Can people with depression occasionally feel happy?

Written by Pang Ji Cheng
Psychiatry and Psychology
Updated on September 24, 2024
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Patients with depression may occasionally feel happy, but they predominantly experience low mood throughout most of their days. Patients perceive a significant and persistent sense of low spirits, pessimism, and despair. Their mood is such that they cannot feel joy, and they often seem easy to recognize by their facial expressions – furrowed brows, frowning, and looking deeply worried. Thus, these patients feel downhearted; nothing seems to interest them, they feel as if something heavy is pressing on their heart, devoid of pleasure, often crying, pessimistic, despairing, feeling as if each day lasts a year, and life not worth living. Sometimes, patients may feel that life is meaningless, hence might engage in self-harming or suicidal behaviors, blame themselves harshly, and have trouble concentrating. However, it's not that patients never experience happiness; it's just that they are in a depressed mood most of the time each day, with only occasional moments of happiness, which are relatively rare.

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How to treat postpartum depression?

When postpartum depression occurs, it is first important to pay attention to women's mental health. Treatment can be approached psychologically, and additionally, medication and physical therapy may be options. Psychological therapy includes supportive psychological treatments, music therapy, and cognitive behavioral adjustments. The main purpose of psychological therapy, especially during acute depressive episodes, is to alleviate symptoms of depression to improve social issues. It is important that family members and husbands provide sufficient psychological support and ensure that the new mother feels secure. Additionally, diet should be considered; consuming foods rich in protein and vitamins can strengthen a woman's body and resistance, and regulate her physical condition. In severe cases, under the guidance of a doctor, medication can also be used for treatment.

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Is depression considered a mental illness?

Depression is clinically classified as a mental illness, specifically a type of mood disorder. Its main clinical manifestations include low mood, slow thought processes, reduced volitional activity, fatigue, lack of interest, lack of pleasure, often accompanied by sleep disturbances, changes in weight, changes in sexual desire, and low self-esteem. Patients often feel fatigued and dissatisfied throughout the day, and their attention may decline. They may experience feelings of guilt, worthlessness, futility, and despair. It is not uncommon for patients to have thoughts or behaviors of self-harm or suicide. Thus, depression is a mental disorder that requires systematic antidepressant treatment once diagnosed. Effective treatment outcomes can often be achieved through a combination of medication, psychotherapy, and physiotherapy.

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Will mild depression get better?

Mild depression can achieve good therapeutic effects. Patients with mild depression may experience low mood, slow thinking, and decreased volition, but its severity is relatively mild. These patients primarily show lack of concentration, or slightly lower self-evaluation, and abnormalities in diet and sleep. Generally, the overall mental state of the patients is still relatively good. Therefore, in clinical practice, the main treatment for patients with mild depression is psychotherapy, especially cognitive behavioral therapy, to improve the patients' distorted and unreasonable cognition, ultimately leading to cognitive reconstruction and achieving good therapeutic effects. Antidepressant drugs can also be used for systematic treatment, such as serotonin reuptake inhibitors, which have an effective cure rate of over 85%.

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Geriatrics
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How to Cure Geriatric Depression

For geriatric depression, the treatment includes several aspects. Firstly, it is important to strengthen the patient's diet and nutrition supplementation. Secondly, certain psychological therapies should be provided to the depressed patients. The aim is mainly to alleviate or relieve symptoms, improve patients’ compliance with medication, prevent relapse, and reduce or eliminate the adverse consequences caused by the disease. The third aspect is to provide certain medication treatments, such as the currently used selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), and selective norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). These types of medications have been widely used in patients with geriatric depression disorders. Among them, SSRIs are quite effective for geriatric depression disorders and can effectively counteract cholinergic and have milder adverse reactions on the cardiovascular system, making it easy for elderly patients to accept and maintain long-term treatment. The fourth aspect is the improvement of electroconvulsive therapy, which can significantly improve depression when combined with comprehensive treatment. However, since depression has a high recurrence rate, full-course treatment is recommended.

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Where to seek treatment for postpartum depression?

Postpartum depression is a type of mental illness in puerperal women, so it is best for such women to see a psychiatrist, as psychological treatment for depression is very important. The key is to enhance the patient's self-confidence and raise their self-esteem. Additionally, it can provide individualized psychological counseling based on the patient’s personality traits, psychological state, and the causes of the condition, and it can eliminate the psychological factors causing the illness. Common clinical treatments include medication and psychological counseling.