The melancholy is a state of great sadness, disgust of life, a malaise of despair. In psychiatry, we say that melancholic depression is the most severe depressions.
It can be triggered after an event easily identifiable (separation, bereavement, job loss) or spontaneously, without apparent reason, but that could come from a neurological disorder.
Generally, the melancholy is progressive. It may begin with a simple discouragement that intensifies until the desire is gone. After several weeks the patient's appearance changes: sad face, pale, he lost his voice or plaintive, refuses food ... Subsequently, there may be moments of bewilderment (face expressionless, no movement) or, for others, moments of profound agitation, panic, sometimes hysterical.
The symptoms of melancholia are those of depression (insomnia, guilt, loss of self-esteem ...), but with the addition of an unbearable emotional pain whose outcome, by the patient, is death (sometimes her children, too).
The assumption by health professionals is urgent. The treatment consists, first, to prevent suicide and to reduce the intensity of evil and finally avoid another crisis. The person is usually kept in hospital where antidepressants are prescribed.
30 mai 2010
| The text above is for information purposes only. Only a doctor can diagnose a disease. No treatment (medication or scheme) should be undertaken without consulting a health professional. |