My son’s girlfriend left him a month ago and he barely speaks and eats little. Could he have depression? Is it normal for him to have a lack of memory and energy? I don’t want to get out of bed and my family insists that he leave the house, how can I explain the discomfort I feel? Which doctor should I go to and when? Can antidepressants alter my personality?
These are some of the most common questions asked by people with depression or those in their immediate circle, and to which the first interactive guide on depression developed by the pharmaceutical company Lundbeck in collaboration with the Spanish Society of Psychiatry and Health tries to answer. Mental (Sepsm), the Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians (Semergen), the National Association to Help Patients with Depression (Anaed) and La Barandilla.
Because depression is a disease with a high prevalence (it affects 12% of the female population and 6% of the male population, according to data from Guillermo Lahera, head of Psychiatry at the Príncipe de Asturias university hospital) but about which there is a lot of misinformation. and there are many hoaxes spread, even more so now that the covid pandemic has triggered the conversation about mental health problems on social networks and anyone dares to give their opinion or advise about them.
According to a Maldita.es report mentioned by Lundbeck’s medical director, Susana Gómez-Lus, 80% of the mental health advice circulating on Tik Tok is misleading, and only 9% of the content on these topics is offered by users with relevant training in mental health. Added to this is that people with symptoms of depression are significantly more likely than others to believe this information, making them more vulnerable to hoaxes.
And these hoaxes or myths interfere, according to specialists, in the correct diagnosis and treatment of the disease. And hence the idea of ??gathering reliable and truthful information, provided by mental health specialists and those affected, that answers in a clear and understandable way to the most frequent questions that assail those who suffer from depression or those around them.
Eva Trillo, family doctor and vice president of Semergen Aragón, dismantles the myth that a person with depression is a person who is always sad, crying. “That’s what we see in the movies, but what we doctors see is that there are three types of symptoms that can alert us that a person suffers from depression; on the one hand, there is not enjoying things that they previously liked or crying. , but it may also be that what you present are cognitive symptoms, such as memory problems, lack of concentration, fatigue and mental fog… Or you may have symptoms in the body such as chronic pain, dizziness, gastric discomfort…” , details the doctor.
And he adds that if someone presents any of these blocks of symptoms maintained over time, for two or three weeks, and in a way that affects their daily life, their work, their relationship or their environment, they should consider asking for aid.
“If we think we have depression, we have to be practical, and the easiest thing is to go to the primary care doctor and tell him what is happening to you, how you feel,” Trillo responds when asked what the first step is to ask for help. . And he explains that family doctors are increasingly trained to diagnose and initiate treatment for depression and, if necessary, they act in collaboration with psychiatric teams.
Lahera warns that the health system does not have sufficient resources to offer specialized psychiatric and psychological care to all people with depression, so the majority are treated by primary care doctors and only cases of depression are referred to psychiatrists. resistant to treatment or severe depression, if there is a risk of suicide or another mental disorder in addition to depression.
Dr. Lahera assures that the recommendation to treat depression is a comprehensive approach, with drugs and psychotherapy, or even only with psychotherapy in the case of mild depression. “But there is a discrepancy between what the clinical guidelines recommend and what we are doing in public health, because Primary doctors, if they have 7 minutes to care for each patient, it is impossible for them to do any psychotherapy, and they must treat them only with drugs,” he admitted.
Trillo confirms this: “There is a lack of financial investment to offer comprehensive mental health treatments; if I have 5 or 6 minutes for the patient, I do not have time or sufficient training to offer psychotherapy.” And he emphasizes that, in reality, when dealing with depression “the zip code where you are born is more important than your genetic code, because if you can pay for private care you have the opportunity for better treatment, and if not, you have worse forecast”.
Another aspect that “In 30 questions. Interactive guide on depression” addresses is the role of family and friends of people who suffer from depression, which as explained by José Manuel Dolader, president of La Barandilla, and José Ramón Pagés, coordinator of Anaed, it is very relevant to motivate those who are suffering to speak and move forward.
