In recent years, the depression and other mental health problems, such as panic attacks, They ceased to be a taboo subject and gained a place in the media.
In fact, personalities from different fields, who seem to have little (or nothing) in common, such as Prince William of England, the journalist Mario Pergolini or the influencer Paulina Cocina, shared their experiences with depression already how Seeking professional help was key to his recovery processes.
They weren’t the only ones. “I spent very ugly, very hard moments that I never wanted to tell. I had cancer, depression and panic attacks. I had a horrible time. That is why today I am so happy to be well”, said the journalist Matías Martin last year, when he turned 51, on his radio program.
“You feel bad and you don’t know why. They run tests on you and everything is fine, but you are not feeling well,” Spanish footballer Andrés Iniesta explained some time before during an interview. “I have been doing therapy for two years and I understood much better what I had been feeling”added the Brazilian Ronaldo in another recent statement, who stated that until not long ago there was “no kind of concern regarding players’ mental health”.
If they might talk, so can you
According to specialists, depression is a mental health problem with a very high prevalence. SIf we take a group of 100 people, it is likely that 4 are going through this condition. Figures from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveal that it affects more than 300 million people in the world, something like 4% of the population, and It is the leading cause of disability.
In this context, the fact that recognized figures speak regarding this subject is of enormous importance for specialists. “It helps to tear down something we see on a daily basis: the stigma, the label and the enormous burden What is around depression, and what ends keeping people away from the doctor’s office and negatively influencing the non-adherence to treatmentswhich is one of the big problems we have in mental health and affects 50% of patients”, says Manuel Vilapriño, president of the Association of Argentine Psychiatrists (APSA).
the treatments for depression are usually prolonged and it is essential that each of its stages be respected. Otherwise, says Vilapriño, “the possibility of recurrence and resistance of the condition will be greater.”
In other words, Asking for help from specialized professionals is essential. for early detection and accurate diagnosis: “This disease it is devastating if you don’t treat it properly”, warns the president of APSA.
One of the main barriers around mental health is linked, for specialists, to the stigma that, although less and less, continues to exist. That is the reason why many people avoid seeing a psychiatrist.
For Vilapriño, a fact to take into account is that approximately 80% of psychoactive drugs in Argentina are not prescribed by psychiatrists. “This shows that people choose other ways before consulting these professionals, for example, turning to general practitioners”, he explains. “It is worrying that people receive this type of medication by professionals who are not specialists, because the most prescribed are anxiolyticswhich can generate habituation and are not specific for some pathologies”.
For his part, Guillermo Thomas, head of the Pediatric Mental Health Clinical Psychology section at the Italian Hospital, stresses that the great risk of depressive symptoms is “suffering and suicidal thoughts, which are not uncommon to appear,” which which makes resorting to professionals specialized in mental health care essential.
“”All I wanted was to be off. I ended up with a very good psychiatrist and I was able to pull it off.””
Mario Pergolini, journalist
The Depression does not distinguish by age or socioeconomic status. “No one is exempt. In Argentina, approximately 20% of people they develop a depressive picture, according to data from the UBA and the Conicet. The prevalence is enormous”, says Vilapriño.
However, there are still several myths which still needs to be demolished. In this sense, Thomas points out: “The worst thing you can say to a person who is depressed is ‘go ahead, you can do it!’, ‘put your batteries together: I went for a walk’, because he is someone who is ill and has no a lot of strength. If you tell him “you have everything, look what you’ve achieved, I can’t believe you’re like this”, what you’re doing is objecting to the reasons for being wrong and you’re filling him or her with guilt, as if he or she had chosen to become depressed.
“”I was sad for a long time. People tell you ‘be happy’, ‘nothing’s wrong’, ‘your life is good’. I went out doing a treatment.””
Pauline Kitchen
Beyond depression anxiety disorders (including, for example, the panic attacks) are also extremely common. “They have a prevalence of 40% and require a specific approach. Sometimes they can be comorbid with depression, or depression can have symptoms of anxiety without the person having an underlying anxiety disorder,” says Vilapriño.
One of those who spoke regarding this topic was the Argentine singer Rusherking. In an interview on the La Peña de Morfi program, he delved into the impact that the notoriety he gained from his courtship with China Suárez had on him, and recounted: “I started first with anxiety attacks and then with panic attacks . I thought I was going to die. I was sleeping at home, I was short of breath and I had to get up to be taken to the hospital. They checked me and I had nothing. It was all mental.”
In these cases, the president of APSA explains that those who have anxiety disorders, “instead of having an adaptive and functional anxiety, have a maladaptive and dysfunctional anxiety”, which affects different aspects of daily life.
Ignacio Brusco, dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the UBA and director of the Mental Health Department of the Hospital de Clínicas, assures that “95% of depressions are 100% reversible with correct treatment. The younger the person, the faster it is and the better the prognosis.”
Taking into account that depression usually begins (although not in all cases) during adolescence, The specialists add that it is essential to consult a professional when the first symptoms appear so that “there is no diagnostic confusion” with other situations that can be considered “typical of adolescence.”
“When girls and boys start to lose vitality, have trouble sleeping or oversleeping, or the same with food, as well as have negative ideas or isolate themselves, it is important that they consult a professional,” advises Thomas .
In this disorder, both genetic factors as psychosocioenvironmental. “Having relatives with depression greatly increases the risk of developing it. At the same time that there are vulnerable people for having suffered major life traumas”, details Brusco. There are also those who did not go through any vital trauma but trigger depression due to a biological issue at some point in life, which can be related to age, hormonal changes or medications, for example.
The treatment will be specific depending on the characteristics of the case and, according to Vilapriño, an approach is required pharmacological (in the case of moderate and severe pathologies), psychotherapeutic, psychoeducational (both the patient and his family) and rehabilitativo (which may include, for example, attendance at a day center or a therapeutic companion for a while).
“We call this ‘treatment design’ and it is very important, because otherwise it seems that the psychiatrist is a mere prescriber of drugs and that is very far from reality”, he assures. Finally, he stresses that the role of the family or affective ties is crucial in recovery. “It helps adherence to treatment, to reduce relapses and improve the prognosis”, concludes the psychiatrist.