Once in a while, events in our lives disappoint us and make us sad. Having lost someone very important could lead one to say “I feel so depressed.” People would utter 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 sorrow. They are those individuals who have not coped up from stress.
Depression may be a state of mind but it is also associated to physical changes in our brain. It is said that depression could be caused by an imbalance of neurotransmitters that carry signals in the brain and nerves. Too much work from the stress respond system drives emotional centers of the brain into overdrive so that negative events make a disproportionate impact and hijack rational response systems. Literally, one cannot think clearly. It makes one ruminate over and over about the difficulties and disappointments one come across until that’s all one can focus on. The individual’s genes and environment can be both a caused of depression. To most, depression is hereditary. They are inclined to be depressed even when faced with mild stress due to inherited causes. 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 inherited depression but they are still prone to get depressed when they are not able to recover from their cheerless moments. In addition, a negative 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. When depression prolongs, it could lead to other psychological disorders.
When you get depressed, you feel hopeless and sad. You always find displeasure in the things that 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 .
In taking a look at depression, one should also take into account diffrences in gender. More women get depressed than men. Reasons could be attributed to changes in the hormones of the body like puberty, menstruation, menopause, and pregnancy. However, records of men becoming depressed may come in small numbers because men less likely seek help when they are depressed. Men usually disguise their depression with alcohol or even drug abuse. On an interesting fact, a high number of men are seen to commit suicide due to depression. Another group of people who are prone to depression are the elderly. This can be attributed to the fact that most of them are having problems living alone with their children having their own lives already. Feelings of being 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. You must really do something. We are lucky that in the present, treatments are therapies are easily available to teat depression. Supportive therapy aids relieve the pain of depression, and tackles the feelings of hopelessness. Cognitive remedy on the other hand, adjusts the negative thoughts, expectations, and negative self-evaluations that create depression and prolong. This therapy helps the person differentiate serious from minor problems and it helps one to build up positive life goals and a more positive self-evaluation. Behavioral therapy lets an individual to make constructive solutions to certain problems. It helps the patient develop better coping skills. For better and faster recovery, these treatments may be combined.
Depression is more of state of mind than of biological basis. Everyone can control their mind. We can say that our minds are very powerful that our thinking affects our judgment and outlook in life, but everyone is capable of deciding whether to allow these negative thoughts rule over all aside and choose to view the bright side of life.
