Introduction
Depression has been invading India for years now. The only difference today is that people are more vocal about this problem. Depression is the disease having the number 1 contribution to global diseases.
Affecting you from head to toe - Depression might seem difficult to adjust with but is surely curable if treated on time. If you are a patient with diabetes, thyroid pain, gall bladder stone, heart issues, or any other chronic disease then you are at 50% higher risk of having Depression in your lifetime, researchers say!
Researchers of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that - 'Between the period of 2013 to 2016, almost 8.1% of the American Adults aged 20 years or above, had depression for almost 2 weeks.'
You will get to more deep thoughts and reality about depression from this article, so stay connected till the end!
GOQii, 2020 - Healthcare Survey Results on Depression
Almost 10,000 folks were surveyed by GOQii to understand the depression among Indian folks, 2020.
- The study revealed that more than 43% of the Indians are currently suffering from depression.
- Almost 26% of the Indians are suffering from mild symptoms of depression
- 6% of the Indians are having the severe depression symptoms
- Almost 11% of them have a mild to moderate level of depression.
- Almost 59% of the folks had tiny pleasure in doing stuff they once loved doing
What is depression or depression disorder?
Depression is a major mental health disorder leading to disruptions in your daily routine. From thinking to acting, it changes everything in seconds. You will be a victim of sadness, hopelessness, worthlessness, losing interest in things, and worrying every time if you are depressed.
PESSIMISTIC THOUGHTS is like the strange people you met on Facebook - it stays with the depressed person like a caretaker sounding very nice and sweet but eats you slowly! With the practical thought that - everything in life being connected, depression not only affects you mentally but ruins your physical health as well. It hampers your thoughts, external functioning, and even going for a walk or getting out of bed can seem to be like walking miles!
How does depression differ from sadness?
Withdrawal from society, feeling of heaviness, burdened, hopelessness are the common reactions to losing a job, breakups, death of a loved one or a pet, heavy financial losses, etc. But Sadness is not depression but a part of it.
The following pointers will clarify the difference between being sad and depressed -
- Sadness is the obvious response to things, and depression is similar to experiencing sadness but in the highest and the most dangerous form possible.
- A person undergoing the feeling of SADNESS usually does not compromise with his self-respect. But a DEPRESSED person will experience heavy feelings of worthlessness, inferiority, and a loser.
- If you lose somebody - then in the case of SADNESS, you will experience mixed feelings of missing them, painfulness and happy moments spent with them. But in the case of DEPRESSION, you will only experience the drastic bitter feelings and the thought of hopelessness surrounded by negativity getting worse day by day.
- The SADNESS might get healed with time once reflected with the positive thoughts but DEPRESSION takes time to recover, it occurs for more than 2 weeks in a row and might continue for a lifetime if not diagnosed and treated on time.
- In sadness, it's difficult to cope up with the hurtful situation but you cope up with it without having the thought of harming yourself and in the case of major DEPRESSION, self-destruction thoughts appear like ending oneself or suicidal thoughts due to the unbearable pain that emerges out of the blue.
Which factors increase the risk of depression?
Unseen and unnoticed factors can lead to depression increasing its risk at a higher rate during its lifetime.
Factor - 1: GENETICS
According to the researchers, - 'You would not know but you can grab the depression from your family line itself.' With be help of genetics, if any of your family members has ever witnessed depression - you are then at a higher risk of having it sometime in your life. Also, if any one of the identical twins has depression, then the other twin is at a 70-75% higher risk of developing it in life.
Factor - 2: PAST TRAUMA
According to the researchers, - 'The unaddressed childhood traumas like losing your loved ones, toxic family culture, raped, Ill treatments, severe accidents, etc can be a major cause of having depression at least once in the lifetime.'
Factor - 3: OUTLOOK TO LIFE
According to the researchers, - 'Folks having the least self-esteem or self-confidence, who are negative and into back bitching, people with high anger issues and who all are prone to taking stress over smallest of things are at a higher risk of developing the symptoms of depression at early life stages.'
Factor - 4: ENVIRONMENT
According to the researchers, - 'Various environmental factors can contribute to depression for example negligence from the family members, friends or even from a workplace. Witnessing or the self-involvement in violent activities can also lead to its symptoms. Apart from this gender abuse and critical poverty concerns can lead to harming your brain causing serious mental health concerns like depression.'
Factor - 5: BIOCHEMISTRY
According to the researchers, - 'Lacking various chemicals in the brain like Serotonin, Oxytocin, Dopamine, and Endorphins can weaken the communication between the brain cells leading to Depression.'
How people act when they are depressed?
- Thoughts of ending life forever
- No motivation to work
- Feeling irritated and angry easily
- Deteriorating productivity at work
- Crying over the smallest of things
- Hard time to wake up from bed and start the day
- His Internet history stating the maximum search is for the ways to commit suicide at home - Self Destruction Thoughts
- Feeling worthless, and unaccepted
- Victim of Substance Abuse
- Hard time socializing and making new friends
- Isolating for life
Is there any cure for depression?
Depression is an intense and severe mental health problem that comes with a solution. Almost 80 to 90% of the people feel better after taking on the treatment. You can go for the following options -
- Medications
- Psychologist for Psychotherapy
- Electroconvulsive Therapy
- Light Therapy
- Healthy Diet
- Daily Exercise
- Sunbath
- Spending time in Nature
- Mental Health Experts
- Counselor
- Focusing on things you love doing the most
Final Words
According to me, MINDFULNESS is the key to happiness and peace! If you are mindful of your thoughts, actions and practice it 24*7 even while eating, then there is nothing in life that can bother you.
Mindful people are aware of the fact that things happen to them for a reason - whether good or bad! They have a strong mind to deal with any depressing situation in life. This is what we all need to learn - ACCEPTANCE & the art of LET GO!
It's not as obvious and simple as it seems here to read. So feel free to take help from the people around you when you get the depressing vibes, talk to them - let them know you are not feeling okay. If the situation seems to get worse or if you feel helpless from your loved ones, then immediately book an appointment with the psychologist to get help and a fast recovery.
Always know that you are not alone in life's journey - Ask and you shall receive help!
Reference
https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression