Auto-training was proposed by the German neurologist Schultz back in the 30s of the last century, but was recognized and widely used in medicine only by the mid-50s. In fact, the method is a combination of meditation and self-hypnosis, Schultz took the most essential, in his opinion, elements of Indian yoga and adapted them for European perception, completely abandoning the religious and mystical component.

Auto-training is quite successfully used outside of medicine; for example, at one time it was part of the Arsenal of psychological training of many athletes. The use of the method allows you to quickly restore strength and overcome psychological barriers and achieve maximum efficiency from the physical capabilities of the body.

In psychiatry and neurology, auto-training is used for the treatment of various phobias and neuroses, in practice, this technique is an alternative to hypnotic effects, with the difference that the role of the hypnotist is the patient himself.

Like most other psychotechnical techniques, it is necessary to learn auto-training under the supervision of a specialist. The matter is not only that at wrong application of a method it is possible to worsen the condition (though small, but such risk really is present), but also in complexity of independent development, especially if there is no experience of similar practices in the past.

The whole process is divided into three stages: entering into a trance, pronouncing affirmations (suggestions) and exiting a trance. Perhaps the most important stage in the development of auto-training is the first, the depth of trance is usually less than the external suggestion carried out by a hypnotist. To enter into a trance, concentration is applied on the physical sensations of the body, alternately causing a feeling of heaviness and heat in the limbs, slowing breathing and heartbeat, coolness in the forehead, heat in the abdomen.

The development of auto-training takes time, rarely anyone can achieve tangible results from the first time. It is important not to force the process, to allow it to proceed naturally, with the manifestation of some perseverance and the correct use of technology the result is sure to be. We will not go into the details of the process now, they are described in detail in the relevant literature, and in any case, as I said, self-development of the method is not recommended, and an experienced coach in live communication will explain everything better than I can do it from the pages of the book.

After reaching the trance state, a mental repetition of the so-called affirmations, self-hypnosis formulas is carried out. In their preparation, too, it is desirable to consult with a specialist, there are a number of rules that should be followed. So, for example, it is not recommended to pronounce affirmations with a negative value, the prefix “not“. That is, instead of “I’m not worried“, it is better to repeat to myself “I’m calm.” In depression, affirmations are formulated in the appropriate direction: “ I’m calm“,” I’m good“,” I’m happy“,” good mood” and so on.

Out of the autogenous state should be gradually, positive affirmations are replaced by pronouncing the formulas of rest: “I rested“, “I am calm“, “I am full of strength“, “I will stand on the count of 3“; start a mental countdown and on the count of 3 or 5 open your eyes and exit the accepted posture for the process.

Conduct anger management ought to be sitting, when lying is a good chance to sleep and disrupt the process. The classic in auto-training is considered to be “the pose of the coachman”: the practitioner sits on the edge of the chair, the forearms of the hands are located on the knees, the hands hang down, the head is lowered. In such pose good relaxation, half-sleep is reached, but it is usually not possible to fall asleep at the same time. To do better in a darkened room, but not in complete darkness, as in the absence of vision, other senses become aggravated, which distracts and does not allow to achieve the necessary concentration. Complete silence is also undesirable for the same reasons, as long as there were no sharp stimuli.

Experts recommend to study three times a day, for 20-40 minutes. With the acquisition of experience, entering into a trance will take less time and, accordingly, the total time of each process will decrease. In addition, auto-training sessions contribute to high-quality rest of the body, as a result, the time allotted for sleep can be reduced, due to which the necessary time for training will be released.

The effectiveness of self-training is individual and largely depends on the suggestibility of a person. Good results can be obtained to overcome various phobias, including social, fear of unusual situation, public speaking. By relaxing you can achieve a temporary reduction in the level of internal tension, anxiety, insomnia. As for the treatment of depression, I am more skeptical.

In the initial period of training I received tangible progress in terms of overall improvement of health, reduce anxiety, increase activity, greater energy. But these phenomena were temporary. First, it is of course symptomatic treatment, the effectiveness of suggestion must be constantly maintained, and, stopping classes, you can quickly return to the previous state. Secondly, in fact, auto-training is the process of suppressing negative emotions by layering the inspired positive, problems and conflicts are not resolved, but only overlap with the constant repetition of affirmations. That is, there is neither a vacuum of suppressed energy, nor the cessation of its further accumulation, it is obvious that this can not be the best method to combat depression.

In order to achieve a sustainable result, positive affirmations alone are not enough, first of all, it is necessary to clear the consciousness, to give an exit to the accumulated tension. But even this does not guarantee getting rid of the problem, a conscious negative, although it loses a significant part of its negative charge, still remains in memory as a negative. In order to finally get rid of it, it is necessary to carry out the practice of replacing the negative state with a positive one, to create a positive emotional anchor to a traumatic situation. In this case, mental or verbal affirmations are not effective enough. Much better results can be achieved by using modern techniques of neurolinguistic programming, which we will discuss in the appropriate Chapter.

In my case, the rise from auto-training was observed for two months, after which the reality took its toll. In addition to short-term rest, I have not received any benefits from classes, too strong were my internal conflicts in order to be able to suppress them in this way. However, the skills obtained as a result of a variety of auditory training, extremely useful in the development of other similar techniques, which requires entering into a trance, such as qigong and transcendental meditation.

Summing up, we can say that, despite the presence of a certain positive effect associated with the training techniques of relaxation and deep rest, as well as a temporary reduction of disturbing symptoms, auto-training can not be a radical means to get out of depression. Too narrow focus of this method and the obvious limitations of the results have led to the gradual oblivion of auto-training as a means of Arsenal of modern psychiatrists and psychotherapists.

The term “psychedelics” was proposed by psychiatrist Humphrey Osmond and translated from Greek means “manifesting the soul” (psyche – soul, and delic – explicit, manifesting). These include preparations both chemically obtained, such as LSD, MDMA and DMT, and the active substances of various plants found in the wild: Mexican cacti, some species of poisonous mushrooms, vines in the Amazon jungle. Action psychedelics is primarily to change the usual perception of the world and achieve a special state of consciousness. This experience can be both positive and extremely negative, dangerous for the human psyche.

The history of medical use of psychedelics begins with the discovery and accidental use of LSD-25 by Swiss chemist albert Hoffman in 1947. While working in the laboratory, Hoffman spilled a negligible amount of the drug on his hand and, without suspecting anything bad, went home on his bike. Hoffman’s report on how he rode his bike through the streets of Basel under the influence of a large dose of LSD, became a legend. On the way he had a strong change in the perception of the surrounding space, there were fantastic vision, like a dream. The visions intensified and after he got home, Hoffman was scared he was going crazy. His neighbor he took for the evil witch, Hoffman seemed that his conscious possession of demons; deciding that is on the verge of death, Hoffman was asked to call him doctor.

By the time the doctor arrived, the crisis had passed, to his surprise, Hoffman felt himself full of strength and energy, as if reborn into the world. This state of health lasted all day. Hoffman wrote a report on his unusual experiences to the immediate supervisor, Dr. Arthur Stoll, whose son, a Zurich-based psychiatrist, became interested in studies of the effects of LSD in clinical settings. His report on the effects of LSD-25 on a group of healthy volunteers and psychiatrist patients, published in 1947, immediately became a sensation in the scientific world.

Initially, the LSD has high expectations regarding modeling them psychotic States similar to that experienced by patients with schizophrenia. It was assumed that this simulation will help to better understand the causes of schizophrenia, and to find effective drugs for its therapy. It soon became clear that the nature of the visions provoked by taking LSD had nothing to do with schizophrenic psychoses, and such studies were curtailed for lack of prospects.

But suddenly LSD was quite effective in psychotherapy of neuroses. The fact that under the influence of this drug as it eliminates the barrier between the unconscious and consciousness, greatly facilitates access to the displaced material that POPs up in the patient’s mind in large quantities in the form of awakened memories and unexpected insights. This description is undoubtedly a simplification of the mechanism of action of psychedelics, but for the purposes of our study it is enough.

Thus, psychodynamic processes occur much faster than traditional psychoanalysis, the doctor no longer has to break through the protective mechanisms of the patient’s psyche, which are weakened by the action of drugs.

Great work in the field of psychedelic therapy was carried out by the American psychiatrist of Czech origin Stanislav Grof. With this name we still have to repeatedly encounter in the course of our narrative, and so it makes sense to talk about it in more detail.

Stanislav Grof is an outstanding doctor and scientist who has devoted more than forty years to the research of unusual States of consciousness and spiritual growth, one of the founders and the most prominent representatives of transpersonal psychology. Some researchers compare it to the scale of contributions to modern psychology, with such giants as Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung.

Grof was born in Prague on July 1, 1931. From 1956 to 1967, S. Grof worked as a practicing psychiatrist, actively studying at that time the psychoanalytic model of consciousness and its application in the treatment of neuroses. During the same period he was actively studying psychoanalysis. In 1959, the Grof was awarded the Kuffner prize, a national Czechoslovak award given annually for the most outstanding contribution in the field of psychiatry. Since 1961, he has led research on the use of LSD and other psychedelics in the treatment of mental disorders in Czechoslovakia.

In 1967, as a fellow of the Foundation for support of psychiatric research (USA), Grof received the opportunity to undergo a two-year internship at Johns Hopkins University and subsequently continue his research activities at the Maryland center for psychiatric research. From 1973 to 1987, S. Grof lives and works at the Esalen Institute (big sur, California). During this period, together with his wife Christina, he develops the technique of holotropic breathing, an original method of psychotherapy, self-knowledge and personal growth, which we will discuss later in this book.

Grof is one of the founders of the international transpersonal Association (ITA) and has long been its President.

Currently, S. Grof is a Professor of psychology at the California Institute of integral studies. In addition to his main activities, he conducts training seminars for professionals (“Grof Transpersonal training”), as well as lectures and seminars around the world. Stanislav Grof is the author and co-author of more than one hundred articles and fourteen books translated into twelve languages.

The first acquaintance of Grof with the action of LSD occurred in Czechoslovakia in 1956. At that time, Sandoz, a company engaged in the industrial production of the drug, provided free samples to psychiatrists around the world in exchange for information about its effects.

Here is how about this experience tells himself Grof:

“I began to feel the effects of LSD forty-five minutes after taking it. At first it was a slight malaise, dizziness and nausea, then these symptoms disappeared and were replaced by a demonstration of incredibly colorful abstract and geometric visions, alternating in front of my mind’s eye with the speed of pictures in a kaleidoscope. Some of them resembled exquisite stained glass Windows in the medieval Gothic Cathedral, and others – Arabesque Muslim mosques. To describe the finesse of these visions, I would compare them to Scheherazade’s “a Thousand and one nights” and the stunning beauty of the Alhambra and Shanda – these were the only comparisons that came to my mind at the time. Today I am sure that my psyche has somehow generated a wild set of fractal images, like graphic images of nonlinear equations, which can give a modern computer.

As the session went on, my experiences wandered around and around this realm of aesthetic delights and were replaced by an unexpected encounter and confrontation with my subconscious. It is difficult to find the words to this intoxicating Fugue of emotions, visions and illuminating insights concerning my own life and existence in General, which suddenly became available to me at this level. It was so profound and overwhelming that it immediately overshadowed my earlier interest in Freud’s psychoanalysis. I couldn’t believe how much I’d learned in those few hours. A breath-taking feast of colors and an abundance of psychological revelations – they would be enough in themselves to turn my first acquaintance with LSD into a truly memorable event.

This day marked the beginning of my radical divergence from traditional thinking in psychiatry and the monistic materialism of Western science. I came out of this experience that touched my very essence, shaken by his power. At the time, I did not believe that the potential for mystical experience was natural to any human being by right of birth, and attributed it all to the effects of LSD. I felt that the study of unusual States of consciousness in General, and especially those caused by the effects of hallucinogens, as far as I can imagine, is the most interesting area of psychiatry. I realized that, under the right conditions, the conditions caused by the effects of hallucinogens-far more than just dreams, which play such a crucial role in psychoanalysis – really are, if you use the words of Freud, “the Royal way to the subconscious.” And, right there and then, I decided to devote my life to the study of unusual States of consciousness.”

Stanislav Grof, “When the impossible is possible»
His vast research experience on the use of LSD Grof summarized in the book ” the Field of the human unconscious.” In this study, Grof significantly expanded psychoanalytic cartography of the psyche, introducing the concept of transpersonal area, that is, part of the human consciousness, beyond his personal experience. The discussion of this undoubtedly interesting point of view is beyond the scope of this book, and I refer those interested in the topic directly to the mentioned work of the Grof himself.

We are interested in the information presented in the section “Psychodynamic experiences in LSD sessions“, in which the Grof describes the experience of its patients regressing under the influence of the drug in childhood and aware of long-forgotten early traumatic experiences:

“The experiences in this category come from the individual unconscious and from the spheres of personality available in the ordinary state of consciousness. They belong to the most important memories, emotional problems, unresolved conflicts and suppressed material of different periods of human life. Most phenomena occurring at this level can be interpreted and understood in psychodynamic terms. When deciphering, they require knowledge of the basic principles of the dynamics of the unconscious, given by Freud, and especially the mechanisms responsible for dreams, as well as familiarity with certain specific characteristics of LSD States and their symbolic language. Simple psychodynamic experiences take the form of re-living the emotionally intense (traumatic or beneficial) events of infancy, childhood, and later periods of life and re-examining attitudes towards them. More complex experiences are the embodiment of fantasies, dramatization of dreams filled with desires in reality, dreams taken from movies, and a complex mixture of fantasy and reality (highlighted by me. – Primas’. ed.). In addition, the psychodynamic level includes a variety of experiences that contain important unconscious material, appearing in a hidden form of symbolic masks, protective distortions and metaphorical hints.

Psychodynamic experiences are particularly common in the course of psycholytic therapy in mentally ill people and in uncontrolled LSD sessions in people with serious emotional problems. Much less often they occur in sessions of emotionally stable persons, whose childhood was relatively calm. In psycholytic therapy, psychodynamic experiences can predominate in several initial sessions, following each other, before being resolved and integrated, that is, included in the conscious experience, the underlying unconscious material is comprehended and the patient can move to the next level. In psychedelic therapy, such biographical material is worked out in the initial and final periods of the session. Sometimes psychodynamic experiences can predominate throughout a high-dose session, although preprogramming and the overall situation with this form of LSD therapy contribute to experiences at deeper levels of the unconscious. They will be described later (perinatal and transpersonal phenomena).

The phenomenology of psychodynamic experiences in LSD sessions is largely consistent with the basic concepts of classical psychoanalysis. If psychodynamic sessions were the only type of LSD experience, they could be considered as laboratory evidence of the main Freudian prerequisites. Psychosexual dynamics and fundamental conflicts of the human psyche, as they are described in Freud, with extraordinary clarity and vitality are manifested even in the sessions of naive newcomers, never subjected to psychoanalysis, not familiar with psychoanalytic literature and have not experienced any direct or indirect effects of this direction. Under the influence of LSD in these individuals experiencing a regression into childhood and even early infancy, revive in memory the various psychosexual traumas and complexes of sensations related to infantile sexuality, and confronts conflict, including the activity of various libidinal zones”.

S. Grof ” Areas of the human unconscious»
Remember the sentence I highlighted in the text. We’ll get back to him later.

In the Soviet Union experiments with LSD conducted by Kiev psychiatrist Maria Telishevska receiving convincing results in the treatment of patients with alcoholism. It is no secret that in the formation of alcohol dependence psychological factor is important. The results of the research Teleshevsky was published in the monograph published in 1964 by the publishing house “Medicine”.

Further developments are well known. The massive abuse of psychedelics and primarily LSD, which resulted in a whole “psychedelic revolution” of the 60s, could not but cause a response from the authorities, outlawed not only LSD and its analogues, but also imposed a ban on medical research with their use. Without casting the slightest doubt on the correctness of the decision in respect of restrictions on the mass availability of the drug, it is necessary to Express regret about the hasty prohibition of further study promising drugs in psychotherapy.

After reading this Chapter, perhaps someone will be tempted to experiment with psychedelics on their own. You do not need to do this in any case. First, it is illegal, and by purchasing such drugs on the black market, you should be aware that you are breaking the law and can cause serious trouble. Secondly, you can never be sure what exactly you sold under the guise of LSD or MDMA. No one guarantees the quality of the drug, the dosage is also uncontrolled. Moreover, under the name “ecstasy”, for example, sold dozens of tablets with a variety of chemical components, it may very well be that MDMA in the tablet is not at all and it consists of some absolutely you do not need psychostimulators, mixed with heroin.

And most importantly. Even applying yourself clean psychedelics and in the correct dosage, you run the risk of irreparable harm to your mental health. This is no exaggeration. The flow of unconscious material can be so strong and so shocking that the human psyche will simply not be able to bear it, to cope with the volume and intensity of experiences. The result may be an even greater flight into the disease, aggravation of all symptoms, until irreversible changes.

A prerequisite for therapy with psychedelics is the presence of an experienced specialist who can guide you through this test, to prevent, if necessary, a severe crisis, to return to reality, to help correctly interpret what is happening.

I believe in the future of psychedelic therapy. Even now we can observe the gradual rehabilitation of the medical use of such drugs. In Switzerland, since 2008, the use of LSD in the treatment of cancer patients and other terminal conditions is allowed. Dr. Mithofer in the United States provides MDMA-based psychotherapy to sexually abused women with very good results.

Let’s wait for the full legalization of psychedelic therapy, no need to engage in Amateur activities, the risk is too great. In addition, currently there are other, non-drug and completely safe methods of working with consciousness, which we will discuss below. One of these methods is auto-training.

It is generally recognized that the combination of psychotherapy with drug therapy is more effective than the use of each of these methods separately. They are not alternatives to solving the problem, but, on the contrary, complement each other perfectly. When conducting psychotherapy is of great importance the activity of the patient, his involvement in the process. Active participation of the patient allows him to develop certain behavioral skills and mechanisms of self-regulation, which teach to cope effectively with difficult life situations and increase the chances of a person not to fall into repeated depression in the future.

The most common currently and effective in the treatment of depressive disorders are three types of psychotherapy: psychodynamic, based on the work of Freud and his followers and the methods of psychoanalysis developed by them, behavioral therapy and cognitive psychotherapy.

According to the psychoanalytic concept, the cause of depression is unresolved and suppressed unconscious conflicts. This approach was most detailed in Freud’s book “Sadness and melancholy”. According to his ideas, the basis of depression is laid in infancy, when the child is taken from the mother’s breast. The resulting mental trauma and lack of adequate compensation cause a state of dissatisfaction and the development of self-esteem disorders, leading ultimately to the development of depression in adulthood. The views of Freud on depression was developed in the works of Melanie Klein and Donald Winnicott.

The merit of the psychoanalytic school is a detailed study of the core of depression and a correct indication of the role of unconscious factors in its development. The task of the therapist in the conduct of psychoanalysis is the discovery of repressed traumatic situation, the awareness of her patient, re-experiencing and healing. At the same time, the psychodynamic school pays insufficient attention to other sources of unconscious conflicts that are not directly related to the traumatic removal from the mother’s breast. Its big drawback is also the neglect of social factors and traumatic situations from the present, which can lead to the development of a depressive episode. Psychoanalysis is a long process, sometimes treatment can be delayed for many years, which limits the widespread use of this method in successful therapy of depression.

Behavioral psychotherapy appeared in the Arsenal of psychotherapists relatively recently, finally formed into a whole doctrine, it was only in the 50s of the last century, after which it quickly gained popularity and developed in several directions. Common to all types of behavioral therapy is the idea of human behavior as a result of training, which radically distinguishes it from psychodynamic concepts. Behavioral therapy is aimed at solving the current problems of the patient by changing behavioral patterns, passivity, rejection of pleasure, isolation from the environment.

The Creator of cognitive therapy is Aaron Beck, who has tried to combine the best of both approaches. Cognitive psychotherapy combines the work with the actual problems of the patient, and with his deep beliefs and perceptions. Beck believes that the cause of the depressive disorder is inherent in the patient’s worldview and interpretation of the events happening to him. The aim of cognitive therapy is to change the patient’s negative thinking to positive by careful individual work and detection of cognitive, mental errors in the patient’s reasoning.

Currently, the last two methods are often combined into one called “cognitive-behavioral therapy”. From the name it is clear that in this way an attempt is made to combine both approaches, correction and behavioral and mental errors. Perhaps it is no exaggeration to say that cognitive-behavioral therapy is the most common type of psychotherapy now. Its popularity is explained by the relative brevity, especially in comparison with psychodynamic therapy, in which treatment can last for years, and the resulting relative cheapness, a large number of empirical (experimental) data confirming its effectiveness.

On average, ten to twenty psychotherapeutic sessions are required to achieve some result. In my case, it took more than fifty. I visited a therapist for a year and a half, once a week, each session lasted about an hour. During the sessions, we discussed the situations that concern me from today’s life, possible options for their development and what effect they can have on my life.

In favor of cognitive-behavioral therapy, I can say that first of all, some effect is achieved due to the fact of communication with the therapist. If the latter manages to establish reliable contact with the patient, to create a trusting relationship, the very expression of accumulated fears, the opportunity to share them with someone in a safe environment, “pour out the soul” already leads to some subjective changes in the emotional status of the patient. In my case, it happened that way, after a short period of rubbing, I quickly opened up to the therapist and immediately felt some relief. Passing sessions after that was no longer a burden, on the contrary, I was looking forward to them. Also, therapy really helped me to deal with some hypertrophied fears, to realize that their consequences may not be as severe as I initially thought.

The thing is that, being in a depressed state, you do not delve into the essence of your problem, it scares and disarms you so much that you continue to engage in its mental chewing on a superficial level, do not take the next step, just feel that it will continue to be bad and scary. The role of the therapist is to take you by the hand and mentally go through this path, critically evaluate it, do what the patient is not able to do on their own. It is important to avoid any pressure on the part of the therapist, it should only help you to understand the hypertrophy of the problem by asking questions, offering to evaluate the possible variants of development of events.

As a result, your problem does not disappear, but its value, significance, if very roughly, decreases.cognitive-behavioral therapy does not eliminate the source of your pain, but teaches you to live with it. Well, that might be justified, too. Such therapy did not cure me, and I did not take less drugs, but in some situations I began to feel more confident, less fixated on certain problems that worried me at that time.

As for psychoanalysis, I have only a brief experience of this procedure, which I interrupted after several sessions, and I still believe that I did the right thing. For all the fidelity of the theoretical basis of the method, to its practical results, I am extremely skeptical. First, it repels the duration and cost of the process. Secondly, the method is extremely subjective, very much depends on the personality of the psychoanalyst, his ability to correctly interpret the signs that your subconscious mind gives.

I also have strong doubts about the treatment of the depressive disorder itself by psychoanalytic methods. It seems to me that psychoanalysis can be effective in cases where the cause of neurotic disorder is reduced to some one suppressed root episode. This occurs in the pathogenesis of various phobias and obsessive-compulsive conditions. If the therapist manages to get to the displaced episode and help the patient to realize and relive it, then there is a recovery or a marked reduction in symptoms. To illustrate, we can consider the example given by Freud in lectures on the introduction to psychoanalysis, I will allow myself to give this passage as a whole:

“Nineteen-year-old blooming gifted girl, the only child of her parents, whom she surpasses in education and intellectual activity, was an unruly and playful child, and in recent years without apparent external causes has turned into a nervous. She is very irritable, especially against her mother, always unhappy, depressed, prone to indecision and doubt, and finally admits that she is not able to walk alone in the squares and large streets. We will not deal with her difficult painful condition, requiring at least two diagnoses, agoraphobia and neurosis of obsessive-compulsive conditions, but will focus only on the fact that this girl has also developed a ceremonial bedtime, from which she makes her parents suffer. We can say that in a sense, any normal person has his own ceremonial laying down to sleep or requires compliance with certain conditions, the failure of which prevents him from falling asleep; he clothed the transition from a state of wakefulness to sleep in certain forms, which he repeats in the same way every evening. But anything that requires a healthy sleep environment can be rationally understood, and if external circumstances cause the necessary changes, then it is easily obeyed. But the pathological ceremonial is uncompromising, it is able to achieve the price of the biggest victims, and it is in the same way covered by the rational justification and at superficial consideration it seems different from normal only by some exaggerated carefulness. But if you look closer, you can see that the veil of rationality is too short, that the ceremonial includes requirements that go far beyond rational justification, and others that directly contradict it. Our patient as a motive for their night precautions leads to the fact that she needs to sleep and it should eliminate all sources of noise. To this end, she acts in two ways: she stops the big clock in her room, all the other clocks are removed from the room, she does not tolerate even the presence of her tiny clock on the bracelet in the nightstand. Flower pots and vases are made on the Desk so that they could not fall at night, break and disturb her in her sleep. She knows that all these measures can only have a seeming justification for demanding peace, the ticking of a small clock can not be heard, even if they remained on the bedside table, and we all know from experience that the uniform ticking of a clock with a pendulum never interferes with sleep, but rather acts sleepy. She also recognizes that the fear that flower pots and vases left in their place at night can fall and break themselves is unlikely. For other requirements of the ceremony she no longer refers to the need of rest. Indeed, the requirement that the door between her room and her parents ‘ bedroom remain half-open, the fulfillment of which she achieves by inserting various objects into the half-open door, it seems, on the contrary, can become a source of disturbing noise. But the most important requirements apply to the bed itself. The pillow at the head of the bed should not touch the wooden headboard. A small pillow for the head can lie on a large pillow only as forming a rhombus; head then she puts exactly along the long diagonal of the rhombus. The feather bed (”Duchent”, as we say in Austria), before it can be covered, must be whipped so that its edge at the feet became quite thick, but then it will not miss the opportunity to smooth this accumulation of feathers again.

Let me go around the other, often very small details of this ceremony; they would not teach us anything new and would take us too far from our goals. Do not lose sight, however, that all this is not so smooth. At the same time, it does not leave the fear that not everything is done properly; everything must be checked, repeated, the doubt arises about one or the other precaution, and as a result, it takes about two hours, during which the girl herself can not sleep and does not allow frightened parents to sleep.

The analysis of these torments was not as simple as in the case of the obsessive action of our first patient. I had a girl to do suggestive hints and propose interpretations, which every time she was rejected with a resounding “no” or accepted with contemptuous doubt. But this first negative reaction was followed by a period when she herself was engaged in the possible interpretations proposed to her, selected the appropriate thoughts, reproduced memories, established connections, until, on the basis of her own work, she accepted all these interpretations. As it happened, it is also more inferior in the performance of the obsessive precautions and before the end of treatment declined from just ceremonial. You should also know that the analytical work, as we now do, directly excludes the sequential processing of a single symptom until its final clarification. Moreover, sometimes you have to constantly leave one topic in full confidence that you will return to it again in another connection. The interpretation of the symptom that I am about to tell you is thus a synthesis of results that, interrupted by other work, take weeks and months to produce.

Our patient is beginning to gradually realize that during her sleep preparations, she removed the clock as a symbol of the female genitals. Watches, which can be symbolically interpreted in a different way, acquire this genital role due to the periodicity of processes and the correct intervals. A woman can boast that her menstruation occurs with the correct clockwork. But especially our patient was afraid that the ticking of the clock would interfere with sleep. The ticking of the clock can be compared to the pulsation of the clitoris during sexual arousal. Because of this unpleasant feeling she really woke up repeatedly, and now this fear of erection was expressed in the requirement to remove from herself at night running hours. Flower pots and vases, like all vessels, are also female symbols. The precaution that they do not fall and not break, therefore, not devoid of meaning. We know a common custom to break a vessel or plate during the engagement. Each one present takes a shard that we should understand how the waiver of claims for the bride from the point of view of the marriage custom to monogamy. Regarding this part of the ceremony the girls got a memory and some thoughts. Once as a child, she fell with a glass or clay vessel, cut her fingers, and was bleeding heavily. When she grew up and learned the facts of sex life, she had a frightening thought that on the wedding night she would not bleed and she would not be a virgin. Her precaution against the fact that the vase did not break, means, thus, the denial of the entire complex, associated with virginity and bleeding at the first intercourse, as well as the denial of the fear of bleeding and opposite to him the fear of] not to have bleeding. To prevent the noise for which it took these measures, they had only a remote relationship.

The main meaning of her ceremony, she guessed one day, when she suddenly realized the order that the pillow did not touch the headboard. Pillow for her has always been a woman, she said, and the vertical wooden backrest – man. Thus she wanted – by magic, I might add – to share a man and a woman, i.e. to separate the parents to prevent them before the marital act. This same goal she tried to achieve before, until the introduction of ceremonial, more direct way. She feigned fear, or used existing tendency to fear in order not to give close the door between the bedroom and the nursery. This requirement still remains in her present ceremonial. Thus she created itself opportunity eavesdrop on for parents, but, using this opportunity, she once acquired insomnia, which lasted months. Not quite pleased with the opportunity to interfere with her parents in this way, she sometimes made sure that she slept in the marital bed between her father and mother. Then the “pillow” and”headboard” really couldn’t connect.”

From this example, it becomes clear that the success of the interpretation of painful symptoms in psychoanalysis is very dependent on the professionalism of the therapist, requires patient work and really helps in a number of disorders lead to recovery. The problem is that in the case of depression, it is rarely possible to identify any one episode from the patient’s past, which served as the direct cause of the disease. There are many such episodes, they are superimposed on each other, increase internal tension, until it finds a way out in the symptoms of the disease. Obviously, a lot of work needs to be done to identify and work out, one after another, each such traumatic event. And of course, psychodynamic therapy does not help the patient to solve his problems with real events occurring in the present.

Data on the effectiveness of psychoanalysis in depression are contradictory and, at least for me, unconvincing. Effective and reliable tools for detecting suppressed unconscious material in the Arsenal of psychoanalysts today I do not see. But they existed and were actively used in the 60s of the last century. Such tools were psychedelic drugs.

Do you have depression?

Many people think that depression is a bad mood. This view is certainly wrong, if you are a living person, then you have inevitable periods of emotional decline and recovery. Depression begins when you lose the ability to cope with such downturns. If a healthy person is yelled at by the boss, his mood will certainly deteriorate, this is completely normal. Such a person will stay in a bad mood for some time, but then inevitably he will be distracted, will work this negative on an unconscious level and will live on. There may be situations when the" precipitate " will still remain for a long time (how to deal with this, I'll tell you below), but nevertheless this episode will not poison the rest of a healthy person's life.

When depression is different. The most common signs of its presence are causeless bad mood, loss of the ability to enjoy life and increased fatigue for at least two weeks. Under the wanton here refers to the lack of daily traumatisierung factor causing an emotional depression. It doesn’t mean that if you’re rude on the bus, you have a reason to fall into melancholy for the next two weeks.

It should also be borne in mind that depression can be masked, that is not manifested through bad mood, and any somatic factors, disorders at the level of organs and systems of the body. Such depression is also unpleasant because it is poorly diagnosed. This is exactly what happened in my case, six months I was treated for anything, but not for depression. During these six months, I managed to undergo treatment for thyroid insufficiency, gastroesophageal (gastro-esophageal) reflux, gastric erosion, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic myocarditis, giardium and a number of other diseases.

Fortunately, there are quite objective methods for diagnosing depression. To assess the presence and severity of the disease, specialists use several scales, such as the Hamilton, Beck or Gotland scale. All of them are a set of questions, for each of which there are several possible answers, estimated by a different number of points. It is believed that the assessment should be made by a psychiatrist, and this is correct. It is always easier for a specialist to objectively assess the accuracy of your answers, clarify unclear points, ask leading questions.

At the same time, if you suspect that you have a depressive disorder and think that you are able to answer the questions as honestly as possible, it makes sense to test yourself before you run headlong to a psychiatrist. A negative answer may not always be correct in the case of self-test, but a positive is a sufficient reason for a visit to a specialist.

For independent work more than others suitable scale Zang.

Zang scale for self-assessment of depression (ZDRS)

Zang scale for self-assessment of depression (The Zung self-rating depression scale) was first published in the UK and subsequently received international recognition. It is developed on the basis of diagnostic criteria of depression and the results of a survey of patients with this disorder. Assessment of the severity of depression on it is based on the patient’s self-assessment. The scale contains 20 questions, each of which gives an answer to the frequency of occurrence of a particular feature, ranked in four gradations: “rare”, “sometimes”, “often” and “most of the time or constantly.”

Method of application: before starting the procedure, the subject should be acquainted with the method of working with the scale. The scale is filled in by the subject, and the specialist does not take part in its filling. The time required to fill in takes a few minutes.

The total score is determined by the results of the answers to all 20 points.

How it all began

Analyzing now my past, trying to find the causes of depression, I understand that there is no one traumatic situation that led to the development of the disease. Undoubtedly, my childhood experiences played a huge role. I was quite a weak physically and sickly child, and although I’m still not fully aware of everything that scared and traumatized me in the deep past, the intensive therapy I went through at Dr. Janov Center in Los Angeles and months of practice of my method convinced me that the roots of the problem grow from childhood.

At the same time, in full accordance with the causes of depression, set out in one of the previous chapters, in my mind there were a lot of quite conscious traumatic episodes from the less distant past and even the present. All this tension grew like a snowball and did not find a way out, in the end the psyche had to not withstand such pressure and break. That is what happened in August 2002.

At that time, I only suffered from the flu and was still in the recovery period, was weakened physically, residual effects continued to manifest themselves. It so happened that in the same period I was under the influence of chronic stress associated with problems at work and difficult relationships with his girlfriend. Problems have not been resolved for several months, and if the complexity of the working order, I objectively could not have any significant impact, the solution to the problems in my personal life was not due to the blocks, beliefs, blinkers, if you like, that existed in my mind at that time. All this mental stuff accumulated for decades and did not allow me to breathe calmly and carefully analyze the emerging life situations.

One fine morning I woke up and was surprised to find that my heart was beating faster than usual, without any physical or intellectual stress. Without paying special attention to it, I went to work, by the end of the working day to heartbeat the expressed shortness of breath was added. This went on for a few days, but I was really worried when I started daily bursts and drops in body temperature, with nothing obvious associated and not following any sustainable pattern.

My medical education played a cruel joke on me. The emotional sphere at that time had not yet been touched, and I was looking for the cause of ill health in anything but a depressive disorder. By the third week, my condition began to bother me seriously, I developed severe asthenia, I was tired very quickly and could not concentrate on doing any, even the most simple work.

The trip to the therapist and the General examination revealed no abnormalities, except for palpitations. There was a suspicion of myocarditis, which was rejected after a special instrumental examination. The next stage was the elimination of hormonal disorders, a detailed analysis revealed a slightly reduced level of thyroid hormones, and the next stage of my epic began.

On the recommendation of an endocrinologist, I started taking thyroxine, the main product of the thyroid gland, with regular blood tests and monitoring of hormone levels. I must say that the process is not fast and we spent another month to fix the minimum violation that was found in me. Needless to say, it did not produce any results.

Since I did not receive adequate treatment, my condition continued to deteriorate, and now he added disorders of the digestive system. The first was a stable heartburn, after taking almost any food, it quickly led to the development of pain in the stomach and the emergence of erosion of the gastric wall. In addition to thyroid hormones, I started taking drugs to reduce the acidity of gastric juice and was treated with antibiotics for the eradication of Helicobacter pilory, a bacterium that causes stomach ulcers.

As soon as I heal one manifestation of the disease, as she found a way out in something else, now I had to deal with gastroesophageal reflux, an extremely unpleasant disease, manifested by the casting of undigested food and gastric juice from the stomach into the esophagus. Another series of examinations, unsuccessful drug therapy and the proposed surgery aimed at narrowing the diameter of the gastro-esophageal valve. All this against the background of continuous deterioration of the General state of health.

I understood that the operation would not solve anything and would not save me from suffering. It was necessary to find the root cause of the disease, and I went to London, for examination in Cromwell Hospital, one of the best private hospitals in the UK. By this time, I looked so depressed that, to the credit of my therapist, he didn’t have to exhaust me with numerous and unnecessary tests. First of all, looking at my hormonal tests and conducting an external examination, he immediately said that my thyroid is all right, and advised me to immediately throw out all my pills for hypothyroidism.

Then, after asking me in detail about the symptoms of the disease and the effect of the treatment (or rather, its absence), he was the first to utter the fatal word: “Depression”. In other circumstances, I would have been extremely upset by such a diagnosis, but by that time I was so exhausted that I was even glad to see him. Anything to get some certainty and the right treatment. I had no idea what was ahead of me. I was sick by this time for about six months.

What is mental health

How many times have you dreamed about going back to your "pre-depressive" emotional state? Return not at the cost of daily intake of a handful of pills, constant drowsiness, the feeling of a metal helmet, worn on the head, killed at the root of sexual desire, but really, so that without the help of medicines you can laugh when watching comedies, do not poison the life of others with your downcast, perform elementary work for an hour, not for a week. But if you think that's mental health, you're wrong.

Of course, against the background of your current state and what was before the depression, it seems a pipe dream and something completely unattainable, but remember, before the illness, you did not have to experience unmotivated anxiety, emotionally react to some little things and then regret your behavior, be afraid of public speaking and avoid noisy parties? Depression is a very unpleasant disease, but it gives you a chance to reconsider your life, beliefs and values, to uproot the emotional anchors that have settled somewhere very deep in the subconscious, to remove the blocks and restrictions imposed by someone, to get rid of bodily and mental clamps, to regain the ability to feel as you felt in childhood, when the colors were brighter, and the food tastier, and each new day brought a lot of new positive impressions.

Don’t stop at what doctors call “remission,” don’t agree to spend the rest of your life on a “maintenance dose” of antidepressants, it’s not real life, you have the right to demand more.

So what is mental health?

I would like to remind you once again that I do not pretend to be scientific and admit that my vision of some aspects of the problem may differ from the currently accepted medical paradigm. But I have a moral right to my point of view, after all, all these volumes of medical research, mountains of pills, and dozens of hours spent in the therapist's chair didn't give me the result I was able to come to on my own.

Antidepressants and psychotherapy were able to bring me to a relatively stable state, that is, I could go to work, with some very small degree of efficiency to perform their duties, to maintain some minimum necessary social relations with friends and colleagues. At the maximum for me therapeutic dosage of drugs I had panic attacks, which was already a great relief, increased mood, passed insomnia. But at what cost!

I wanted to sleep all day, about any productive work and the speech couldn’t be, I added 10 kilograms in weight, ceased to go in for sports, didn’t test any sexual attraction. For a long time I was sure that I was doomed to such existence until the end of my days, and internally already reconciled with it.

After I started meditative practices, which I will write about in detail below, my optimism increased, I was able to reduce the dose of antidepressants twice the maximum level, at some point I even completely refused to take them. But, unfortunately, this state lasted only a couple of months, the first stress at work drove me back into a deep depression.

But even at the peak of my emotional recovery, I realized that it was difficult to call it recovery. My mood was extremely volatile, I overreacted to the slightest stressful situation, slept badly.

And only now I understand what real emotional health is. This does not mean a constant good mood and the absence of any anxiety and excitement. This condition also refers to the pathological in psychiatry called “germanically”. You may have met such people in your life, I knew two of them, and both of them were scientists for some reason. They could talk and work for hours, almost days, never tired and never listened to anyone, always stayed in some elated euphoric state. At the same time, the lives of others they turned into hell, to communicate, and even more so to live with such people is absolutely unbearable, and they themselves are rarely happy and successful. I don’t think that’s something to aspire to.

By mental health, I mean something completely different. A person is healthy, if in the absence of any external influence his emotional state is stable, he feels balanced, with a slight deviation towards the positive, he is calm, but energetic and collected, able to concentrate on the task and at the same time get satisfaction from his work.

A person should get satisfaction from the process itself, whatever he was doing, to regain the taste of life, the ability to feel, to feel the world as it was possible in childhood. We all understand that the children’s brightness and freshness of sensations lost, and put up with it. But it shouldn’t be like this. To correct this state of Affairs, we first need to understand why this is happening, to discover the causes of this phenomenon of loss of a part of ourselves. About them we will talk in the next Chapter.

How to Reduce Autumn Anxiety: 10 Ways to Relax

EVEN IF THE STUDY IS LONG GONE, THE END OF THE HOLIDAY SEASON and the beginning of the school year are associated with stress and increased workload. Work is added, in transport there are more people, the weather worsens-and it's time to hone the ability to relax to calmly survive the autumn and winter. We have collected ten ways, the calming effect of which is confirmed by research and which will help to recover, even when it seems that everything collapses and goes out of control.

Drawing

Art therapy has already proved its effectiveness in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorder and other mental illnesses. After all, sometimes it is easier to draw what you feel than to tell. Forget about the lessons of fine ARTS and harsh teacher: here you are not required to clear lines, “correct” composition or a certain combination of colors. Create what you want and how you want, frames (they will be except on canvas) and no estimates, the main thing — come to this lesson consciously: take a break from thoughts and focus on the process. According to the candidate of psychological Sciences and associate Professor of Brooklyn College Jennifer Drake, only fifteen minutes of drawing significantly uplifting.

Meditation

Around meditation many myths — apparently it is complex, confusing and generally only advanced yogis. In fact, for a successful meditation is not necessary to sit in the Lotus position, teach wise (special gestures and finger positions) or pronounce mantras. It is important to choose a quiet place to concentrate on your breathing and try to observe their thoughts. The first time is unlikely to succeed (from the second and third too), but the main thing here is regular practice. Start with short sessions: five to ten minutes a day is enough to form a habit. It is better to meditate in the morning or before going to bed, but even this is not considered a strict rule.

Meditation helps lower cortisol levels in the blood, reducing stress and increased anxiety, but that’s not all. Last year, the society of integrative Oncology updated its guidelines-and now recommends the use of meditation as one of the ways to improve the physical and emotional state of breast cancer. Another study found that various practices for the mind and body, including meditation, mitigate the symptoms of menopause. And neuroscientist Sarah Lazar is convinced that eight weeks of regular meditation sessions can change the physical properties of the brain. During the experiments, Sarah and her colleagues found that the size of the amygdala (the area responsible for the appearance of anxiety, fear and stress) in people practicing meditation, decreased. This was followed by a decrease in the level of stress.

Strolls

Physical activity is useful in any form, and normal walks are also considered. With friends, a partner, a dog or without anyone — it doesn’t matter, just leave the house when you want to relax or calm down, it really helps. Spend more time outdoors and those who have depression. Walking an average of two hundred minutes a week, women noted that they had more energy, they felt better physically and emotionally, and it was easier for them to socialize. And if you increase the duration of walking to seven hours a week, it will help reduce the risk of breast cancer after the onset of menopause — so say researchers from The American cancer society.

Sex

Hugs, kisses and sex are very useful for health — both physical and psychological. So, sex reduces cortisol levels and relieves stress, so that a person feels more peaceful. According to psychologist from Paisley University in the UK Stuart Brody, such a calming effect may occur due to the release of the hormone oxytocin, it is also called the hormone of love and affection. In addition, sex helps to better perceive and control their emotions, increase self-esteem and overall health. But some research does say about the positive impact of sex on memory in women.

Floating

Floating was invented and developed by neuropsychologist John Lilly. Translated from the English term means “swim on the surface” — in fact, this happens during the procedure without any effort. The patient is immersed in water with a high concentration of salt rich in magnesium, so that the density of the water is much higher than the density of the body — and it pushes the person to the surface (as in the Dead sea in Israel). This happens in the sensory deprivation chamber — from the name it is clear that the person in it is almost completely cut off from external stimuli, often-in complete darkness.

Since the procedure appeared recently, it is still poorly studied, so it is necessary to approach it cautiously: it will be useful to consult with a psychotherapist if you have it (after all, not everyone will be comfortable in a small enclosed space alone). On the basis of already conducted studies, we can say that flotation (probably due to magnesium in the salt) helps to relax muscles, accelerate recovery after training, relieve stress, normalize the nervous system and even improve sleep. On the procedure you need to try to relax, although the first time it will be difficult to do: the brain does not understand what it is, it will seem that you are drowning (in fact it is impossible, do not be afraid).

Journeys

It is not necessary to go to the other side of the world — it will be useful to go just for or to another city, provided that there you can feel like a tourist. Studies show that the holidays allow you to break away from the routine, bad weather and problems at work, which helps a person to relieve stress, reduce anxiety and find peace of mind. This effect has a very short — four-day-trip. Even at the planning stage-making a route, booking hotels, buying online tickets to museums-a person is in a good mood: a study conducted at Cornell University, confirmed that waiting for a trip gives a person more pleasure than waiting for the purchase of something tangible, such as a car.

Nurslings

If you have long been thinking about how to get a pet, then this item is for you. In February of this year, Helen Brooks, a lecturer at the Institute of psychology, health and society (Liverpool University), and her colleagues published a systematic review of the impact of Pets on people’s emotional health. After analyzing more than eight thousand articles, they came to the conclusion that Pets helped their owners to better control emotions and helped reduce the severity of symptoms of mental illness.

According to Brooks, this effect was achieved due to the fact that Pets accept people as they are (and the person understands this), and give them unconditional support, which research participants did not receive from their family or friends. According to experts of the mental health Fund, games and walks with Pets, especially with dogs, help to relax and calm the mind. And in moments of despair, caring for Pets can be the only incentive to get out of bed — it helps a person to realize their value and necessity. The main thing-approach the question responsibly: consider the option to take the animal from the shelter and do not forget that any animal should be systematically engaged.

Autogenic training

Those who do not like to do fitness, can exhale: no exercise is not necessary. Autogenous training is a method of therapy aimed at relaxing the body, relieving tension and stress. The first time to conduct sessions of auto-training is better under the supervision of a specialist. It will help to learn how to relax properly-so that it does not lead to deterioration of the patient’s condition, the appearance of anxiety or panic attacks (and this can happen).

Then you can put yourself in emotional order at home. The main thing is not to make the main mistake of all beginners-do not force yourself to relax, everything should flow naturally. The indications of the use of auto-training include not only stress or fatigue, but also anxiety and depression, sleep disorders, irritable bowel syndrome, high blood pressure caused by stress. The results of the studies show that this method of therapy is really suitable for some people.

Massage

What could be better and more pleasant than to spread out on the massage table after a day in the office? Although the benefits of massage for health (for example, that it helps to align the posture or relieve back pain) is still debated, that it helps to relax the body and mind, there is almost no doubt left. In one of the studies, participants who were given a massage, there was a decrease in the level of anxiety. There are many types of massage: hot stones (stone therapy), herbal bags, aromatic, honey, Thai, soap-choose any, but again do not expect anything from them except relaxation.

Music

Music has existed for 250 thousand years, and maybe more — psychologists, anthropologists, musicologists, neuroscientists have long studied its origin, properties, goals and effects. Scientists have made significant progress in the study of the influence of music on the emotional and physical health of a person: for example, they found that music reduces the level of stress hormone (cortisol) and is even able to relieve pain. In a 2013 study, doctors found that listening to music reduces anxiety in people before surgery.

You are certainly without any kind of research I have noticed that after listening to a favorite album becomes easier. In one study, scientists interviewed 834 people to find out what music gives them. It turned out that a lot: music helps different people to think about feelings, to better understand others, to believe in themselves, not to lose heart and to find the meaning of life.

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.