DEPRESSION

Depression is a mood disorder. A person with depression experiences severe despondency and dejection. Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act. Depression causes a loss of interest in things that one used to love. 

A Depressed person isolates himself/herself and prefers loneliness, and this loneliness does more damage to their mental stability. They slowly drift apart from everyone and withers away.

SYMPTOMS: 

• Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness or hopelessness

• Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters

• Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, such as sex, hobbies or sports

• Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much

• Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort

• Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements

• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt, fixating on past failures or self-blame  

• Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts or suicide

• Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things   

 Why Depression? What is the reason?

There is no specific reason for depression. Depression's base cause is a chemical imbalance in the brain, which is caused by the inability of a person to handle a situation. Excess pressure can lead to depression. Too many emotions can lead to depression, loneliness, and failure can also lead to depression. Depression can make a person highly vulnerable, so every word spoken to a depressed person matters.

A person when in depression, loses their interest in socializing and prefer loneliness and privacy over support and comfort. A depressed person may seem isolated and lazy, but they are just incapable of positive emotions and activities.

THE MOST FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
"INTHA VAYASULA UNAKKU ENNA DEPRESSION? NAANGA PAAKATHATHU ENNA NEE PATHUTA?" 

TRANSLATION: WHY DEPRESSION AT THIS YOUNG AGE? WHAT DID YOU NEWLY EXPERIENCE THAT WE DID NOT? DIDN'T WE("ELDERS") HANDLE THIS?

Depression is not age-sensitive. A school kid can go through depression, the same as senior people (old). Stop telling people that they are too young to be depressed. It does not help the person, but it rather aggravates the problem, you make the person feel more incapable and vulnerable to more negative emotions. The statement "Everyone went through this at your age, and you are not the only one." does not help us, and this makes things worse. When a person is already battling through an inferiority complex, this adds to their problems. A Depressed person does not do well in communication. They prefer to remain silent and isolated than to find support and relief.

There are two types of depressed people:

• People who show their upset, they are vulnerable and visibly in bad shape.
• People that are good at masking emotions, who plaster a fake smile in their face, trying to pretend as if everything is alright.

At least for the first category of people, their emotions and problems are visible, so one can try to help them, but for the second category of people, no one knows their situation, and without help, the condition worsens.

Depression is like a pothole with infinite depth. A person gets drifted afar with time losing connection with the real-world and falls deeper and deeper in the pit. Once they reach rock bottom, it's nearly impossible to retrieve them. Depression drowns you with sorrow and guilt for unnecessary reasons.

HELP / TREATMENT:

Luckily, depression is a treatable problem. There exist medicines that help depressed people, but medicine only works around 10%, the rest is support and counseling. Without the support and help of friends and family, battling depression is a highly strenuous task. One major problem of depression is insomnia, and without sleep, we tend to lose our mental stability and thinking capability. 

Two people may have the same symptoms of depression, but the reasons may vary. The treatment is different for different people, according to their state and needs. 

Seriousness:

Depression may be a common problem, but it indeed is a severe problem.

Depression is not a joke, and people should start taking it seriously. 

Without proper help and treatment, depression leads to self-destruction. The depressed person would have suicidal tendencies, and not severely monitoring them would end in losing our loved ones permanently.

Current Situation:

Everyone's stuck in their home, with bare minimum contact with the outside world. This situation tends to mess with our mental stability. Don't emotionally isolate yourself, at least talk to people virtually, and keep yourself occupied. Loneliness is a poison, don't let it affect you. Make sure your friends and family are happy and keep supporting them. Talk to people at every chance you get. Covid-19 is not only harming our physical health, but it's consequences also affect our mental stability. The fear of death cripples you, and you tend to lose your sanity. Make sure that the people you know and care about are safe and stable. Support them in every way possible. Be safe, Be happy, Be healthy. Mental health also matters.

Do's and Dont's:

• Stop making hurting a person, when they are down

• Stop kicking them towards destruction

• Stop trolling them

• Stop mocking them

• Stop being ruthless

• Stop hurting a person's self-respect

Listen to their problems, give your input, and help them with their issue, keep their spirits up, cheer them up, be a shoulder to weep, and make them feel important. Make them happy and stable. Make sure they don't take any harsh decisions, put up with their moodiness. Teach them the importance of self-love. Be their strength, be their pillar. Persuade them towards betterment.

Be a better person and make others a better person.