Once in a while, occurrences in our lives disappoint us and make us sad. Having lost someone very important could lead one to say “I feel so depressed.” Some people tell that depression feels like a black curtain of despair coming down over their lives. Although feeling depressed once in our lives is normal, chronic depression happens among people who are not able to recover from the normal cycle of grieving. These are people who are not able to deal with stress.
Depression may be a state of mind but it is also related to physical changes in our brain. Depression is said to be caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters that carry signals in the brain and nerves. Too much work from the stress respond system sends emotional centers of the brain into overdrive so that negative events make a disproportionate impact and hijack rational response systems. One literally can’t think straight. It makes one ponder over and over about the difficulties and disappointments one until that’s all one can focus on. Depression could be both caused by the genes or the environment. To most, being depressed is inherited. They are inclined to be depressed even when faced with mild stress because it may be inherited. On a different note, there are individuals who has not adjust to minimal changes in life. For example, failing in an exam. Depression can always creep in. These people may not have hereditay depression but still they are prone to be depressed when they are not able to recover from their gloomy moments. Moreover, a unenthusisastic personality characterized by a low self-esteem, and a negative outlook are at higher risk of becoming depressed. It is mentioned previously that being depressed is quite normal but this depression only goes for a short time. A prolonged depression could always lead to other psychological disorders.
When you get depressed, you feel hopeless and sad. You may not feel any pleasure from almost anything you do. Others either lose or gain weight because of changes in appetite. There are those who cannot sleep at night while others would develop hypersomnia. Also, a depressed person is either restless or feels tired all the time that moving seems to be a great effort .
Gender difference is one factor in considering depression. More women get depressed than men. This could be because of hormonal changes brought on by puberty, menstruation, menopause, and pregnancy. This fact might be debatable because in most cases only a small number of men seek help to cure their depression. Men usually disguise their condition with drugs or alcohol. Moreover, suicide cases due to depression are higher among men than women. Elder people are also prone to becoming depressed. This can be attributed to the fact that most of them are having problems living alone with their children having their own lives already. Seeing themselves useless and unimportant may lead the elderly to become depress.
Once you have the disorder of depression, the disorder wont leave you on its own. One must do something with it. Today, there are a number of therapies and treatments available to treat depression. Supportive therapy helps relieve the pain of depression, and tackles the feelings of hopelessness. Cognitive treatment on the other hand, changes the negative thinking, expectations, and negative self-evaluations that create depression and sustain it. This therapy facilitates the person differentiate serious from minor problems and it helps one to develop positive life goals and a more positive self-evaluation. Behavioral therapy allows an individual to make constructive solutions to certain problems. This develops improved coping skills. For better and faster recovery, these treatments may be combined.
Depression is more of state of mind than of biological basis. The person has control over his mind. The mind may be very powerful in instilling thoughts that could affect one’s judgment and outlook in life, but everyone is capable of deciding whether to allow these pessimistic to push them all sideways and decide
to view the brighter side of life.
