Astheno-depressive syndrome: ICD 10 code, treatment and symptoms

Every person faces fatigue, temporary powerlessness and lack of mood. Periodic changes in mood and deterioration in well-being are not problems if the person’s condition is restored in a short time. When emotional darkness consumes the mind for an extended period, professional help may be needed.

Chronic fatigue is a cause for concern

Symptoms and manifestations of the syndrome

It is difficult to determine asthenic-depressive syndrome due to its extensive symptoms. A person suffering from an illness may be tormented by all the symptoms at once or only some of them - those that can easily be attributed to simple fatigue. Typically, symptoms are expressed in a person’s depressed state:

• loss of interest in life (you don’t want to go anywhere, you’re not interested in anything, etc.);
• irritability and aggression over minor trifles;
• difficulties in finishing what you started;
• rapid changes in mood (apathy is abruptly replaced by fussiness and uncontrollable talkativeness);
• it is difficult to concentrate on one thing;
• various phobias appear that have not previously been observed in this person (fear of crowds, claustrophobia, etc.);
• attacks of unreasonable fear and panic;
• lack of appetite or, on the contrary, irrepressible gluttony.

Astheno-depressive health is often accompanied by a disturbance in sleep patterns: it is difficult for a person to fall asleep, but it is even more difficult to wake up and get out of bed, even after many hours of sleep.

Physiological symptoms are as follows:

• headache;
• attacks of tachycardia;
• shortness of breath and sweating;
• dizziness and nausea;
• low-grade fever;
• menstrual irregularities;
• impotence;
• gastrointestinal disorders.

Some people experience so-called mythical body pains. False syndrome torments different parts of the body and joints each time.

Astheno-depressive syndrome affects not only adults, but also children. Parents need to pay attention to the following symptoms:

• the child’s isolation and unsociability;
• sudden weight loss;
• changes classes every half hour;
• may stay up all night or suddenly fall asleep while playing your favorite game.

Children's astheno-depressive disease is usually associated with excessive mental stress, lack of mobility and lack of walks in the fresh air.

Causes of the syndrome

Many unfavorable factors can provoke psychological problems. These include both the depressing influence of the external environment and the processes occurring inside the body. It is customary to identify several main causes of symptoms of astheno-depressive syndrome:

1. Prolonged exposure to stressful situations. The human psyche is characterized by mobility and ensures its adaptation to the external environment. However, prolonged overexertion can damage the nervous system.
2. Heavy physical activity. Athletes and people whose activities involve serious muscular work are susceptible to subdepressive syndrome due to significant energy expenditure. Despite the fact that higher nervous activity is involved in such cases only slightly, depletion of the body's resources occurs, which is accompanied by asthenia.
3. Poor nutrition has a negative impact on health. A lack of vitamins, minerals and other trace elements in the diet leads to a malfunction of neurons.
4. Endocrine disorders are a common cause of mental disorders. Hormones play an important role in maintaining good health. When the thyroid or gonads malfunction, a change in metabolism occurs, which negatively affects the emotional state of the patient.
5. Doctors are inclined to believe that there is a genetic predisposition to asthenic depression and other pathological conditions. Since such problems are often associated with characteristics of higher nervous activity, which tends to be inherited, psychological instability can also be a family problem.
6. A connection has been established between alcohol abuse and a person’s emotional state. This is due to the negative effects of alcohol on the nervous system and inhibition of normal metabolism. Astheno-depressive syndrome is also associated with smoking and drug use.

It is often difficult to find out the exact cause of the disorder. The rhythm of modern life predisposes us to constant stress and unbalanced nutrition. Often the impact of several unfavorable factors is recorded at once.

Causes of the syndrome in adults

In order to take timely measures to treat depression and prevent a person from deepening into depression, it is necessary to understand the true reasons for his depressed state. This is problematic to do, since the “roots” of the problem, like the symptoms, have too large a radius:

• hereditary predisposition to mental disorders;
• head injuries, even those that were not considered important;
• the presence of obvious and hidden chronic diseases;
• stress and psycho-emotional shocks;
• mental fatigue and lack of sleep;
• violations of occupational hygiene;
• depletion of the body due to vitamin deficiency;
• intoxication of the body (nicotine and alcohol, as well as medications).

Recently, experts have noted the spread of asthenic-depressive illness, the causes of which lie in the modern lifestyle:

• the pursuit of the blessings of life, the desire to do everything: provide for yourself and your family “to the fullest”, keep abreast of all events, keep up with fashion, etc.;
• inflated demands and expectations from the environment, which a person strives to meet at any cost;
• fear of losing your job, apartment, family;
• a large flow of news supplied by the media, the Internet, and other people.

Being under such daily pressure, sooner or later a person “breaks down”. His “mad” activity gives way to apathy, and a neurasthenic syndrome develops, threatening to turn into deep depression.

It is important to understand in time and not to trigger the syndrome. It can be difficult for a person to adequately assess his own astheno-depressive situation. He becomes grumpy, hates the whole world and believes that he is being picked on too much. Many people brush this problem aside. But blues is also a disease and it needs to be treated as early as possible.

Diagnostics

If a person has astheno-depressive syndrome, he needs to consult a therapist, take tests and undergo an examination. Often it all starts with physical ailments. The doctor will help you find out chronic diseases as a possible root cause:

• pathological enlargement of the thyroid gland;
• hormonal imbalance;
• diabetes;
• hepatitis;
• tachycardia, etc.

If no serious illnesses are identified, the root of the problem lies in psycho-emotional disorders. Then you should contact a psychologist. The specialist will analyze the astheno-depressive phenomenon, study the life history, determine the degree of the syndrome and prescribe treatment, medication or in the form of psychotherapeutic sessions.

Antidepressants

Modern drug treatment is very effective in cases of various types of depression and emotional depression. But for this method to be successful, two conditions must be met:

1. Exclude physiological causes of the disease (otherwise taking antidepressants will be pointless). 2. Do not self-medicate. The choice of product and dosage are recommended by a medical specialist.

The attitude of the person himself towards the prescribed treatment is also important. He should know that pills are not a panacea, but only a means of suppressing the syndrome. Over time, addiction to antidepressants occurs, and if by the end of drug treatment you do not develop tactics to prevent further attacks, it will be in vain.

Antidepressants can bring a person out of astheno-depressive syndrome so that he can adequately reconsider the reasons that led him to a depressed state. During this “respite” you need to act: streamline your daily routine, introduce a diet, start playing sports.

Manic-depressive syndrome

Depression has its own specific course in different individuals. When making a diagnosis of depressive syndrome, a doctor must determine its type. With manic-depressive syndrome, two phases alternate (as the name implies). The intervals between them are called periods of enlightenment. The manic phase is characterized by the following manifestations:

• acceleration of thought
• excessive use of gestures
• psychomotor stimulation
• energy that may not be characteristic of a given person during periods of enlightenment
• good mood, even indicatively good

This phase is characterized by frequent laughter of the patient, he is in high spirits for no apparent reason, enters into communication with others, talking a lot. In this phase, he can suddenly become confident in his own exclusivity and genius. In many cases, patients imagine themselves as talented actors or poets.

After this phase, mania begins with the opposite clinic:

• melancholy and apathy
• depression for no reason
• slow thought
• movements are constrained, insignificant

Manias last less time than phases of depressive syndrome. This can be either 2-3 days or 3-4 months. Often, with this type of depression, a person is aware of the state he is in, but cannot cope with the pathological symptoms himself.

If the course of this syndrome is mild, outpatient therapy is recommended. Patients with severe manic-depressive syndrome are admitted to the hospital. There they are prescribed strong drugs from the group of antidepressants.

Diet

Astheno-depressive breakdown can be treated with diet. Sometimes you don’t need depressants, it’s enough to establish a healthy diet. As with any health diet, it is advisable to completely avoid fatty foods. It is more than replaced by “energy” products:

• porridge;
• nuts;
• dried fruits;
• legumes

There must be proteins in the form of lean meat and eggs, vitamins, and dairy products.

During the blues, many people “eat up” their bad mood with sweets. Women are especially guilty of this. This cannot be done. Fats weigh down the stomach and cause worsening asthenic-depressive conditions. A piece of dark chocolate won't do any harm. But it is better to eat a few pieces of dried apricots, dried banana or pineapple. It will be both more useful and effective.

Sport

Treatment with physical activity gives excellent results. The syndrome of psycho-emotional depression, that is, astheno-depressive, often has hypodynamic causes. There is no need to immediately start intensive sports activities. But a gradual increase in activity is mandatory:

1. Get into the habit of walking before bed. First half an hour. Then one hour. After a while you will want to walk faster, more rhythmically, and even run. Jogging is one of the best methods to banish the blues.
2. Sign up for swimming or dancing. Water or rhythmic movements to music are the most powerful natural antidepressants.
3. Study a couple of complexes of therapeutic exercises for the back and the whole body, especially if the work is sedentary, and do the exercises in the morning or during breaks. In the fight against the syndrome, breathing exercises or yoga will be useful.

Any sport, be it cycling, aerobics or other activities, should bring pleasure and the feeling that you are breathing deeply. This will definitely help in treatment and increase vitality.

To prevent astheno-depressive syndrome, you can use a variety of techniques: auto-training, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, adherence to a work-rest regime. All this can increase self-esteem and vitality.

Similar syndromes:

Symptoms

Anxiety-depressive syndrome is a mixed pathology. To understand its symptoms, you need to know the core clinical picture of depression and anxiety.

Depression is manifested by the classic Kraepelin triad:

• Pathological depression of mood.
• Decreased physical activity.
• Slowing down of mental processes.

Clinically, depression also manifests itself with the following symptoms:

1. anhedonia – activities that previously brought pleasure no longer bring it;
2. superficial sleep, nightmares;
3. in the morning the mood is bad, in the evening it improves a little;
4. loss of interests;
5. decreased self-esteem;
6. the future becomes meaningless, gloomy, pessimistic.

Anxiety manifests itself through mental and somatic symptoms. Mental:

• feeling of internal discomfort, tension;
• the future is full of unpleasant events, the likelihood of which is extremely low;
• absent-mindedness - a person concentrates on an exciting topic;
• decreased memory capacity;
• decreased sexual desire.

Somatic symptoms:

1. sweating;
2. dizziness;
3. diarrhea, constipation, abdominal pain, excess gas accumulation;
4. shortness of breath, palpitations.

A mixed anxious and depressive reaction is manifested by low mood, slowing of mental processes and restlessness. Anxiety can develop to psychomotor agitation, reaching an extreme degree - agitation.