence of predisposition to the occurrence of the disorder is genetic heredity. The transfer of” inherited ” adaptive resources of the body and the feature of the regulation of the level of mediators: serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine. When genetic pathology is a shortage of these chemicals controls mood. Despite this hereditary predisposition, a person staying in a favorable psycho-emotional environment may not suffer from depressive disorders.

Also, the lack of a number of important chemicals in the body can be provoked by the peculiarities of the diet, natural age-related changes. Thus, the lack of amino acids L-Tryptophan, L-Tyrosine, L-Glycine and L-Glutamine significantly reduces the body’s resistance to stress factors and is a factor in the inevitable development of depressive disorders.

The trigger for the development of endogenous depression can be external factors such as:

• the traumatic event,
• chronic somatic diseases,
• pathology of the Central nervous system,
• taking some medications.

Subsequently, a secondary depressive episode can occur independently, without external influence.

Symptoms

A typical endogenous depression is represented by a triad of Kremelin-a classic triad of the main symptoms: depressed mood, slow thinking, motor retardation.

• The leading symptom and specific feature of this disorder is Hypo – MIA-pathological vital depression. Such a protopathic nature of longing is inseparable from the physical sensations experienced by patients and brings the strongest bodily suffering. Many people suffering from the disorder can accurately localize their feelings in a certain area (usually in the chest, head, neck). Moreover, patients clearly differentiate the sensation of pain, characteristic of somatic diseases and experiences associated with real causes.
• Typical primary symptom acts and ideational (mental) braking. Even being in an emergency, extremely responsible situation, the patient is not able to quickly make the necessary decision, willpower accelerating the thought process.
• With endogenous depression, motor retardation looks characteristic: the patient forms a kind of facial expression, the so-called “face of melancholy”, giving an expression characteristic of elderly people. Often, motor braking reaches the maximum degree of numbness, when the patient is in a depressed stupor. Occasionally, against the background of complete retardation, patients experience a sudden, unexplained and uncontrolled attack of despair, accompanied by intense motor excitation, up to the probability of self-harm.
• With a depressive episode, the phenomena of depersonalization and anhedony often appear. Many patients note the appearance of a painful sensation, in which there are no emotions and desires and there is a sense of change in their own “I”. Often there is a derealization of what is happening: patients perceive what is happening unreal, dark, faded, there is a feeling of slowing down time.

Although expressed depressed mood may be accompanied by secondary (affectogenimap) symptoms – delusions, depression, in patients suffering from endogenous depression, there is a prevailing belief in his guilt, insignificance, hopelessness of the future. This disorder brings to public attention the most important human fears: concerns about the healing of the body, salvation of the soul, material goods. These primary fears form the typical delusional symptoms: hypochondriacal ideas, ideas of sin, ideas of self-accusation and self-abasement.

In severe involutional melancholia is clearly manifested stereotypical anxiety-delusional syndrome: depressed mood, morose state of alarming agitation, fear, verbal illusions, delusions conviction. Without adequate treatment is the formation of irrational phobic anxiety with continuing anxiety, constant agitated state and manifest a variety of manifestations of delusional experiences in the form of inevitability of punishment and death, hypochondriac moods, ideas of suicide. Typical hypochondriacal delusions stands particularly imaginative whimsicality, absurdity and irrationality of the content.

As a rule, having reached its peak, endogenous depression provokes the formation of a mental defect called “depressive weakness“, which is characterized by a decrease in mental and motor activity, constant depression of mood, decrease in emotional and sensitive resonance, a variety of violations in the intellectual sphere.

Melancholy depression affects the supply of human vitality and energy, and awareness of this fact causes the person the most concern. The vital symptoms include:

• Excessive fatigue;
• Severe apathy;
• Inability to carry out volitional efforts in the usual volume;
• Sleep disorders: too early awakening, alternating with problems falling asleep;
• Appetite disorders and disorders of the digestive system: lack of appetite or, conversely, excessive appetite, constipation, nausea, weight loss or weight gain;
• Problems with concentration;
• Pain of somatovegetative nature: “pressing” or “squeezing” pain in the chest, neck, head;
• Lack of sex drive, loss of libido, inability to reach orgasm;
• A sense of irrational fear, panic attacks;
• Mood swings depending on the time of day.

For this disorder is characterized by a decrease in response to events, detachment from the surrounding reality, the immunity of information from the outside. In the physiological aspect, the decrease in reactivity is manifested in the absence of appropriate reactions after taking standard doses of drugs.

Treatment of endogenous depression

The basis of treatment of endogenous depression is the use of drug therapy. In this disease, antidepressants are usually used. The choice and dosage of the drug occurs on an individual basis, taking into account the personal characteristics of the patient and based on the presence and severity of symptoms.

Against the background of drug therapy, there is a gradual disappearance of symptoms. After 2-3 weeks from the start of taking antidepressants, motor and mental retardation decreases, while depressed mood, delusional formations and suicidal thoughts/attempts are still preserved. Therefore, the use of antidepressants should be carried out until the complete disappearance of all manifestations of the disease, since the sudden cessation of treatment is fraught with deterioration of the patient’s condition and a return to a deeper depressive state.

Along with antidepressants for the treatment and prevention of endogenous depression is used that group of drug. Long, continuous use of these drugs helps to stabilize mood and prevents the emergence of new depressive episodes.

Psychotherapy is carried out only as a secondary addition to drug therapy. Modern psychotherapeutic techniques help to identify and eliminate the true cause of the disorder, to form a new model of response to stressful situations, to correct personal assessment. However, without the help of antidepressants, it is impossible to restore the metabolism and concentration of neurotransmitters impaired in endogenous depression.

Persons predisposed to this mental disorder, it is necessary to periodically carry out preventive measures, to avoid excessive mental stress, to observe the regime of work and rest, not to abuse alcoholic beverages, to adhere to a healthy diet.

Many use the word “depression” to describe bad mood, sadness, or simply to say that they are not in the spirit. When a specialist uses the word “depression” – he means clinical depression – major depressive disorder (BDR).

Major depressive disorder (BDR): a condition in which the feeling of sadness is much stronger than usual and lasts longer than usual. In addition, there is a loss of interest and pleasure.

People suffering from depression experience difficulties in daily functioning. Difficulties also arise at work. Very often they are not interested in the proximity of family and friends. They feel desperate and useless.

There are different types of depression of varying severity: postpartum depression, seasonal depression, mild depression, and clinical depression (BDR).

Depression can be expressed as symptoms on both psychological and physical levels.

Symptom of Depression

Symptoms of depression are individual and manifest in each person differently. Not all of the following symptoms should be present in depression. There are also additional symptoms, not listed below, that may be present in depression.

• • Reduced mood.
  • Loss of pleasure.
  • Obsessive occupation of guilt and self-abasement.
  • Feeling helpless and desperate and self-loathing.
  • Deterioration of memory and ability to concentrate.
  • Removal from social activity.
  • Problems in the sexual sphere.
  • Disturbed sleep.
  • Low or increased appetite.
  • Thoughts of death or suicide.
  • Various physical symptoms such as fatigue, apathy, headaches and digestive problems.
  • In certain cases, delusions and/or hallucinations (usually auditory hallucinations) may be present.

  Risk Factors for Depression

  In most cases, it is not about one single cause leading to depression, but a combination of several causes.

  The following are causes that increase the risk of depression:

  • Heredity.
  • Early trauma, such as abuse, separation, or neglect.
  • Deterioration of physical condition.
  • Chronic pain due to injury, accident or illness.
  • Separation and loss.
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder or its complications.
  • Old age or widowhood, especially among men.
  • Previous mental disorders.
  • Adaptive response to changes in status, place of residence, especially in people with dependent personality.
  • Various physical ailments such as Parkinson’s and fibromyalgia.

  The thoughts of a depressed person can be dark and unpleasant, accompanied by a sense of failure, low self-esteem, and despair. These thoughts and feelings are accompanied by anxiety and reduced functioning – relative to the expectations of others, or his own.

  And yet, there is good news – there is what to do and who to turn to.

  Professional Help

  Psychological treatment from an independent practitioner: private treatment (psychotherapeutic treatment, psychiatric treatment, etc.) from an independent practitioner, through a health insurance Fund or in private.

  Psychological treatment in a polyclinic: includes psychiatric consultation, psychiatric treatment, recommendations to family members, etc.Treatment is carried out in psychiatric clinics of hospital offices, in public clinics of the Ministry of Health, in clinics at hospitals or in private clinics.

  Day hospital: a day hospital is a “transit point” between living in the community and hospitalization in the hospital and Vice versa. The treatment is very intensive: about 6 hours a day are different types of treatment-psychotherapy, group therapy, occupational therapy, etc.

  Hospitalization in a psychiatric hospital: designed for severe cases in which staying at home is impossible because of the risk (both for the patient and for others), because of reckless behavior or the need for continuous care.

  Selfhelp

  A person who is depressed is very difficult to find the strength to take care of himself. But if a person takes an active role in the treatment and goes to concrete actions, it will help to improve his condition.

  Care and self-care

  Quality sleep: most people with depression sleep either very little or very much. Quality sleep can significantly improve mood and increase the amount of energy during the day.
  Balanced diet: a varied and enriched diet will help to improve health, add clarity of thinking and increase the amount of energy in the body.

  Medication: taking medication on time and in the doses recommended by your doctor may help to improve mood and will be a palliative, complementary treatment to psychotherapeutic and/or group treatment.

  Sports: simple sports such as yoga, walking and swimming will help to improve your mood.
  Hygiene: when people suffer from depression, hygiene can become an impossible task. Regular bathing and comfortable, neat clothes can greatly improve the inner feeling.

  Introduce good habits

  Focus on positive things: make a list of actions, people and places that cause a feeling of happiness and well-being. You can choose from a list of things that are already being done, or you can do them every day. Most likely, it is impossible to do everything that is written in the list every day, but you can try to enter those things that can be done daily in the daily routine. At this point, this list may look pointless, but in the future it can become a source of ideas and lead to the understanding that all situations are transient and there is nothing that would remain unchanged.

  Be sensitive to yourself: no need for criticism or self-flagellation, if something did not work, or plans are not implemented. In addition, you can try to apply to yourself all that you would advise a friend, whether he is in your situation.

  Show Activity

  To join any group: the group in Matnas (community center), a community group with those closest to you in spirit and interests, sign up for a program or club. It’s important to find something you like to do to increase motivation.

  Trying new things: Hobbies, course, studies and new experiences can improve mood and prevent negative thoughts and actions.

  Volunteering: being able to do something for others directly affects the inner feeling and the feeling of loneliness. There are organizations and various structures such as medical facilities, matney, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, factories and museums, looking for people who want to help.

  Set real goals: it is important to set real and independent goals: dress up in the morning, swim, walk around the neighborhood on your own or prepare food. Achieving these goals improves mood, gives confidence and encourages the establishment of the following goals.

  Effect not mood

  Mood observation: for some time, mood observation provides an opportunity to see a picture of changes in feelings and shows that the number of good days is greater than it may seem. This review will show the real picture that not everything is permanent and that there are activities, people and places that improve mood.

  Use imagination: imagination gives you the opportunity to plunge into the memories of good emotions and pleasant places. You can even imagine a future experience or a place you would like to visit. This method helps to understand that there are things that improve our health.

  Development of social relations and interpersonal relations

  Stay in touch: if you feel like you do not want to see anyone, you can send a message or contact by e-mail with family, friends or acquaintances.

  Communication: it is difficult to start talking about your feelings and feelings, but many people say that they feel better after they share their impressions and experiences.

  Join a support group: participating in support group meetings is a great opportunity to listen to people who are or have been in a similar situation and get information from them. Information on support groups on the topic of depression can be obtained through Internet searches, access to health insurance Fund or mental health stations.

  Getting support via the Internet: professional support via the Internet can help in cases where a person cannot or cannot ask for help. Professional forums or chat rooms, such as ERAN (Rishon Ezra navset – psychological first aid) or MOTHER – Kehilat briut hanefesh – society for mental health can provide first aid.

  Advice to family and friends of a depressed person

  Talk about bad mood and depression: it is difficult for most people to talk about their health and what is happening to them. It is necessary to remain open, talk about depression or about mixed feelings. This way, your friend or close relative who is depressed will feel more comfortable telling you what is happening to him.

  Advise to apply and send for professional assistance: a close friend or relative can be those who will provide assistance and support – both in everyday life and in applying for professional help. Talking over a Cup of coffee or a slow walk around the house can improve your mood, help to trust a friend or relative and lead to a decision, finding a way out of the situation and strength. It is impossible to force a person to ask for help if he is not interested in it, but it is possible to listen, calm, encourage to ask for help and remind that this opportunity always exists.

  Staying in touch: it is sometimes difficult for a depressed person to stay in touch and keep in touch, so his friends and family should try to stay in touch with him. Text messages or phone conversations can mean a lot to him and remind him what they think about him.

  Take care of yourself: caring for another person affects our feelings. Close family and friends can also receive support and guidance and participate in suitable support groups.

When in quite recent times I consulted in 33 hospitals (figuratively speaking, in fact, there were only 4 of them), I was always in some confrontation with somatic doctors for mental disorders. I wrote about it more than once. The fact is that when a person is “fooled”, all immediately begin to claim that he has schizophrenia and he urgently needs to be transferred to a mental hospital. This is the easiest solution and the existence of symptomatic (due to somatic diseases) and pharmacogenic psychoses do not want to believe. It’s not that the doctors are wrong (although they are also wrong). The development of psychosis or any mental side effects of the plan largely depends on the person – from it’s genetics, comorbidities, status of the brain, and the fact that he’s Chiharu takes (or relatives give him) for a speedy recovery. This was one such episode in my life when I consulted Granny with long-term current psychosis and prescribed her a course of Seroquel in a small dose. Two days she was very much nothing, and the third daughter, remembering my colorful stories about the impact of high pressure on the brain, decided to “treat” the pressure. You don’t think of your daughters as anything, just for the best of reasons. They gave her 3 full clonidine pills for 12 hours. Granny dropped the pressure from her working systolic (upper) 180 to 70. Against the background of such a deafening effect, the phenomena of psychosis not only returned, but also intensified. Relatives were to understand about the “poisonous” medicine, which “not only does not help, but also does worse.” In their understanding of clonidine-generally mint tablet, from which no harm, but only benefit.

So that’s what I’m saying. I’m talking about the fact that there are a whole bunch of somatic drugs that can cause psychiatric side effects. Note that it is not disease, and the effects. That is, when a person stops taking them or goes to another group of drugs then everything becomes normal with him. So if a person started taking a new drug and” screwed up ” do not hurry to write it in schizophrenics.

In fact, drugs, the list of side effects which include mental disorders, is large enough. Their 65%. All list it for a long time, but we can identify individual groups that are most often the cause of mental side effects.

Beta-blockers

– Affect the nervous system. Some of them also cause mental disorders. Depends on what? All drugs can be divided into 2 groups of water-soluble and fat-soluble. Water-soluble excreted by the kidneys and hardly penetrate the brain. The brain loves fat-soluble drugs, they penetrate well through the blood-brain barrier. Therefore, less water soluble atenolol penetrates into brain tissue than fat-soluble metoprolol and propranolol. If you compare the concentration of water and fat-soluble drugs in the brain, the latter will be there 20 times more. Therefore, in terms of side effects metoprolol and propranolol are the most likely candidates. They can cause drug delirium and psychosis. In addition, their side effects are associated with sedation, nightmares, depression. In 1967, it was reported that more than 50% of patients taking propranolol may experience dysphoria ( a maliciously dreary mood) and depression, with symptoms that may occur and become acute and increase gradually. However, the question of depression caused by drugs in this group remains open. There are studies confirming this plunging position, as well as refuting it.

ACE inhibitors

– This group also affects the Central nervous system. From 4 to 8% of patients experience a state of some activation or excitation. 2% of patients stop taking the drug due to side effects of the mental plan. They include anxiety, mania (high spirits), insomnia, weakness, paresthesia (crawling), and hallucinations. Sedation occurs in 5% of patients. Although in General the drug itself slightly improves mood, there were cases of depression caused by drugs in this group. Also described are cases of psychosis that occurred during the administration of ACE inhibitors.

Clonidine

– Is a Central alpha agonist, i.e. it acts on the alpha-adrenergic system of the brain, exciting it. This system is responsible for the regulation of awakening, as well as plays a role in the development of depression and anxiety. More than 1/3 of patients (35%) taking clonidine experience drowsiness and sedation, 3% anxiety, 1% depression and the same amount of insomnia. States of confusion, delirium, hypomania or psychosis occur in less than 1% of cases.

Nitrates

– Cause delirium, psychosis with delirium, anxiety, motor anxiety, hypomania.

Digoxin

– Can cause hillside-induced encephalopathy, which is characterized by sedation, apathy, depression and psychosis. In this case, patients can develop psychosis, even if the level of the drug in the blood is within normal limits.

Statins (Cholesterol-reducing drugs)

– Can cause depression and increase the risk of suicide, although opinions on this are not clear.

Corticosteroid hormones

– Most often affect mood, to a lesser extent they develop delirium. Among other side effects include drowsiness, insomnia, euphoria, depression, psychosis, personality changes, anxiety, motor anxiety. Overall, more than 18% of patients undergoing therapy drugs in a dose of 80 mg per day develop mental symptoms. Among those who received prednisone for the treatment of asthma, many found signs of mania (painfully high mood). However, among those who were depressed before the start of therapy, the condition did not deteriorate. On the contrary, persons with previous treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder have noted such deterioration in themselves. In General, it was noted that during short courses of therapy with corticosteroids, mania occurs, with prolonged depression. Side effects occur during the first 2 weeks from the start of therapy. In severe cases, when hormones can’t be reversed patients assigned to concomitant therapy with psychotropic drugs. It is assumed that women have a higher risk of developing mental complications, but not all studies confirm this.

Anabolic steroids

– Have limited medical use, but are actively used by bodybuilders and similar citizens to increase muscle mass. These drugs are dangerous in terms of the development of acute delirium (paranoid), delirium, mania, euphoria, attacks of rage, aggression, significant mood swings and irritability. The effects depend on the dose. The higher it is, the greater the risk of such complications.

Gonadotropins

– According to some uncertain data cause depression, but the data are not accurate.

Hormonal contraceptives

– In addition, there is evidence that estrogens on the contrary cause mood enhancement. But there are several works on this account, which contradict each other.

Antibiotics

– Often cause side effects on the mental plane. Penicillins can cause depression, anxiety and hallucinations. Cephalosporins cause delirium, especially in patients with concomitant kidney disease. Jainology such as ciprofloxacin and ofloxacin, less than 1% of cases cause anxiety, irritability, drowsiness, tremors, insomnia, mania, psychosis, depression, seizures and catatonia. Also, mental disorders can occur during the reception of sulfonamides, tetracycline, etc. However, the most well-known in terms of the development of mental disorders anti-tuberculosis drug isoniazid. During therapy with this drug, delirium, mania, depression and psychosis occur.

Antiviral drugs

– Especially when administered intravenously can cause drowsiness, anxiety, hallucinations and delirium. The same disorder can cause another drug for the treatment of herpetic infection-foscarnet. Didanosine, a drug for the treatment of HIV causes drowsiness in 5-7% of patients, 2% depression, delirium and anxiety, 25% mood instability, 1% delusional disorders.

Tablets “from a cold”

– As a rule, contain a number of drugs of various kinds and can provoke atropine-like psychoses with confusion, disorientation, hallucinations of a frightening character. The data is particularly dangerous in patients receiving antidepressant group of MAO inhibitors.

Stomach pills.

– The most common are proton pump inhibitors (omez) and H2 – antagonists (famotidine, ranitidine, etc.) Although the side effects ( confusion, depression, motor anxiety, hallucinations) from these drugs are widely known, especially in elderly patients with liver and kidney failure, they occur only in 0,2%. However, it is necessary to know that these effects may occur not immediately, but after a time. So when taking ranitidine, they can occur for 4-8 weeks of treatment, cimetidine 2-3 weeks ( excluding delirium, which can occur after 24-48 hours). All symptoms are usually resolved self after 3 days after discontinuation of the drug. In addition it should be borne in mind that discontinuation of ranitidine cimetidine may experience a withdrawal syndrome characterized by anxiety, insomnia and irritability. You should also know. That cimetidine increases the concentration of tricyclic antidepressants in the blood, and increases their toxicity.

Tablets “analgesics”

– Perhaps, the most popular group of drugs in the masses, which are taken without a doctor’s prescription. They can cause quite serious side effects, such as mania, psychosis, depression and delirium in the elderly. The last complication occurs frequently on ketorol.

Well, that’s the list. The list is not for you to throw out all the pills that are included in it and not for you to give up the treatment that was prescribed to you. Taking many drugs is vital, and a person can not live without them. And to if you or your family something happens in terms of you need to pay attention to what drugs a person takes at the moment. Canceling the drug or replacing it with another leads to a significant improvement in a short period of time. If such a replacement is not possible, then additional treatment with psychotropic drugs is prescribed. And most importantly. Be careful with self-medication. Some tablets can aboutits. I’m talking about the abuse of non-addictive drugs.

The collection of articles by the outstanding psychotherapist A. Langle is devoted to one of the most topical issues of practical psychology, psychotherapy and psychiatry – depression. At the heart of existential-analytical work with depressed people lies the phenomenological understanding of depression as a loss of experience of the value of life. The process of therapy includes a series of successive steps that lead to work with the deep roots of depression – with a violation of the fundamental relationship with life.

At the heart of existential-analytical work with depressed people lies the phenomenological understanding of depression as a loss of experience of the value of life. The process of therapy includes a series of successive steps that lead to work with the deep roots of depression – with a violation of the fundamental relationship with life.

In the process of treatment, patients must find new ground by recreating the ability to feel the fundamental value of life and the formation of a new attitude (mainly in the process of therapeutic relationships and experiencing sadness). This goal involves a number of preparatory and accompanying actions aimed at softening, “melting” the blocking structures of the psyche that have solidified in depressive suffering and opening the Person for the process of change.

Existential Understanding of Depression

From the point of view of existential analysis, depression is a mental disorder whose severity is determined by the degree of disruption of the experience of the value of life. Depression as a mental disorder has a more or less pronounced (primary or secondary) somatic part. In addition, it harms the personal dimension, influencing attitudes and attitudes towards both the external world and the internal, as well as the ability to make decisions, the spiritual experience of the world and of oneself. Thus, depression affects all dimensions of a person: physical, mental and personal.

Specific in a depressive disorder is that the correlation with the realities of the world and with itself (primarily with the body) as such remains virtually intact. The main disorder concerns a personal measurement. The ability to perceive the value of everything that previously filled the life of a person with joy and gave meaning to it is lost. What usually pleased a person, that he experienced as a pleasant, provocative interest, fades, loses the paint. This phenomenon is known in psychotherapy as “negative affizierbarkeit”. Its existential analogue is the depletion of “spiritual food” and the loss of the ability to experience values. It’s about the content that makes our life full, causing a sense of fulfillment. These contents make our relations attractive to us, creating a desire to preserve them as long as possible. Values ​​have an animating, reinforcing and nutritional impact on both the Person and the human psyche in general. Through the experience of value, relationships are established with a deep structure of existence – with life itself. At its core, depression is a failure that a person has suffered in comprehending the value of life.

So, we can say that with depression, relations with the fundamental value of life, the ability to feel and experience it are violated.

Therapy of Depression

Existential-analytical therapy for depression should begin at all levels: at the level of relationships, on the cognitive, emotional, somatic, biographical and social levels, and this is being done today in many psychotherapeutic approaches. We are most interested in the existential nucleus.

A) In existential analysis in the treatment of depression, special attention is paid to therapeutic relationships. They must be imbued with a warm, understanding and accepting feeling. Active appeal to the patient and his trouble, empathic feeling is important because communication with the therapist represents a new contact with life, through which the patient can keep warm, and the frozen regulatory structures can “thaw”. Thus, next to the therapist, the patient acquires the opportunity to resume relationships with life. The therapist becomes like the representative of life itself, while, due to active treatment in the process of therapy, he is more likely to meet the patient than the real life in the situation of depressive retreat is capable of.

B) Address to the present and division of tasks. The depressed patient largely lives in the past. He has little actual relationship, which allows him to establish intimacy with life, all his relationships are mostly distant. To judge what life is, he can only observe others, and not on the basis of his own experience. Such a distance in relation to life disrupts its formation under specific conditions of daily life. The structure of the day, rest periods, sleep deserve special attention on the part of the therapist, since all these moments facilitate the unloading of patients. It is especially important to find out whether the patient is referring emotionally to what he is doing. Supporting the patient’s intentions to retain the ability to perform even small tasks gives him the opportunity to establish relationships with life.

C) Work on cognitive structures and misidentification. This step is not specific to existential analysis. We are talking about the disclosure and realization of “closed circles of thinking” – generalizations, generalizations of the type “always”, “never”, “all”, etc., leading to exhaustion.

D) Mobilization of personal resources and exercise in determining their position. Specific existential-analytical methods are used here, in particular, work with the central personal ability – to find and occupy one’s own position.

Self-distancing

• in relation to feelings (for example, “feelings are now frozen, but I will not allow this state to determine my behavior”);
• in relation to expectations (for example, expecting a feeling of indispensable joy from the fact that a person does something).

We are trying to develop with patients personal ways of dealing with negative feelings and such painful conditions as lack of joy. This is important, because under normal conditions, joy helps us, denoting the areas where we are closest to life. A depressed person who, when performing an activity, can not be more happy, will also perceive this fact as his own failure. As a result, there can be a gradual increase, an escalation of the negative: a person will begin to feel sad that he can not rejoice, he can not find joy for himself in anything. In therapy, one should take into account the possibility of such an injection of a negative. It is possible to alleviate the patient’s condition, if one draws his attention to the fact that during the period of “black and white cinema” (the metaphor of depression) the expectation that the feeling of joy will come to life, as soon as the conditions appear, is hardly justified. He should focus more on cognitive knowledge (the first fundamental motivation), on the intuitive sense of what is right and what is not (the third fundamental motivation), but not on the deficit feeling (the second fundamental motivation). Thus, the patient releases himself from the expectations of positive emotions and at the same time from the destructive feeling that he should rejoice, but he can not. The rupture of the vicious circle “Depression through depression” is an important element of depression therapy (work on the position).

Self-acceptance

Here it is a matter of seriously considering what you are doing, or being out of the case. It is important to establish that the action itself, too, has value, which, most likely, is more significant than it seems. Depressive patients tend to depreciate all their own (deeds, the results of their actions, dignities, etc.) or either perceive as the norm (“it should be so”), while they lose their openness to the value they really possess.

For example, if someone says that he likes to draw, but does not practice drawing, but constantly sits in front of the TV, then this may mean that watching TV for a person at this stage is more important than drawing, but he does not realize it himself. If the intrinsic value is determined for a person by the perfectionist ideas about himself as an artist, then this kind of pastime will inevitably lead to a fiasco (“I did not take place as an artist …”). In such cases, in the treatment of depression, it should be about promoting self-acceptance of the person and putting an end to attacks of daily self-depreciation. A depressed person believes that he is not engaged in important things, but is wasting his time on something insignificant: in fact, from the point of view of culture, it is more important to draw and do art, and what he is doing now does not cost anything at all. However, does not television represent a particular value for a depressed person? Perhaps, due to this source of information, he has a growing sense of closeness to real life, as a result of which the sense of loneliness loses its former acuteness? And is not this value existentially more significant than the universally recognized, but not capable of warming the soul?

If any value is a real reason for preferring a particular action, then a real evaluation will occur daily, which makes it preferable. Meanwhile, the occupation of a position in relation to this real assessment in a depressed person is usually absent or the evaluation does not correlate with the possible value that “wrong action” has, because rigid normative thinking does not allow anything like this. When a person openly admits the possible value of a rejected action, a reconciliation with oneself takes place, and the stress associated with devaluation goes away.

Personal position finding (Personale Positionsfindung – PP)

The purpose of this method is to translate the depressive “primary emotion” into an “integrated emotion”. This attempt is carried out using three steps, each of which is briefly described below by typical questions:

PP1 – position in relation to the outside world (“position outside”): What really happens? Is this really so? How do I know about this?

PP2 – position in relation to the inner world (“position inside”): If it is really so that I will lose? Could I have stood it at least once?

PP3 – position in relation to the positive: What is it for me in this situation? What for me personally is important, valuable in a broader life context?

E) Recycling the feeling that you have failed. It is necessary to find out the inability to do something and, starting from here, go through depressive feelings right up to the positive core, due to which the negative turns into a positive one: “Is there a strong side in what I consider to be weakness?” – “Is it really that I I consider incapacity, is that, or is there also an opportunity to Stand for Myself? “. Thanks to such work, an understanding of the intentions of behavior occurs and relationships with one’s own life are established.

For example, a patient with a depressive disorder comes to the reception. The reason for the visit was that she recently again found herself on something “incapable”. She accepted the invitation of her friends to sit over a cup of coffee, reached the house of one of them, where they decided to meet, was about to press the bell button, but at the last moment suddenly changed her mind and returned home. There she closed herself from everyone and indulged in depressive feelings and thoughts. She felt like she was not a capable loser. This feeling was further enhanced by the fact that she did not even call her friends to apologize.

“The inability to do something” we worked through using a phenomenological approach: what moved it when she decided to accept the invitation and go to her friend? For what reason did she not press the bell button? Why did not I call my friends when I got home? We sought to discover the hidden value of her actions. As a result of the search, it turned out that at the moment when she had to press the bell button, she was overwhelmed by the feeling that she could not meet her friends because she was depressed. She thought that would deprive them of joy if she came with such a mood. Now it became clear to her that she turned and left her for good reason – she wanted to protect her friends. In other words, she returned home because of her love for her close people. By understanding their own intentions, a sense of inability, failure, disappeared. And in relation to her depressive feelings she was now in a personal position. With her seemingly ridiculous act, she followed the values ​​that were extremely important for her: to give her friends a friendly service, not to spoil the joy of meeting them, not to burden them with the burden of their problems. The patient left the session with a feeling of relief and in her own way moved. In the wilds of depressive feelings she was able to meet and accept herself.

F) Conversion of feelings of guilt and concretization of responsibility. Depressive feelings of guilt are determined, on the one hand, by a diffuse sense of responsibility in which to clarify the real content, the true responsibility or the actual guilt. On the other hand, it comes from an overestimation of value, which also requires a critical attitude and revision.

In addition, a depressed person is inclined to fill in “emptiness”, so he makes excessive demands on himself and thereby contributes to the emergence of frustration. No one can be responsible for the feelings of others, for example, whether the mother or father is happy or unhappy. However, a depressed person feels responsible and at the same time incapable of doing anything and guilty, thereby burdening and draining himself.

G) Work on relationships. Exercise in the receiving unit in relation to values. Motto: “Doing something good for yourself every day!”. Rejecting, devaluating attitude towards oneself and the associated loss of relations with one’s own life should be reviewed and revised. Thanks to the daily exercise, concrete, decisive actions, a new life-affirming experience is acquired.

To implement this program in practice, the patient is offered the following thesis: “Nothing can be good if it is not good for me, either.” At this stage, work is carried out with blockades of value, with a perception of value, with traumatizations or losses. Lack of vitality in endogenous depression requires a special approach to treatment, for which specific steps have been developed in the existential analysis. The ability to notice and prevent depletion is also important, so the patient learns to take preventive measures.

H) Deep therapy aimed at restoring the ability to experience a fundamental value, the process of experiencing sadness as the main condition for the therapy of depression. Preparatory work at the level of values ​​precedes a deep level of existential-analytical therapy. At this level, working with the patient is to uncover and make tangible what led to the construction of a negative attitude toward life. It is divided into phases of anger, sadness and resource mobilization by further working out the attitudes and values ​​of patients.

It is obvious that if a patient is asked about whether it is good that he is and how he feels about the question “Do you like to live?”, This will affect the painful aspects of his life. The deepest point of existential-analytic therapy of depressions is seen in laying the foundation for a new patient’s attitude toward life. At the same time, it is very important to help him realize that this new attitude follows from the source of personal life, which is born in the premonition and feeling of Being here.

We can assume that the goal is achieved if we come to “Yes” in relation to life – a position that is not taken on a rational, but on a deeply felt emotional basis. Such an acquisition of a personal position occurs after an understanding of the value of life, to which the patient can reopen. He gets access to it thanks to new installations and experience. And then on the basis of a new solution, he can rise above depressive feelings, for depression in our understanding is a loss of existential fundamental motivation and an active component of personal action. The most important thing is that painful experiences make one forget how important and necessary is the appeal to life and life values. To regain this ability is helped by experiencing sadness, and sometimes – anger. Thanks to these feelings, a person again begins to feel the power of life within him: a power of tears that brings relief, or a strengthening and defending force of aggression.

Therapy of Suicidality

Suicidality is a common phenomenon in depression. If one imagines that for a long time a person has to live under the unbearable burden of depression, losing strength, suffering from an inability to act, from feeling deficient, lacking something, from feeling guilty, having lost desire and joy of life, prospects and hope, then suicidal trends can be understood. From the existential-analytical point of view, we consider the desire to deprive ourselves of life as a symptom that corresponds to an internal attitude toward life. If you consider that a depressed person values ​​his life, as if not worth it, as a burden to others, and therefore – as a source of insuperable guilt, then suicidal seems a logical consequence and even an honest expression of the experience. This negative assessment of one’s own life (in the existential analysis we call it “negative fundamental value”) leads not only to negative feelings, but also to a personal attitude that contains a solution against life. Therefore, suicidality in itself is not a disease, but a person’s decision taken in connection with a disease. The decision to realize what he thinks and feels, that is, to follow his psychic reality and his conviction. It is an act that appears to him to be truly moral within the framework of his relationship.

There are three grounds that can deter a depressed person from a self-destructive intention: a positive inner attitude toward life, fear and lack of power. The latter is especially characteristic for the middle of severe depressive phases. Therefore suicidality in the acute form is most often manifested at the beginning and at the end of the depressive phase, when the patient has enough strength to realize his intention. At the end of the phase, the risk is particularly high, because no one is waiting for suicide at this time – after all, the patient externally feels better: the negative feelings have largely receded, activity and enterprise have become more noticeable. And yet there is no basic – the reinforcement of the affirming attitude towards life. Retreat visible externally depressive feelings and lack of activity, but in the depths still remains and operates a gloomy, life rejecting life.

Let’s consider briefly the positive internal attitude towards life as the most powerful defense against suicide. It can stem from a deep belief in the value of life and rational knowledge that it is just a temporary shortage of neurotransmitters in the brain or in a mental state that corresponds to the loss of existential value and has not been personally developed, etc. Knowing the causes of a depressed state is important in order to maintain the conviction that life still has value. Persuasion is an attitude, a general solution to the fundamental value of life. Usually such a conviction is accompanied by memories of the former life, about the time when it had a positive value, which means that life has other sides that can not be seen at the moment.

Another form of inner positive attitude toward life is rooted in faith. This is an understanding of the value of life, which is based not only on a special subjective experience, but also on revelation, divine knowledge. And yet in this case the therapist should be careful: a belief that does not rest on its own experience and is not connected with memories of the positive value of life, can not always withstand the pressure and weight of depression.

Finally, the hidden form of a positive inner attitude is the rejection of suicide due to lack of courage. In this sense of “cowardice”, as patients call their setting in a typical self-deprecating and self-aggressive manner, phenomenology reveals uncertainty, doubt, hidden hope, an unrecognized impulse towards the fact that in the end life could be something good, or, that it is inherently inviolable. For such a definite and categorical solution, one often encounters the content of an experience whose meaning exceeds any logic and argumentation. It is important for therapists to see and take into account what is hidden behind such words, because then they can better help the patient in revealing his personality.

In suicide therapy, the following is important:

a) propose and work with the patient to understand the situation;

b) take from the patient a promise that he will not commit suicide;

c) if the patient refuses such a promise, it is mandatory to ensure a constant presence next to the patient of other people.

A) The therapist invites the patient to talk about his desire to commit suicide, his intentions or plans. Since here we can talk about concealed intentions, an empathic formulation is needed that will help the patient either to hear and accept the question, or to circumvent the intention concealed by him. For example: “I understand the situation in which you are now. You carry a huge load … And I admit that in such a situation the desire to live can disappear, up to the point that there is a thought … to put an end to life … Do you have such a feeling? “- Thus, the patient may feel understood and, if agreed, react with relief. Among other things, this understanding strengthens the relationship with the therapist.

If the patient does not experience similar impulses and feelings, then this request in any case will not cause harm. Some therapists are afraid that such a question will negatively affect the patient or even bring him closer to suicide. A person who does not have suicidal intentions, even if he is in a state of depression, can perceive this issue more likely as a challenge to his positive attitude towards the life situation and will respond with something like: “My situation is not so heavy!”

The one who is visited by suicidal thoughts will react differently. Either he will agree with relief, feeling that he is being understood, or for various reasons will try to hide his intentions. This may be a desire to avoid hospitalization and drug treatment; or the patient does not trust the therapist so much that he can talk to him on such a difficult subject, finally, he happens to be already determined and would not want someone to interfere with the execution of his plan. Then we should expect that the patient will indignantly reject this assumption.

How can we recognize the danger of dissimulation? To this end, V. Frankl already in the 1920s proposed a method that is widely used today. At that time, he headed the department where the suicidal patients were. On the eve of their discharge, he had to assess the risk that they could commit suicide. He developed a short survey technique, with which it was possible to estimate the danger of dissimulation with the necessary accuracy. The questions were indirectly centered around how the patient relates to the meaning. The author of the method relied on the following observation: if the patient sees the meaning in his life, this reduces the risk of suicide, if he does not see such a meaning, then nothing can keep him. Meaning – an important auxiliary tool (hilfsmittel), a resource that allows you to overcome suicidal.

The detection of latent suicide begins, as already noted, with the questioning of possible suicidal tendencies. If the patient intends to dissimulate, he will try to dispel the therapist’s doubts: “No, I have no such thoughts … It would never have occurred to me … Do not worry!”, Etc. With such an answer, the possible dissimulation will help uncover the question, at first glance, unexpected: “Why would you not do this? What gives you such confidence? “In the case of dissimulation, the patient usually surprises, begins to stutter:” No, rather no, I will not do it, do not worry, rest assured, I will not do it …! “Dissimulation is recognized on the basis of, that a person can not relate to the meaning and ask for a specific content. If the patient does not dissimulate, he calmly gives his arguments, for example, says: “I have a family … there is this or that task … I would not want to do this, knowing how my wife will suffer … out of fear before God … “, etc.

B) Patients with suicidal intentions are asked if they can promise that they will not do anything to themselves. It is not recommended to ask a general question: “Can you promise that you will not kill yourself?” Most people will not be able to give such a promise. The question should be more specific and designed for a certain time interval: “Can you promise me that this month (or this week) do you no harm yourself?” In severe cases, the question should be even narrower: “Can you promise me, that tomorrow we’ll see each other again? “

In acute and particularly acute cases, the only content that a promise can relate to is the relationship between the therapist and the patient, and not the possible act. “Can you promise me that in any case, contact me if your thoughts revolve around suicide? Can you promise that you will call me if you understand that you can not guarantee that you will not do anything with yourself? Promise me that in that case, you will most likely call, be it a night or a day before you decide on this act. ” It is necessary to consolidate this promise with a handshake, while openly looking into each other’s eyes. If the patient tries to avoid a handshake (or if it is not strong), if he avoids the look, then he should insist that the binding of the arrangement is normal. If the patient chooses to do this, then it can be guaranteed with a high probability that he will not break his promise. Such a promise has great weight, for it is hard to die with a broken promise!

C) If a promise is not obtained from the patient, then the situation should be regarded as critical, as an immanent suicide. In this case, you can not leave the patient alone. Recommended hospitalization. If this is not possible, then a social network should be established from credible individuals who are able to take responsibility and ensure that they are vigilant. It will be a fatal mistake to send the patient home without making sure that he is there to be provided with reliable supervision (while one can not rely solely on the patient’s assurances!).

Prevention of Depression

Let us consider a few more points concerning the prevention of depression and psycho-hygiene.

Savings and restoration of forces (care of forces). Prevention is to closely monitor the areas of depletion and be sensitive to areas where there is a loss of strength. This often happens where a person acts out of a sense of duty or exerts too much effort on something, for example, at work, while driving a car, even in the process of washing dishes late at night after a work day. Such stress factors should be realized, because they take a lot of energy, and often it leads to irritability, to the appearance of muscle tension (especially in the shoulder region and back). Proper organization of rest, attentive attitude to the duration of sleep, to breaks, to sports, the regime of the day, the planning of the week can prevent loss of strength and exhaustion. Rhythmicity and regularity make life easier. there is no need to make decisions. It is important to live according to your pace, for, as experience shows, there is a depletion share in any depression.

Medicines. To the care of the forces and, thus, to the area of the first fundamental condition of the fulfilled existence, the use of medicines also applies. Long-term use of antidepressants, as well as lithium, is a proven means of preventing depression.

Care of valuables. To preserve the joy of life and vitality, it is important to pay attention to what you like. The fundamental feeling – it’s good that you live, that you are in the world – should be preserved and, if possible, strengthened. For this, the experience that leads a person to relationships with values is important. This means the following:

• To look after pleasant experiences, knowing that where there is joy, there is life. It is not enough to know what would be useful, you must also experience it and do it.
• Enjoy the values of experience, give them time, turn to them.
• To look after the relationship.
• With things that are important to a person, treating as a value is a culture of life.
• To take care of the body, to move more, to go in for sports. Pay attention to good physical well-being. For the senses, the body is like a wax for a candle flame.

Appeal to life’s obstacles, to what takes a person’s life:

• Ask yourself questions about the cause of loading feelings (Belastende Gefühle) and discuss them with others.
  Start to feel sad if there is no sadness.
• To turn to disappointments and losses, to accept a feeling connected with failure or failure. If there is no appeal to these vital obstacles, the soul holds on to what is denied by reason, and this inevitably leads to depression.

Careful use of time. Time is always a time of life. Thanks to careful use of time, people pay attention to the love of their own lives. Specifically, this means: if possible, do only what is important to you, and avoid wasting time on the secondary. For a depressed person, compliance with this rule is particularly significant. Do not set yourself apart again and again, do not give up yourself for others.

Special work on installations. A depressed person is prone to subordination, especially at the onset of depression. It is peculiar to him to adapt to “deserve” a valuable closeness, to submit to fate or authority. It is necessary to work on the fact that it is important to fight for oneself, to live their desires, needs, requests. It is necessary to critically examine and change the depressive “ideal” picture: it is by no means always good to be modest and “push” yourself. Working with desires: desires conceal the danger of latent passivity. A person is given to desires if he expects others to fulfill them. Because of fixation on desire to possess something that he does not have, a person experiences a scarce side of life much more strongly. The basic rule is: desires are good as long as the opportunity remains to abandon them. Work on the installation of self-esteem: to maintain or increase self-esteem, it is important to feel disrespect from others, do not tolerate disrespect. If it is, it is important to talk about it as prevention.

Causes and Features of Depression During Pregnancy

Pregnancy is the most beautiful time, but sometimes it is marred by problems of a mental nature. The most common of these is depressive disorder. They suffer about 10% of pregnant women.

Turning to this topic, we consider it necessary to pay attention to the fact that depression during pregnancy is not just mood swings caused by hormonal changes, it is a serious disease. Despondency literally absorbs the whole personality of the future mummy. Nothing pleases her, even the soon appearance of a child causes only fear and anxiety. A pregnant woman becomes a hostage to her inner experiences.

The most unpleasant thing in this situation is that depression of pregnant women can subsequently influence the mental well-being of the future baby. That’s why you should not ignore this problem in any case.

Depression in pregnant women can lead to irreparable health problems. Do not forget that in front of birth. An exhausted nervous system can not withstand such stress. To avoid undesirable consequences and enjoy the joy of motherhood, it is necessary, at the first signs of depression, to contact either a gynecologist or a psychotherapist.

What symptoms should I pay attention to?

Depression of pregnant women can be manifested in different ways. Some women constantly cry, some – can not fall asleep, some – fear the future, leading their fears themselves to suicide attempts. However, there are a number of signs, the presence of which can be judged on the presence of depression. Among them:

• Increased irritability;
• Anxiety;
• Inability to focus attention;
• Feeling hungry or lack of appetite;
• Constant feeling of fatigue;
• Disheartened;
• Fear of going out;
• Suspicion;
• Not passing drowsiness;
• Low self-esteem;
• Feeling of despair and bleakness;
• Feeling of guilt;
• Lack of desire to communicate with anyone;
• Diffidence;
• Tearfulness;
• Sleep disturbances (inability to sleep, nightmares).

What are the causes of depressive disorder in pregnant women?

For a long time it was believed that during the development of hormones that inhibit the development of depression. This conclusion was made by doctors as a result of observations of future mothers. Most of them experienced an emotional upsurge. However, over time, many specialists began to note that stress and physical stress accompanying pregnancy make women more susceptible to depression.

Aggravate the situation additional worldly difficulties. So, one of the most common causes of depression are problematic relationships with the future father of the child. In single women and women living in a state of conflict with their partner, the likelihood of developing depression increases significantly. They do not know what to do in the current, very difficult situation.

In addition, depression during pregnancy can be triggered by a number of the following factors:

Daily accompanying stresses

• • (troubles at work, moving, quarreling, divorce) can cause a nervous breakdown and, as a result, depression.

Low salary.

• • In the period of expectation of the baby this factor becomes more significant. What if there was hardly enough money? If earlier low income was little pleased, now it causes the strongest alarm, because now you have to take care of the child.

Psychophysical problems.

• • They include toxicosis. Morning sickness and poor physical well-being do not add optimism. And if the pregnancy is also unexpected, then these problems do not bring particular joy, becoming the causes of the development of depression.

Negative experience of a previous pregnancy.

• According to the results of research by medical psychologists, the previous pregnancy and depression accompanying the following “interesting situation” have a close relationship.

Depression in pregnant women can be triggered by unsuccessful nurturing in the past or infertility. In the event that the birth of a child was preceded by a test (it took a long time to get pregnant, had to go through a lot of painful medical procedures, listen to a lot of sympathetic comments, there were miscarriages, etc.), then the expectation of the baby will be accompanied by anxious thoughts.

In some families, pregnancy provokes a disrespectful attitude to the future mother from the so-called close people. Ticcups, aggression, rudeness from a husband, mother-in-law or other relatives who see a pregnancy as a threat to personal status or well-being cause a frustration in the emotional state. Such situations happen rarely, however, they cause the most serious damage to the psyche of a future mother and baby.

In addition, depression during pregnancy can be caused by unpleasant memories in women who have experienced emotional, sexual or physical abuse in the past. Changes that occur in the body of a future mother, can recall a long-forgotten misfortune. That is why if a woman has been subjected to or is subjected to any kind of violence in the past, she must inform her doctor about it.

• Personal experience of depression in the past and the presence of relatives suffering from depressions are grounds for classifying as a risk group. Such anamnesis can provoke not only prenatal depression, but also postpartum depression.
• Unplanned conception can become the strongest stressor, capable of causing depression.
• The development of the disease can affect the lack of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine and long-term use of sedative drugs.

This list can be continued almost indefinitely. Any stressor, which disbalances the future mother, can cause a mental disorder.

First Trimester

In psychology, the first trimester is known as the “period of negation”. A new life already exists, but the future mother still does not think about her situation and does not take it into account when planning the activity. This, of course, is possible only in the absence of toxicosis. A striking example of this situation can be the planning of a business trip in the rather distant future, at the 36th week of gestation. This is a fairly common and normal situation, the mother does not feel the baby yet, he does not push, the belly does not.

However, this is the most difficult time. The body of a woman begins to rebuild and get used to “work in a new way.” Changes are undergone by all systems of the body, including the nervous system. All sorts of fears and stresses (material well-being, childbirth, social status, child’s health, possible loss of work) surround the future mother. She does not yet know what she will do in the near future, what awaits her.

Depression in pregnant women at this time can be caused by the loss of the opportunity to do your favorite thing (jump with a parachute) or the abandonment of habits that have become a part of life (smoking).

In the first trimester, mood swings and irritability can be quite normal. So with the first changes in the emotional background, you should not label yourself with a depressed patient. In addition, such manifestations, strangely enough, in medicine, act as the first indirect signs of the onset of pregnancy. Pay attention to changes in the emotional background is when they assume the role of a protracted nature, there are talk of death, often there are utterances about the meaninglessness of existence.

Depression in pregnant women at this time can have different consequences for the health of the mother, and for the health of the baby. Scientists from Canada found that the children of women who suffered depression in the first trimester, may experience sleep disorders, have insufficient weight, lag behind in intellectual development.

Second Trimester

At this stage of gestation, the woman begins to realize her position. She thinks about what she will do with the appearance of the child, because her personal life will definitely fly somersault. For this reason, psychologists called this stage “the search for the lost object.” This object is understood as a habitual way of life, favorite work, entertainment, friends, etc. It’s strange at this time that women discover for themselves new opportunities and interests that have not been noticed before. Someone starts to draw, someone goes to learn the languages ​​of other peoples. According to all the same psychologists – this is the most fertile time in the life of a pregnant woman.

However, especially sensitive nature melancholic type, having a history of propensity for depression, during this period experience real emotional storms.

The development of depression in the second trimester contributes to a combination of several factors: hormonal changes, insomnia, misunderstanding of relatives, financial problems.

At this time, depression and pregnancy are most related. An increase in body weight, low back pain, frequent urge to urinate, engorgement of the mammary glands are the causes of the appearance of negative thoughts. A clear connection between the physical and her psychoemotional state of the future mother is seen.

Third Trimester

The third trimester in psychology was called depression. During this period, even the most balanced nature begins to lose control of themselves. In the thoughts of pregnant women, in addition to their will, there are “rainbow” pictures with pots, pots and diapers. In their soul from time to time there are notes of despondency, loneliness, hopelessness. Increasingly, there is discontent with her husband, who are not forced to change their way of life, mother-in-law, who constantly climbs with her teachings.

Depression and late pregnancy are quite common. Increase the feeling of own helplessness changes that have occurred with the body: the unimaginable size of the stomach, which prevents you from moving normally. Many ladies think that they have lost their former sexual attraction and are not interested in their husband, which causes increased sensitivity and tearfulness. Physical and psychological fatigue exacerbate the negative emotional state.

The behavior of pregnant women before giving birth sometimes seems strange. Women tend to seclude themselves, walk alone for long periods in the open air, immerse themselves in cooking dowry for a baby, etc. However, these behavioral features have nothing to do with depression.

How to Cope with the Disease on Your Own

1. Do not try to remake all the cases before the appearance of the baby: equip the nursery, make repairs in the apartment, prepare reports at work for six months ahead, etc. The first item on the list of the most important cases should be personal well-being and well-being. Pregnancy – a great time to pamper yourself, later no longer have to (diapers, ryazhonki, teeth and other joys of infancy).
2. Daily need to do exercises. Moderate exercise will allow you to feel “muscle joy” and emotional satisfaction.
3. Learn to fight your bad mood, find a job. Take care of your favorite thing, which previously was not enough time: embroider, draw, read. Try to do something new, for example, sign up for the pool.
4. Communicate more often with relatives and relatives. If you do not know what to do with your bad mood and anxious thoughts, openly talk to them about your problems.
5. If fatigue overcomes and you, literally, fall down, try to rest more, do not take the whole work on yourself. Ask your husband to give you a gentle massage of the waist and feet.
6. Pay attention to your food. It should not be too high in calories. Try to eat right, including in the diet of dairy products, fresh fruits and vegetables. Avoid flour and sweet products.
7. In order not to “seize” yourself and your husband with far-fetched problems, try to look at the situation from the side and do not rush to make hasty conclusions.
8. More time walk in the fresh air.
9. Do not try to fight depression yourself. Do not take antidepressants. This applies to the funds that you drank before pregnancy.
10. Protect yourself from unwanted information. Refuse to watch the programs with negative character, films with scenes of cruelty.
11. Create a cozy home for yourself, in which there is no room for emotions and despondency.
12. Learn to respect yourself “like that.” Try to realize the beauty of your position.

There is nothing new in the above-listed councils, but we all tend to forget about common truths. If the state of anxiety does not let go, there is only one negative in the mind, and you do not know what to do with it, then you need to seek help from a doctor who is watching the course of pregnancy. To delay with the treatment is not necessary, because the mother’s well-being directly affects the child’s health.

Features of Treatment of Depressive Disorder in Pregnant Women

Treatment of pregnant women from a depressive disorder has its own characteristics. If possible, the doctor tries to exclude the use of antidepressants, using non-medicamentous medications (meditation, respiratory techniques, art therapy, fairy tale therapy, NLP). However, their use is possible only in the early stages of the disease. In neglected cases with depressive disorder, one can cope only with the help of medicines. When prescribing medication for depression, do not worry about the child’s health. At the moment, there are a number of drugs allowed for admission during pregnancy.

One in every 8 women will develop breast cancer during their lifetime. This program should improve your chances.

Women know this statistics very well – one out of every eight. These figures we meet every time we read about breast cancer or hear about a new drug that should reduce our risk. But the risk of breast cancer, despite the new drugs and the millions invested in research, is not reducing.

Proper nutrition helps reduce the risk of breast cancer

Theories offer many ways to reduce the risk of taking tamoxifen, taking regular exercise, taking antioxidants, not living near toxic waste dumps, and even preventive mastectomy. Some of them can help, others seem far-fetched or even barbaric.

We invited five experts on breast cancer for consultation, both with a traditional and alternative approach, and asked them to help us develop a program that would significantly reduce the risk of the disease. The central element of this program is a diet – this is the only thing that you can take under your direct control. And, according to Dr. Mitchell Gaynor, director of the Center for Cancer Prevention in Manhattan, she was the most effective way to reduce risk.

Here we publish 13 simple ways with which you can improve your diet and protect yourself from cancer today.

1. Try the seaweed

What to do?

Eat more often seaweed, such as kelp and nori. Or take daily supplements of blue-green algae, such as spirulina (1 teaspoon) and chlorella (3 g) in a glass of juice.

What for?

Jane Teas, PhD at the Harvard School of Public Health, found that rats given laminaria had fewer breast cancers than rats that were not given algae. Frequent eating of kelp can explain the low incidence of breast cancer among Japanese women (whose incidence is three times lower than that of American women).

Algae, including chlorella and spirulina, contain chlorophyll, which has been shown to have anti-cancer effects, as well as vitamin C and carotenoids, which fight free radicals.

2. Cut half the fat

What to do?

Limit the amount of fat in your daily diet to 20 percent of the total caloric intake.

What for?

A diet high in fat (especially animal fat) is known to increase the risk of breast cancer. One study found that the risk of breast cancer increases in Japanese women who move from Japan (where the fat content is about 20 percent of the total caloric intake) to the United States of America (where the fat content is about 40 percent of total caloric intake).

According to the doctor of medicine Charles Simony, author of the book “Breast Health” (Avery Publishing Group, 1995), the high-fat diet leads to the formation in the intestine of chemical compounds that are processed by bacteria into carcinogenic estrogens. These estrogens can accumulate in the fatty tissues of the breast, making the cells in this area more susceptible to developing cancer.

3. Use dietary fiber

What to do?

Eat fruits and vegetables, legumes and whole grains that contain a lot of plant fiber.

What for?

Robert Arnot, MD, author of the book Breast Cancer Diet (Little, Brown and Company, 1998) says that fiber stops the metabolism of estrogen in the body and reduces the level of its content in the blood. A high level of estrogen in the blood corresponds to a higher risk of breast cancer. A diet high in fiber can reduce the risk of breast cancer to 54 percent.

4. Eat cruciferous vegetables

What to do?

Eat more cruciferous vegetables – broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, turnips, bok choy, cabbage kale and cauliflower. To better preserve nutrients with anti-cancer properties, eat vegetables raw or steamed.

What for?

Cruciferous vegetables contain sulfur compounds, so-called indoles, which help to remove estrogen from the body and thereby protect against breast cancer. According to Dr. Gaynor, the author of the Gaynor Cancer Prevention Program (Kensington Books, 1999), only cruciferous vegetables have the ability to convert estrogen in the body from a carcinogenic form to a form that can really protect against breast cancer. One of the indole varieties, indole-3-carbinol, inhibits the development of potentially malignant cells in the mammary gland.

5. Get fatty acids from fish

What to do?

Eat at least three servings of cold-water fish per week, such as tuna, salmon, halibut, mackerel, haddock, cod and sardines. If you do not like fish, you can take capsules from fish oil (2 to 10 grams per day) or vegetarian docosahexaenoic acid supplements derived from algae (300 mg per day).

What for?

Omega-3 fatty acids inhibit the action of compounds known as prostaglandins that cause inflammation, which inhibits the ability of the immune system to detect tumors.

In one major study, British researchers examined data on mortality from breast cancer and colorectal cancer in 24 European countries. A high intake of animal fats was associated with a high prevalence of cancer, and with a higher level of consumption of fish and fish oil, the incidence of cancer was lower.

The Finnish researchers found lower levels of EPA and DHA (two omega-3 fatty acids) in women with breast cancer in the mammary gland than in women with benign forms of fibrocystic breast disease.

North American Eskimos, whose diet is extremely rich in Omega-3 fats, women generally do not have breast cancer.

6. Learn the secrets of soybeans

What to do?

Regularly eat soy products, such as tofu, miso and temp. (Not all soy products are equally useful Soy products of high purity, such as soy milk, soy burgers and soy meat, contain significantly less genistein than traditional Asian soy products, and some of them may contain artificial preservatives.) Soybean oil and soy sauce too, are not good sources of genistein, since soybean oil contains harmful fats, and in soy sauce contains too much sodium).

What for?

Soybeans and other soy products contain genistein, a natural plant estrogen that binds to the cellular receptors in the mammary gland and, therefore, makes it impossible to attach to the receptors carcinogenic forms of estrogen.

Scientists are also studying other useful properties of soybeans. In one study, Seventh-day Adventist women, vegetarians who usually ate a lot of soy, had a lower level of breast cancer than usual. They had a higher level of the hormone DHEA, which is typical for women who do not have breast cancer.

Dr. Gaynor says: “Soy does many things – it’s a weak estrogen that blocks estrogen receptors, reduces angiogenesis (the growth of blood vessels that feed the tumor), accelerates apoptosis (the death of cancer cells) and contains enzymes that destroy carcinogens in the body.”

7. Buy Organic

What to do?

If possible, buy natural products: fruits, vegetables, grains, dairy products, meat and poultry.

What for?

Organic products do not contain pesticides, such as DDT, and other environmental toxins that are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer. Although DDT was banned in the US, US producers export pesticides to third world countries, of which tropical or off-season products are then often exported back to the United States. According to Dr. Devrea Lee Davis of the World Research Institute in Washington, DC, organic fruits and vegetables contain more vitamins and minerals than inorganic foods.

Dairy products and meat that have been certified as organic do not contain hormones such as bovine growth hormone, a chemical additive for the growth of livestock, which has been found to promote the growth of breast cancer cells.

8. Take dietary supplements

What to do?

Every day, drink one cup of astragalus tea; take 200 micrograms of selenium; from 30 to 100 mg of coenzyme Q10; 25 mg grape seed extract; from 30 to 100 mg of alpha-lipoic acid, as well as quality multivitamin and mineral supplements.

What for?

Astragalus. In 1990, a study conducted by Dr. Anderson at the Houston Cancer Center showed that daily astragalus intake increases the body’s ability to kill cancer cells tenfold.

Selenium. Larry Clarke, an associate professor at the University of Arizona, showed that selenium can halve the incidence of cancer, and an earlier study published in Holistic Medicine in 1989 concluded that the higher the selenium level in the blood, the lower risk of breast cancer. Buy organic forms of selenium – selenomethionine, and not selenate.

Coenzyme Q10. This nutrient protects the body from cancer by strengthening the immune system and destroying free radicals. However, there is no evidence that Co Q10 is particularly effective for the prevention of breast cancer.

Grape seed extract. According to Gaynor, studies have shown that its antioxidant properties are 20 times stronger than those of vitamin C, and 50 times stronger than those of vitamin E, with respect to free radical scavenging.

Alpha-lipoic acid. It is a powerful antioxidant that enhances and restores other antioxidants in the body, especially vitamin E. Biochemist Richard Passauter has shown that lipoic acid can even inhibit the activation of a gene that causes the growth of cancer cells.

9. Eat more mushrooms

What to do?

Regularly include in your diet of medicinal mushrooms, especially Japanese varieties of maitake and shiitake. Reishi, another medicinal mushroom, is harsh after cooking, so it is better to use it for tea or tincture, or take in capsules.

What for?

Studies have shown that maitake mushrooms stimulate the immune function, and also inhibit tumor growth. “Maitake D-fraction, the active ingredient in maitake, does not kill cancer cells directly,” explains Dr. Kuna Zhuan, who investigates the anti-cancer effect of maitake – “She activates the immune system.” According to Zhuan, it has been shown that maitake mushrooms are particularly effective in protecting against breast cancer in mice. Some evidence suggests that maitake is also effective against tumors in humans.

Shiitake contains a polysaccharide, called lentinan, and is known to increase the activity of the immune system.
Reishi mushrooms also contain polysaccharides.

10. Have a tea party

What to do?

Drink one cup of green tea three times a day. Green tea contains half the caffeine content than coffee – you can also buy decaffeinated tea in sachets, green tea capsules or tincture.

What for?

Green tea contains anti-cancer antioxidants and polyphenols, which heal the damage caused by free radicals.
In one study, in which women drank a lot of green tea – 10 cups a day – there was a significant reduction in the risk of developing cancer.

Green tea can be another important protective factor responsible for the low level of breast cancer among Japanese women.

11. Choose the right vegetable oil

What to do?

Cook on olive oil of the first pressing (“virgin”, “extra-virgin”). And use linseed oil for dishes that do not undergo heating (linseed oil is unstable and its chemical composition varies when exposed to light and heat). Avoid rapeseed, sunflower, corn, soy, sesame oil and margarine.

What for?

Monounsaturated oils, such as olive oil, reduce the risk of cancer. A study of women in Spain demonstrated a lower risk of breast cancer in those women who consumed more olive oil. Lillian Thompson, a professor of dietetics at the University of Toronto, found that daily intake of flaxseed (1 tablespoon of oil or 3 tablespoons of seed) could lead to a reduction in the size of the breast tumor.

Trans fats (solid fats, also called hydrogenated oils and contained, in particular, in margarine) increase the risk of cancer. A study conducted at the University of North Carolina in 1997 confirmed the correlation between the consumption of trans fats from processed margarine and vegetable oils and the incidence of breast cancer.

According to Arnot, saturated fats (for example, dairy products and red meat) raise the level of insulin in the body above the norm. Like some kinds of estrogen, a high level of insulin can stimulate the growth of cancer cells in the mammary gland. In a recent study, MD Pamela Goodwin, an associate professor at the University of Toronto, found an increased risk of breast cancer in women with a high insulin level of 283 percent.

12. Make friends with phytonutrients

What to do?

Eat different vegetables, fruits, grains, seeds, nuts, beans.

What for?

These products contain phytonutrients (plant nutrients, such as polyphenols) – compounds that protect against cell damage and inhibit the growth of a malignant tumor. In one study by the Harvard School of Public Health in women who ate a lot of vegetables, the incidence of breast cancer was 48 percent lower than those who ate a little; and those who ate a lot of fruit, the incidence was 32 percent lower.

Robin Kjunike, author of the book “Breast Health” (Kensington Books, 1998), suggests cooking using herbs such as dill, which contains lemon, an important phytochemical for breast health, and rosemary, which has antioxidant and antitumor properties.

13. Eat lily every day.

What to do?

Eat more vegetables of the lily family – garlic, onions, leeks and shallots. For the greatest benefit (if you are brave), the lilies are eaten raw.

What for?

According to the National Cancer Institute, garlic is one of the best products to protect against cancer. It contains an anti-cancer microelement of selenium, which stimulates the production of white blood cells and causes apoptosis (death of cancer cells).

Onions and other vegetables of the lily family produce a similar therapeutic effect – the lily contains compounds that stimulate the production of enzymes that neutralize free radicals that contribute to the development of cancer. Liliaceae also contain saponins that prevent cancer cells from multiplying.

Dr. John Milner, director of the Department of Nutrition at the University of Pennsylvania, successfully applied a garlic extract to prevent the development of breast tumors in rats with injected carcinogens. Ninety percent of the rats that did not receive garlic extract developed cancerous tumors, and only 35 percent had rats in the group that received garlic. And in 1995, cancer studies showed that sulfur compounds in the garlic extract inhibit the growth of precancerous breast cells in humans and increase the level of enzymes important for detoxification.

What to do and what not to do to prevent cancer

Do:

Do 4 hours a week with energetic aerobic exercise. Out of 1000 women surveyed, those who were engaged in 3.8 or more hours a week had half the incidence of breast cancer.

Do not let your weight deviate from the ideal by more than 12 pounds. Many studies have confirmed the association of obesity with an increased risk of breast cancer. Excess fat produces estrogen, which can then accumulate in the breast tissue and cause the growth of cancer cells.

Feed the babies. Breastfeeding interrupts ovulation and thus reduces the time of circulation of estrogen in the body.

For several hours every day, go without a bra. The authors of the book “The connection between a bra and breast cancer” Sydney Ross Singer and Soma Grismaier (Avery Publishing Group, 1995) found that women who wore a bra for more than 12 hours a day had a 19 times higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who wore a bra less than 12 hours. The scientific validity of this conclusion is still being discussed.

Sleep in total darkness. Light suppresses the production of the hormone melatonin in your body, and lower levels of melatonin are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer.

Spend 15 minutes a day in the sun, 3 times a week. Sunlight helps the body produce vitamin D, which is associated with lower levels of the incidence of breast cancer.

Carefully use hormone replacement therapy. Some researchers associate the supplements of DHEA and other hormones with an increased risk of breast cancer, although no convincing information so far. Consult your physician before starting any hormone replacement program.

Do not do it:

Do not get carried away with alcohol. According to Simonyi, women who drink between 2 and 4 servings of alcoholic beverages per week have a 2-3 times higher risk of developing breast cancer than those who do not drink.

Do not use dark hair dyes continuously for several years. A study conducted in 1980 showed that women who dyed hair to change their color had a three times higher risk of developing breast cancer.

Do not smoke. In one study, almost 85,000 women received a higher risk of breast cancer among smokers compared to non-smokers.

Some age moments

Girls in the adulatory period: frequent use of organic yogurt at this age can reduce the risk of breast cancer by half, according to studies published in the International Journal of Immunotherapy.

Teenagers: Intensive exercise in adolescence reduces the risk of breast cancer in later life. If possible, avoid the use of birth control pills – they increase the risk of breast cancer at a later time. In the period of onset of menstruation, one should not hide their problems – tell parents about their feelings as they arise.

From 20 to 30 years: ideally, tablets should be used only after a long time after the birth of a woman’s first child. Birth of the first child under the age of 35 reduces the risk of breast cancer.

40 years: the experts do not have a common opinion about whether to do a basic mammogram in 40 years. Talk to your doctor. At this stage, it is very important to do monthly self-monitoring of the condition of the mammary glands.

50 and older: annual mammography is needed. At the age of 51 to 70, increase your daily dose of vitamin D to 400 ME. If you are 71 years and older, you should take 600 ME. per day.

Psychology

Certainly, our thoughts and emotions play a key role in the prevention, prevention of relapse and remission of breast cancer. In a recent study published in the National Cancer Institute newsletter, it was reported that after breast cancer surgery, more marked signs of stress and depression in women were also accompanied by a greater depression of the immune system.