Designer Stefan Pelger committed suicide at the age of 43. He suffered from depression and had great trouble sleeping, admitting to taking up to 40 pills a night to sleep. For this reason, he ended up in a rehabilitation center.

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Depression is the most common mental disorder in the world and the second leading cause of disability worldwide. According to the WHO, approximately 3.8% of the population suffers from depression, including 5% of adults (4% of men and 6% of women) and 5.7% of adults over the age of 60. About 280 million people worldwide suffer from depression.

Mental illness affects one in four EU citizens and can lead to suicide; about 58,000 people die by suicide each year, more than die from road traffic accidents, homicide or HIV/AIDS each year.

What is the relationship between depression and insomnia?

Insomnia is one of the symptoms of depression.

Depression or a depressive episode is a disorder that causes persistent feelings of sadness and loss of interest or pleasure.

The main element of a major depressive episode is a period of at least 2 weeks during which there is a depressed mood or loss of interest in any activity.

The diagnostic criteria for a major depressive episode require the presence of five of the following symptoms within a three-week period and the presence of at least the first and second in the clinical picture:

• Depressed or irritable mood in children and adolescents
• Noticeable loss of interest in almost all activities for most of the day or almost every day.
• Weight loss or gain
• Insomnia or hypersomnia almost every day
• Restlessness or psychomotor retardation almost every day
• Tiredness or lack of energy almost every day
• Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
• Decreased ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness almost every day
• Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal thoughts without a specific plan.

The symptoms also cause social and occupational distress, and the episode cannot be attributed to the physiological effects of a substance or other illness.

In some people, severe symptoms of depression require hospitalization. This may be needed if the person cannot properly care for themselves or when they are in immediate danger of harming themselves or others.

What are the causes of depression?

The causes of depression cannot be fully elucidated. The modern vision of research and clinics imposes a bio-psycho-social model, in which both biochemical disorders in the brain and psychological causes (fragile personalities) or social causes (daily stress, negative life events, hostile environment) influence the occurrence of depression. , etc.) to contribute.). In almost a quarter of cases, the first depressive episode occurs as a reaction to a negative life event. However, later episodes may recur without any apparent reason, reports the medical center for diagnosis and treatment “Doctor Victor Babes”.

According to the cited source, some drugs can cause depressive symptoms: antihypertensive drugs, oral contraceptives and hormones, appetite stimulants or suppressants, analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs, antibacterial and antifungal drugs.

Among the diseases that can contribute to the emergence of depressive states, the most common are neurological (cerebrovascular diseases, epilepsy), endocrinological (disorders of the thyroid and other endocrine glands), infectious (HIV infection, mononucleosis, viral-bacterial pneumonia, tuberculosis), and inflammatory.

In women, menopause, premenstrual syndrome, and recent childbirth are additional possible causes of depression.

The risk is higher in people with a family history of affective disorders or mental illness, alcohol or substance abuse.

Treatment of depression is complex and includes both drug and psychotherapeutic approaches. However, in some cases, patients commit suicide.