What is Depression?
What is depression?
Depression is a song inside us, and it keeps singing. We need constant help, constant companionship and constant self awareness.
And we need good teachers.
Not all depression is the same, and not all people with depression are the same. This series of blogs will help you find the missing puzzle pieces that could make all the difference in overcoming your feelings of helplessness and hopelessness and put you on the path to lasting joy.
Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home.
How it feels to wake up in the morning and wonder where you’ll find the energy to take your next breath.
You have looked out at the once-vibrant world and seen only shades of gray, dull and flattened.
DEPRESSION IS REAL AND PAINFUL AND FRIGHTENING.
Depression affects an estimated one in 15 adults (6.7%) in any given year. And one in six people (16.6%) will experience depression at some time in their life. Depression can occur at any time, but on average, first appears during the late teens to mid-20s. Women are more likely than men to experience depression. Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime. There is a high degree of heritability (approximately 40%) when first-degree relatives (parents/children/siblings) have depression
To make matters worse, research in recent years has revealed that, of those who do seek help, approximately one third received little or no lasting benefit from treatments commonly used today. Think about that for a moment, one in three people see little or no long term benefit from common treatments for depression. Clearly, the typical approaches offer very limited lasting benefits.
According to the National institute for mental health symptoms of depression include the following:
- Persistence sad, anxious, or “empty” mood
- Feeling of hopelessness or pessimism
- Feelings of guilt, worklessness, or helplessness
- Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies or activities
- Decreased energy, fatigue, or being “slowed down”
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
- Difficulty sleeping, early morning awakening, or over sleeping
- Appetite and/or weight changes
- Thoughts of death or suicide aur suicide attempts
- Restlessness or irritability
- Persistent physical symptoms such aches or indigestion
Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe.
Symptoms must last at least two weeks and must represent a change in your previous level of functioning for a diagnosis of depression.
Also, medical conditions (e.g., thyroid problems, a brain tumor or vitamin deficiency) can mimic symptoms of depression. So, it is important to rule out general medical causes.
Depression Is Different From Sadness
The death of a loved one, loss of a job or the ending of a relationship are difficult experiences for a person to endure. It is normal for feelings of sadness or grief to develop in response to such situations. Those experiencing loss often might describe themselves as being “depressed.”
But being sad is not the same as having depression. The grieving process is natural and unique to each individual and shares some of the same features of depression. Both grief and depression may involve intense sadness and withdrawal from usual activities. They are also different in important ways:
- In grief, painful feelings come in waves, often intermixed with positive memories of the deceased. In major depression, mood and/or interest (pleasure) are decreased for most of two weeks.
- In grief, self-esteem is usually maintained. In major depression, feelings of worthlessness and self-loathing are common.
- In grief, thoughts of death may surface when thinking of or fantasizing about “joining” the deceased loved one. In major depression, thoughts are focused on ending one’s life due to feeling worthless or undeserving of living or being unable to cope with the pain of depression.
Grief and depression can co-exist For some people, the death of a loved one, losing a job or being a victim of a physical assault or a major disaster can lead to depression. When grief and depression co-occur, the grief is more severe and lasts longer than grief without depression.
Distinguishing between grief and depression is important and can assist people in getting the help, support or treatment they need.
Risk Factors for Depression
Depression can affect anyone—even a person who appears to live in relatively ideal circumstances.
Several factors can play a role in depression:
- Biochemistry: Differences in certain chemicals in the brain may contribute to symptoms of depression.
- Genetics: Depression can run in families. For example, if one identical twin has depression, the other has a 70 percent chance of having the illness sometime in life.
- Personality: People with low self-esteem, who are easily overwhelmed by stress, or who are generally pessimistic appear to be more likely to experience depression.
- Environmental factors: Continuous exposure to violence, neglect, abuse or poverty may make some people more vulnerable to depression.
Depression is not limited to what’s happening in your head. Far from it! Numerous factors have contributed to the onset and severity of your depression, and each of these must be addressed throughout the healing process as well.
When general practitioners prescribe psychotropic medications without the input of a psychiatrist or other mental health specialist, and when patients request medications based on self diagnosis drawn from internet research or a TV-commercial-fueled desire for a certain brand of medication, we often see your person given an antidepressant when they are really suffering from an anxiety disorder (and vice versa). Medication is too often perceived as a quick fix, to the exclusion of other possible and necessary care.
There is an old saying:” If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail.” In the context of medical care, that means physicians who are trained to think that all disease is the result of a biochemical malfunction in the body will naturally reach for one time “magic pill” fixes, excluding other options. I should see at the outside that I have high regard for skilled compassionate physicians. Often medical practitioners ignore alternative causes for chronic depression and quickly prescribe a pill as the cure all. Despite current research showing that many other wellness factors affect our mood such as gut health, sleep patterns, inflammation in the body, and behavioural habits.
Imagine you take your car to the shop. It’s hard to describe to the mechanic exactly what seems to be going wrong. The best you can do is to say, “It’s just not right”. The engine doesn’t fire write up in the morning the way it used to. There is no pap anymore when you hit the accelerator. The steering is sluggish and, unresponsive and the tires inexplicably lose air no matter how often you refill them. The heater is stuck at luck-warm, and all the radio speakers sound muffled, running your favourite music. You use to love this car. Now it’s no fun to drive at all.
As you conclude your list of the car’s “symptoms,” the mechanic nodes sagely and assures you he knows just what’s causing the trouble.” You need a tune-up!” he says, with great confidence. You are not the expert, so you take his word for it. “Come back tomorrow, and everything will be back to normal.”
You can see where this story is headed. The next day after the repair work, you start the engine to head home and discover that nothing has changed. In fact, you feel worse about things, because now you are out the cost of a tune-up and the times spent waiting for the work to be done. You turn around and tell the mechanic to try again. And so, day after day, the list of ineffective repairs grows longer and longer, and you feel further and further away from your goal. Discouragement sets in, and you are about to give up on the prospect of ever driving a functional car again.
The problem is easy to see in this made-up example: The mechanic is assuming the car troubles are caused by just one thing. Instead of looking at the vehicle systems as an integrated, interdependent whole, he has been trained to see it only as a collection of separate parts. Repair, in his view, is about fixing the broken piece, period. No need to look in the trunk for problems he’s sure are under the hood.
Not only that, The mechanic sees your car only in light of all the others he’s worked on lately. Last week, a Chevrolet came in with some of the same troubles and, lo and behold, the tune of worked! Suddenly, to him, all cars that have lost their pap fall into the same category and require the same treatment.
Now, please don’t think I am disrespecting mechanics or the care give us they represent in this little fable. Nearly everything they are train to do easy effective under the right circumstances. Sometimes a tune-up is exactly what’s called for. But if it becomes a one-size-fits-all solution to every malfunction– no matter how complex or multi faceted its causes and no matter the differences between individual automobiles— that’s an approach sure to lead to as many failures as successes. Maybe even more.
Don’t misunderstand: I am not opposed to the use of medications, which can sometimes stabilize an individual during and acute crisis. I believe anti depressant medications have a vital role to play in recovery for many people. They can calm and Chaos of a major depressive episode to give you a chance to rest and regain your footing. What they can’t do is fixed the reasons you become depressed in the first place and that is perhaps the biggest drawback of all.
As you look forward, the path may seem impassable, an impossible climb over the pain, despair, and depletion you have been burdened with for so long. I encourage you to imagine instead standing on the crest of that mountain, vibrant and victorious, looking to the bright horizon ahead. Can you picture that? I know you can! Let’s get going together.
You were not born to suffer or to barely survive. You were born to thrive. The time will never be more right to begin your journey back to abundant wellness.
It takes courage, perseverance and open mind.
None of us is truly stuck in the dark place with no hope of return. I wrote this blog because I am excited to help you see this for yourself.
YOU CAN HEAL.
Healing depression is not only possible it is achievable. But it will require taking a hard look at your life and adjusting your lifestyle– in some cases, permanently.
In the coming blogs, we will look at what factors might be contributing to your depression and how you can holistically address those factors. The blog is divided into “mind”, soul” and “body”, as each of these areas plays a crucial role in your being able to understand and heal from depression.
If you are suffering from depression, or someone you love is, chances are you have come to this blog.
This Post Has 3 Comments
It’s Eye opening truth and most necessary knowledge given by you..
Thanks a lot
Depression
It’s a Very Useful.