What is depression? - Helen M. Farrell

Kaj je depresija? - Helen M. Farrell

Translator: Nika Kotnik Reviewer: Matej Divjak

Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world.

Depresija je glavni vzrok nezmožnosti na svetu.

In the United States,

V Združenih državah,

close to 10% of adults struggle with depression.

se okrog 10% odraslih spopada z depresijo.

But because it's a mental illness,

A zato, ker je to duševna bolezen,

it can be a lot harder to understand than, say, high cholesterol.

jo je veliko težje razumeti, kot recimo, povišan holesterol.

One major source of confusion is the difference between having depression

En velik izvor zmede je razlika med imeti depresijo

and just feeling depressed.

in med samo občutkom biti depresiven.

Almost everyone feels down from time to time.

Skoraj vsak se od časa do časa počuti na tleh.

Getting a bad grade,

Če dobiš slabo oceno,

losing a job,

izgubiš službo,

having an argument,

se prepiraš,

even a rainy day can bring on feelings of sadness.

celo deževen dan lahko prinese občutke žalosti.

Sometimes there's no trigger at all.

Včasih ni sprožilca.

It just pops up out of the blue.

Kar pojavi se.

Then circumstances change,

Potem se okoliščine spremenijo

and those sad feelings disappear.

in ti žalostni občutki izginejo.

Clinical depression is different.

Klinična depresija je drugačna.

It's a medical disorder,

Je bolezen

and it won't go away just because you want it to.

in ne bo šla stran samo zato, ker si tega želimo.

It lingers for at least two consecutive weeks,

Traja vsaj dva tedna skupaj

and significantly interferes with one's ability to work,

in pomembno zmanjša sposobnost za delo,

play,

igro,

or love.

ali ljubezen.

Depression can have a lot of different symptoms:

Depresija ima lahko veliko različnih simptomov:

a low mood,

slabo razpoloženje,

loss of interest in things you'd normally enjoy,

izgubo zanimanja za stvari, v katerih smo prej uživali,

changes in appetite,

spremembe v apetitu,

feeling worthless or excessively guilty,

občutek manjvrednosti ali velike krivde,

sleeping either too much or too little,

preveč ali premalo spanca,

poor concentration,

slaba koncentracija,

restlessness or slowness,

nemirnost ali počasnost,

loss of energy,

izguba energije

or recurrent thoughts of suicide.

ali ponavljajoče se misli o samomoru.

If you have at least five of those symptoms,

Če imaš vsaj 5 izmed teh simptomov,

according to psychiatric guidelines,

se po psihiatričnih smernicah,

you qualify for a diagnosis of depression.

kvalificiraš za diagnozo depresije.

And it's not just behavioral symptoms.

Simptomi ne zajemajo samo obnašanja.

Depression has physical manifestations inside the brain.

Depresija se fizično izraža v možganih.

First of all,

Najprej

there are changes that could be seen with the naked eye

so tu spremembe vidne s prostim očesom

and X-ray vision.

in z rentgenskimi žarki.

These include smaller frontal lobes and hippocampal volumes.

To vključuje manjši frontalni lobus in volumen hipokampusa.

On a more microscale,

Na mikroskopski ravni

depression is associated with a few things:

je depresija povezana z nekaj stvarmi:

the abnormal transmission or depletion of certain neurotransmitters,

nenormalen prenos ali pomanjkanje določenih nevrotransmiterjev,

especially serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine,

še posebej serotonina, epinefrina in dopamina,

blunted circadian rhythms,

moten cirkadialni ritem,

or specific changes in the REM and slow-wave parts of your sleep cycle,

ali specifične spremembe v REM fazi in delih ciklusa spanja s počasnimi valovi

and hormone abnormalities,

in hormonske abnormalnosti,

such as high cortisol and deregulation of thyroid hormones.

kot naprimer visok kortizol in deregulacija ščitničnih hormonov.

But neuroscientists still don't have a complete picture

A nevroznanstveniki še zmeraj nimajo celotne slike

of what causes depression.

o tem, kaj povzroči depresijo.

It seems to have to do with a complex interaction between genes and environment,

Zdi se, da gre za zapletene interakcije med geni in okoljem,

but we don't have a diagnostic tool

a nimamo diagnostičnega orodja,

that can accurately predict where or when it will show up.

ki bi lahko natančno predvidel, kje ali kdaj se bo pojavila.

And because depression symptoms are intangible,

In ker so simptomi depresije neoprijemljivi,

it's hard to know who might look fine but is actually struggling.

je težko vedeti, kdo izgleda v redu, a v resnici trpi.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health,

Nacionalni inštitut za mentalno zdravje ocenjuje,

it takes the average person suffering with a mental illness

da oseba, ki trpi za duševno boleznijo,

over ten years to ask for help.

v povprečju prosi za pomoč po več kot desetih letih.

But there are very effective treatments.

A tu so zelo učinkovite terapije.

Medications and therapy complement each other to boost brain chemicals.

Zdravila in terapija skupaj vplivata na kemikalije v možganih.

In extreme cases, electroconvulsive therapy,

V ekstremnih primerih elektrokonvulzivna terapija,

which is like a controlled seizure in the patient's brain,

ki je kot kontroliran napad v pacientovih možganih,

is also very helpful.

zelo pomaga.

Other promising treatments,

Druga obetajoča zdravljenja,

like transcranial magnetic stimulation,

kot je transkranialna magnetna stimulacija,

are being investigated, too.

sedaj preučujejo.

So, if you know someone struggling with depression,

Torej, če poznate koga, ki se bojuje z depresijo,

encourage them, gently, to seek out some of these options.

jih nežno vzpodbudite, naj poišče katero izmed teh možnosti.

You might even offer to help with specific tasks,

Lahko celo ponudite pomoč pri specifičnih nalogah,

like looking up therapists in the area,

kot je iskanje terapevta v bližini,

or making a list of questions to ask a doctor.

ali sestavite seznam vprašanj za zdravnika.

To someone with depression,

Nekomu z depresijo,

these first steps can seem insurmountable.

se ti prvi koraki lahko zdijo nepremostljivi.

If they feel guilty or ashamed,

Če se počutijo krive ali pa jih je sram,

point out that depression is a medical condition,

izpostavite, da je depresija bolezen,

just like asthma or diabetes.

tako kot astma ali diabetes.

It's not a weakness or a personality trait,

Ni šibkost ali osebnostna lastnost

and they shouldn't expect themselves to just get over it

in od sebe ne morejo pričakovati, da jo bodo kar preboleli,

anymore than they could will themselves to get over a broken arm.

tako kot ne moreš samo z voljo pozdraviti zlomljene roke.

If you haven't experienced depression yourself,

Če sam nimaš izkušenj z depresijo,

avoid comparing it to times you've felt down.

se izogibaj primerjavam s časom, ko si se počutil na tleh.

Comparing what they're experiencing to normal, temporary feelings of sadness

Zaradi primerjave tega, kar doživljajo z normalnimi, prehodnimi občutki žalosti,

can make them feel guilty for struggling.

se lahko počutijo krive, ker jim je težko.

Even just talking about depression openly can help.

Že če samo odkrito govorimo o depresiji, lahko pomaga.

For example, research shows that asking someone about suicidal thoughts

Naprimer, raziskave kažejo, če vprašamo nekoga po samomorilnih mislih,

actually reduces their suicide risk.

v resnici zmanjšamo njihovo tveganje za samomor.

Open conversations about mental illness help erode stigma

Odkrit pogovor o mentalni bolezni lahko pomaga uničiti stigmo

and make it easier for people to ask for help.

in tako bo ljudem lažje prositi za pomoč.

And the more patients seek treatment,

Več pacientov bo poiskalo zdravljenje,

the more scientists will learn about depression,

več se bodo znanstveniki naučili o depresiji,

and the better the treatments will get.

in boljša zdravljenja bomo dobili.