“Depression” is nowadays very commonly heard word. But, does it exist as a real illness or what exactly it is, very few people are aware of real things. Most of the time, we believe in myths rather than facts when it comes to mental illness and also, we don’t know what is to be done to deal with these problems as a non-medical person.
Yes, depression is a real illness and in today’s world of rat race with increasing day to day
stress and decreasing social cohesion it is becoming more and more prevalent. Globally, the total number of people with depression was estimated to be 300 million. According to World Health Organization, depression is ranked as a single largest contributor to global disability (7.5% of all years lived with disability in 2015). At its worst, depression can lead to suicide; over 800 000 people die due to suicide every year. It is the second leading cause of death in 15-29-year-olds. According to National Mental Health Survey of India, 1 in every 20 Indian suffer from depression and needs active psychiatric intervention.
Although, some groups of people are at vulnerable end to have depression, no person is immune to it and almost every age, gender and socioeconomic group is at risk of developing depression at some time of their lifetime. Some people seem to be at higher risk of getting in depression like females, people with chronic medical illnesses, people with drug abuse, people with some vulnerable personalities, people with family history of depression or people who have experienced major trauma in past.
What is depression?
Just having sadness does not make you depressed. Sadness can be normal reaction to many day-to-day adverse events. But sadness will return back to normal mood after some time though it will vary person to person. While depression is persistent and pervasive feeling of sadness which will remain for long time and in almost every situation and most of the time it will come without any reason. For depressed person, everything or every activity will become gloomy and person can not enjoy even previously enjoyable activity. Even a person will have difficulty in carrying out simple day-to-day activity. Apart from this thing, depressed person can have loss of energy, change in appetite, sleeping more or less, anxiety, reduced concentration, indecisiveness, restlessness, feeling of worthlessness, guilt or hopelessness, thoughts of self-harm or suicide.
There are many reasons why depression will occur to a particular person. Just like other psychiatric illness, depression is an illness related to brain abnormalities. Depression happens because of some neurochemical abnormalities in brain. These abnormalities can happen either because of some genetic reasons, some neurological illness, some drugs or addictive substances, or some emotional trauma.
What you can do?
Depression is a real illness just like any other bodily illness and not a sign of weakness. It requires proper treatment to deal with it and in current modern medical science many such treatments are available. But, most of the times, the suffering person will not seek treatment because of lack of awareness about it or social stigma associated with it. Most people suffering with depression will not recognize symptoms of depression and, even if they recognize, will not talk about it. Even their near and dear once will not appreciate need for help. They will just shrug off the idea of treatment saying “Come on, it’s just in your mind. Just forget about it and be cheerful”. So, recognizing need for treatment and seeking professional help as early as possible is of utter importance. The treatment options of depression may involve medicines, counselling or therapy like cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) or interpersonal therapy (IPT) according need of patient.
Off course, apart from professional help, you can also do certain things to deal with your depression.
Talk to someone you trust about your feelings. Don’t feel awkward or ashamed. Just talking to someone can make you feel relaxed. Ventilating out your emotions is also a good way of reducing distress.
Stay connected with friends and family. Having good social circle is great protection from negative feelings. Your family and friends can act as buffer in dealing with distressful situations.
Exercise regularly – even if it’s just a short walk. Bodily exercise can make brain secrete endorphins which are natural antidepressants.
Stick to regular eating and sleeping habits as much as possible. It will keep you healthy and stress-free.
Avoid or restrict alcohol intake and don’t use illicit drugs. Many people think that alcohol or recreational drugs will make you feel relaxed and they can be taken like medicines for depression. But actually, they will just blunt your emotions for some time and as their effect wanes off this will make depression worse.
In worst case, depression may lead to suicidal feeling. It is definitely an emergency situation to deal with. If you feel suicidal, contact someone you trust for help or ring the emergency services.
“Remember, depression is an illness with good available options of treatment. Don’t suffer lonely. Let’s talk about it and seek help”.
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