Depression is not just low mood!

Depression
is not just low mood!

“Being depressed is much different than being Sad”

We all suffer from different emotional state like happiness, sadness, anger, irritability. Usually, these feeling stay for a short span of time and then
changes from one state to another depending upon situation we face around us. But if sadness lasts longer and affects your everyday life then it is alarming as you may suffer from depression. We often hear about this word but a little insight about this evil is important for us as well as our dear ones.

Depression can be just being in low mood, when it is in the milder form and doesn’t affect your normal life. But is can be life-threatening because it can make you feel suicidal or simply give up the will to live when severe one.

How to identify depression?

There may be many signs and symptoms of depression, but everyone’s experience varies. You might feel upset, tearful, restless or agitated. Life seems worthless and hopeless. Self-confidence or self-esteem becomes very low. You may have self harming or suicidal behavior. You may lose interest in study, work, sex and other pleasurable activities. Concentrating on things becomes difficult, sleeping less than your usual routine, appetite reduced and you may lose your weight, feeling tired all the time. Apart from these symptoms certain physical pains with no obvious physical cause may be there and heaviness in head may be one of the initial presentations. If depression is more severe, delusions and hallucinations occur which is then called psychotic depression.

Who can be affected?

People from all ages can be affected from depression but, mostly between 30 and 40 years of age. Recent surveys suggest that there is growing incidence of cases of depression in youth. It may be due to academic pressure, job issues and poor coping skill while nuclear family system and internet addiction is also of recent concern. Women typically have a two-fold increased risk of depression compared to men. Women during pregnancy and after child birth are also at risk due to hormonal changes. Individuals who are separated or divorced have significantly higher rates of depression than the currently married, and prevalence of depression generally goes down with age.

What causes depression?

There may be several reasons that may lead to depression. It can vary a lot between different people, and for some people a combination of different factors may cause their depression. Some find that they become depressed without any obvious reason. Bad childhood experiences like physical, sexual or emotional abuse; neglect; loss of someone close, unstable family situation in childhood can make someone vulnerable to experience depression later in life. In many cases, depression may be triggered by an unwelcome, stressful or traumatic event like losing job or unemployment, end of a relationship, bereavement, moving house or getting married or being physically or sexually assaulted.

It’s not just negative experiences that cause depression, but how we deal with them. If our coping skill to deal with difficult emotions or situations is poor; we might develop depression.

Many health problems can be quite difficult to manage, and can have a big Impact on our mood. These could be chronic health problems like diabetes, hypertension, life threatening illnesses like cancer; hormonal problems, especially hypothyroidism or problems relating to the menstrual cycle or the menopause.

People often ask and remain worry that whether their children will suffer from such problem in future? According to World Health Organization (WHO) there is twofold to threefold increase in lifetime risk of developing depression if parents are suffering from the same. Sometimes due to disturbed sleep or to relieve from stress people start drinking alcohol or other drugs of abuse which may lead to depression.

How to get rid of depression?

If you are suffering from depression you should not hide your problem. Please come out and take help of Psychiatrist as he is the best professional who will understand your problem and take care of you. Depression, even the most severe cases, can be treated. The earlier the treatment can begin, the more effective it is. Depression is usually treated with medications like antidepressants as it helps by improving the way our brain uses certain chemicals that control mood or stress. Psychotherapy like Supportive Psychotherapy, Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) is another option depending upon severity of the illness, but a combination of the two is superior to anyone alone.

Beyond Treatment: Things You Can Do!

Here are some tips that may help you or a loved one during treatment. Even following these tips you can keep yourself away from depression.
Remember, you are not alone to suffer from this kind of illness there are many more like you. According to WHO, 10% to 15% of the general population suffer from depression during their lifetime. Currently, it has ranked 4th leading cause of disability worldwide and by year 2020, it will be the second leading cause.
Take balanced and nutritious diet.
Take a good sleep and if not able to then ask your psychiatrist to help for that.
Try to be active like engaging in certain exercise, Yoga and even morning walk can be useful as it may cause release of certain chemicals and hormones that may help in your problem.
Avoid self-medication like sleeping pills or alcohol.
Set realistic goals for yourself.
Try to spend time with other people and share your problem with any trusted friend or relative.
Try not to isolate yourself, and let others help you. Many people can find it hard to open up and speak about how they’re feeling.
If self-harm or suicidal ideation comes in your mind please share with your dear ones or your psychiatrist·
Expect your mood to improve gradually,
not immediately.

How can friends and family help?

Friends and family members can play a very important role in someone recovering from depression as due to negative thoughts one becomes demotivated. Here are some suggestions; how you can help others.
Identify emotional state. If someone is having low mood for long then gently ask from him/her about one’s problem.
Be open about depression. You can’t force anyone to get help, so it’s important to reassure your loved one that people are out there to help him/her about their emotional problem and that there is nothing wrong in sharing.
Listen carefully. Sometimes people want to share their problem with someone so listen carefully and empathetically and you don’t need to say much. It may help a lot to the depressed person as ventilating out their problem also called catharsis.
Keep in touch. It might be difficult for your dear one to have motivation or energy to keep up contact with people, so try to keep in touch. Even a text message or phone call can make a big difference to them.
Don’t be critical. Try not to put too much pressure or blame them to get out of it because his/her emotional state is not fabricated or mere attention seeking.
Keep a balance. Depressed person is struggling from his/her emotional state, negative thoughts and physical problems so you should take care of everything for them. So, try to offer to help them in doing household activities like cooking, reading etc. Encourage them to do certain things for themselves.
Take care of yourself. Your mental health is also very important, and looking after someone else may put a strain on you so try to prevent burn out.

Thank you for your patient reading!