The reactive depression it is a mood disorder related to major depression, but it has some important differences with this condition. The main one is that it appears after suffering a painful or traumatic life event, and tends to disappear when the cause is solved.
Reactive depression is also often known as "adjustment disorder." A person with this problem may have symptoms that are very similar to those of someone with major depression, but the severity of the symptoms, the causes, the consequences and the way to treat them will be different..
The life situations that trigger episodes of reactive or situational depression vary from person to person. However, some of the most common are job loss, divorce, death of a loved one, having an accident, suffering from a serious illness, or any major lifestyle change..
Although it is not as serious a problem as other forms of depression, this disorder can cause great difficulties for those who suffer from it. In this article we will tell you what are the main characteristics of reactive depression, so that you can learn to recognize its symptoms and know what to do in front of it.
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As in the case of other psychological disorders, the symptoms of reactive depression can be classified into three types: cognitive, emotional and behavioral. Next we will see which are the most important of each of these categories.
Much of the symptoms of reactive depression have to do with a person's way of thinking and mental functions.
When someone suffers from this disorder, they usually harbor the belief that their problems cannot be solved and that their mood will therefore remain very negative in the future..
At the same time, due to the changes that depression produces in the brain, people with this disorder have great difficulty concentrating and maintaining their attention. In addition, they tend to focus only on the bad things in their life, something known as a negativity bias..
Because of all this, people with this disorder often feel trapped and hopeless, constantly worrying about what will happen to them in the future and thinking about their past problems. Intrusive thoughts may even appear about the traumatic event they have experienced..
In the most severe cases, suicidal thoughts are also common.
As in other types of depression, people with this disorder feel constant and extremely strong sadness most of the time..
This prevents them from enjoying activities that would normally bring them pleasure, a symptom known as "anhedonia.".
On the other hand, because reactive depression is related to a traumatic experience, those who suffer from it also tend to suffer recurrent episodes of anxiety.
All of this makes them feel overwhelmed by their circumstances, and generally also causes their self-esteem levels to drop significantly..
Lastly, people with reactive depression generally change the way they behave sharply..
Among other things, their cognitive and emotional symptoms make it very difficult for them to carry out their daily tasks, and when they do, their performance in them tends to drop a lot..
On the other hand, it is common for changes in sleep patterns to appear, either in the form of insomnia or by increasing the number of hours that these people sleep per day. The same goes for appetite, which can either decrease alarmingly or greatly increase..
In addition to this, people with reactive depression generally avoid complex tasks and spend most of their time doing non-demanding activities, such as watching television, browsing social media, or playing video games..
Finally, certain areas of your life, such as work or social relationships, are generally very negatively affected by this disorder. In the most severe cases of reactive depression, the person may end up isolated from loved ones and lose their job, which will tend to aggravate symptoms.
Practically all of us have suffered a complicated situation at some point in our life. However, not everyone ends up developing a psychological disorder such as situational depression. So what leads some people to suffer from this problem while the rest do not??
In this section, we will examine the most common causes of depressive symptoms in the presence of a particularly painful life event..
One of the causes that most explains individual differences in the appearance of mood disorders is emotional instability.
Those with this personality trait (also known as neuroticism) have stronger feelings that are more difficult to control, and that change more quickly..
In addition, these people tend to be affected to a much greater extent by what happens to them. This is in contrast to those that happen to those more emotionally stable, whose internal state has more to do with their own actions than with their environment.
The degree of emotional instability of a person seems to be largely determined from childhood. Thus, both genetic and developmental factors influence the levels of neuroticism that an individual will have during their adult life.
However, it is possible to reduce the degree of emotional instability, and with it the chances of suffering a mood disorder such as situational depression. One of the best ways to achieve this is through psychological therapy..
One of the factors that most determine whether or not a person will suffer from a mood disorder throughout their life is the presence of an adequate social support network.
Individuals with strong relationships with family, friends, and partners have been found to be less likely to suffer from any type of depression.
Regarding reactive depression, this factor is especially important because many of the situations that can trigger it are directly or indirectly related to the loss of social support.
Thus, the death of a loved one or a love breakup would cause the end of an important relationship for the person.
Studies with families have found that most psychological disorders have a significant genetic component.
When a close relative has suffered depression at some point in their life, it is much more likely that the person will also develop a disorder of this type.
However, this genetic vulnerability does not have to ever express itself in the form of depression if there is no vital condition that triggers it..
Reactive depression, although not usually considered as serious as other mood disorders, can cause all kinds of serious problems in the lives of people who suffer from it. Next we will see some of the most important.
One of the most common symptoms of situational depression is a lack of motivation and desire to do any activity that involves effort.
This can lead to problems in many different areas of life, such as employment, health, or performing basic tasks such as hygiene or home care..
Thus, if they do not receive adequate treatment, many people with situational depression may end up losing their job due to poor performance; or they may end up living in unhygienic conditions, since they do not see the point in taking care of their environment. On the other hand, your physical health may also suffer..
Another of the most common consequences among people with reactive depression is the lack of motivation to see their loved ones and spend time with them.
If this situation persists for a long time, it is common for their relationships to deteriorate and their family and friends end up putting them aside..
The problem is that, as we have seen, having a strong social circle is essential to avoid depression; so this consequence can end up seriously worsening the situation in which the patient finds himself.
Although reactive depression is often seen as a not too serious psychological problem, its symptoms and the consequences it produces can end up causing the appearance of a more serious one..
Thus, it is common that, if they do not receive treatment, individuals who suffer from it end up developing major depression.
However, this is not the only problem associated with adjustment disorder: some studies also suggest that the appearance of other pathologies such as agoraphobia, social phobia or generalized anxiety is quite common among those who suffer from this psychological disorder..
We have already seen that in the most severe cases of situational depression, patients may end up developing suicidal ideations and recurrent thoughts about death..
When this problem is not treated, some sufferers sometimes even attempt to kill themselves as a way to escape their symptoms..
Fortunately, reactive depression (like many other types of mood disorders) can be treated with a very high rate of recovery among sufferers..
There are several approaches that have been shown to be very effective in this regard; often used together to achieve the best results.
In milder cases of reactive depression, it may be enough to make several changes in the person's routine so that they begin to experience a significant improvement in their symptoms.
Thus, variations in diet, exercise and daily routine are able to alleviate many of the effects of this disorder..
Among the most common recommendations in this regard are to sleep at least eight hours each night, eat as healthy as possible focusing on natural foods, exercise at least every 48 hours, sunbathe to improve vitamin D levels, and surround yourself with a strong and supportive social circle.
Importantly, these changes will not be enough to end the most severe cases of reactive depression; but they can be very effective for less powerful versions of this disorder.
Cognitive behavioral therapy is the most supported by science, and the one that has been shown to be the most effective in treating all types of mood disorders.
Its approach is twofold: on the one hand, it focuses on changing the individual's problem behaviors. On the other, it tries to eliminate the irrational thoughts that aggravate the symptoms.
This form of therapy usually achieves very good results even in the most severe cases of reactive depression, although its effects take a while to be noticed.
However, having the help of a specialist in this matter is essential for the recovery of patients with this disorder..
In some cases, it is possible to use certain antidepressant psychotropic drugs to alleviate some of the most serious symptoms of this pathology. There are several types that can be used, the most common being selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors..
However, most of the time medication is only used in conjunction with some form of therapy, as an aid in making the latter work faster and more effectively..
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