Mental Health: Depression

Hi dear folks,

Glad to meet you all. Today we will get to know about one of the trending and sensational topics “Depression”.

The word depression has become very viral and trending that it has been assumed as a synonym for the word sad or sadness. Depression has become very trending during this pandemic because of suicide of various celebrities worldwide. Nowadays everyone is using this word depression to express their sad emotions. But the meaning of depression is entirely different than our normal assumptions. It is not an emotion; it is a set of emotions and it is really very different from normal sadness. In simple words it can be described as a mood disorder which negatively affects your behavior and alters your feeling, way of thinking and sense of well being.

People of all age groups can be affected by depression. The reason for depression varies from one person to another person and the causes are related to psychological and social factors. The common causes for depression are genetics, continuous use of certain medication, loss of loved ones, problem within family, job related stress, financial stress, drug or alcohol abuse, childhood trauma, chronic illness and lack of support from family or society. These can trigger an individual to constantly feel low, think negative and can lead to suicidal thoughts.

Signs and symptoms of depression

Individuals with depression experience:

• Loss of interest in daily activities
• Changes in body weight and appetite
• Loss of joy in doing their favourite activities
• Changes in sleep cycle (i.e. insomnia or oversleeping)
• Feeling worthless and guilty
• Lack of confidence
• Loss of energy
• Feeling agitated and restless
• Trouble in concentrating
• Difficulty in decision making and remembering things
• Suicidal thoughts

Types of depression

Based on the severity of symptoms depression is classified into two types:

Major depressive disorder- It is the severe form of depression characterised by persistently feeling sad, hopelessness and loss of interest in activities causing imbalance in day to day life.

If an individual experiences 5 or more of the following symptoms over 2 weeks then it is considered that the individual is suffering from major depressive disorder.

• Feeling depressed almost everyday
• Lack of interest in regular activities
• Weight loss or gain
• Insomnia or oversleeping
• Difficulty in decision making and concentration
• Loss of energy and fatigue
• Feeling worthless or guilty
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide

Persistent depressive disorder- This depression is of a chronic form. It is also called as dysthymia.

If an individual experiences the following symptoms for at least 2 years then it is considered that the individual is suffering from persistent depressive disorder.

• Loss of interest in regular activities
• Feeling hopeless
• Low self esteem

Treatment

With proper diagnosis and treatment depression can be cured.

The treatment options are:

• Drug therapy- All the patients do not require drug therapy. Only those who are suffering from severe symptoms are treated with drugs. Antidepressants, antianxiety agents and antipsychotic medications are usually prescribed to treat patients with severe symptoms.
• Psychotherapy- It is speaking therapy or counseling the patient. It helps to motivate the patient and to build positive feelings.
• Light therapy- Exposing patient to white light helps to reduce depressive symptoms and improve mood.
• Aromatherapy- It helps the patient to relax and improves mental health.

I hope now you will be able to differentiate sadness and depression. There is no theory to explain who will be affected from depression. An individual can get depression at any phase of time. Only the possibilities of preventing depression are in our hands. The following tips will help to prevent depression:

• Share your problems or sadness with the person whom you believe. Sharing your problems with your loved ones may not always give you solution but it will surely reduce your stress, makes you positive and strong.
• If you are feeling very low and hopeless divert your thoughts by doing things you love. Listening to music, dancing, doing exercise, yoga and meditation will help to improve your mood.
• Do not dump your emotions within you. Express your emotions. Cry, laugh, smile, scream do what you want to get rid of you emotional stress. Keep your emotions neutral wherever possible.
• If you are living alone and feel lonely grow plants and pet animals. This will give you a feeling of togetherness and satisfaction.
• Connecting with people and spending time with them also improves your mood.
• Avoid alcohol and cigarette if you are feeling sad. Because it can trigger negative thoughts.
• Follow balanced diet. Do not skip your meals.
• Sleep well at night. Because lack of sleep can cause stress.
• Yoga and meditation helps to maintain your mental health.
• Know about yourself and keep yourself happy.
• Consult psychiatrist and attend counseling if you feel necessary.

You will feel negative only when you over think. You will feel sad and low only when you hide everything in our heart and mind. Finding a way to throw out all your negative feelings will make you feel happy and satisfied. See everything with a positive note to feel positive. Handle your problems with coolness to feel relief. Share everything freely with the trustworthy person to lighten your heart. When your heart and mind is free you will not have any kind of odd feeling and stress. When you follow all these things your days will be simple, your emotions will be neutral and your life will be peaceful.

Living with depression is like living in a dark haunted house. Holy water and Holy Scriptures can drive away spirits, but only positive feeling, support, love and care can drive away depression.

“Suppressing aggression,

Avoiding agitation,

Preventing confusion,

Opening up for connection,

Accepting affection,

Inhibits depression”

Depression is not a choice, but if you rejoice, it is a breakable ice.

Hope you enjoyed today’s topic. Meet you all again with another interesting topic. Bye 😊

–Vaishnavi S

References

https://www.healthline.com/health/depression

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/8933

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression/index.shtml

https://www.webmd.com/depression/default.htm

https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression

https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.1.102803.143938