Depression is defined as the
mental state of low mood and distaste to activity; it affects a person's
behavior with himself and others, thoughts, feelings, sense of wellbeing
self-esteem.
When someone suffers from depression, it reflects shadows of sadness, difficulty in thinking, insomnia
concentration and a decrease in appetite, without forgetting that people
experiencing depression may have feelings of rejection, hopelessness, dark
ideas and even suicidal thoughts. Here are major things you need to know about
depression.
It is not the usual sadness
Sadness –as you have already experienced- is a natural part of being
human, an ordinary reaction to painful situations. All of us have already felt
sadness at some point in our lives. Depression, on the other hand, is a
physical disease with many more signs than an unhappy mood (the combination of
symptoms called a syndrome)
Depression is a real illness that physicians believe is led to by
several causes inducing imbalances in certain chemicals within the human brain
called neurotransmitters.
These neurotransmitters play an important role in keeping stable your mood as
well as maintaining your nervous system functional.
Depression varies from an individual to another
A lot of people see depression as white and black; it is either you are
depressed or not, however, psychiatrics consider it as a “spectrum” as the
symptoms are multiple and differ in intensity, thus depression isn't a one size
fits all diagnosis, the condition has many faces, from atypical depression to
seasonal affective disorder. This is why it must be diagnosed by certified
psychiatric fulfilling the criteria in DSM-5.
There are
several factors leading to depression
The exact causes of depression aren't completely enlightened, but for now the
best explanation for it is that depression probably caused by a combination of
factors, including genetic tendency towards the condition and some
environmental factors which can act as triggers like drug abuse, stress, sexual
abuse and so on.
Depression does NOT Define you or your personality
If you suffered from pneumonia, you would never say: “I am an infected
lung.” likewise, if you suffer from depression, it is a treatable condition
that must be considered as a temporary circumstance, not your permanent
livelihood.
Another stigma that worsens the situation, treatment for depression is received
by many people as a proof for their craziness and a weakness of who they are.
When someone has a toothache, he sees a dentist without any fear of how people
will perceive him. But when someone suffers from the symptoms of depression, frequently
he thinks “something is wrong with me as a human being” and often feels guilty.
This twisted thinking is partially due to the depression itself but
also due to the overall understanding and perception of mental diseases or
behavioral problems as different from other health issues, we can easily image
a broken leg or a decayed teeth but not a problem within the nervous system, there
reality is, they are not different.
Untreated depression is the most frequent cause of Suicide
The appropriate diagnosis and treatment of each case of depression is
very crucial when it comes to fighting back suicide. Eighty to ninety percent
of those who commit suicide worldwide are suffering from some sort of mental disease.
And, most of these people have depression that is undiagnosed, untreated, or
undertreated.
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