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Understanding Depression
What do Brooke Shields, Olivia Newton-John, Winston Churchill, Vincent Van Gogh, Amy Tan, Mike Wallace, Adam Ant, John Denver, J.K. Rowling, Kurt Cobain and Abraham Lincoln have in common? All these famous people suffered from some form of depressionat least at one point in their lives. There is no immunity from getting depression. It knows no age, no sex, no race, no culture, no religion. Anybody can develop depression including your friend, your husband, mother, and child, anybody including you!
Do not confuse depression with feeling miserable and lonely only for a day or two and then after that, you feel great again. Depression is different. It does not go away that easy. You can suffer from depression for weeks, months or even years if left untreated. And worse, severe cases of depression can lead to suicide.
Depression is a medical illness or condition that affects both the mind and body. It is not a weakness as others perceived it to be. Even the wisest and the most courageous people can get depression. While its real causes remain to be uncertain, depression can be traced to genetics, most stressful events, illnesses, and a person’s psychological tendencies. If a person is pessimistic, often overly stressed, and with low self esteem, he is more prone to getting depression.
Depression can be treated. With proper medication, therapy, and family and peer support, one can go back to his old self again and continue with the activities that he previously enjoyed. Medications for depression include antidepressants like the famous Prozac and Zoloft.
It is also recommended for people suffering from depression to undergo talk therapy and to join depression support groups. Psychotherapy which is also known as talk therapy involves working with a trained therapist to find ways to address depression issues and learn techniques on how to cope with the mental illness. Joining support groups also play an important role in a person’s fast recovery from depression. Being with people who care and who understand your condition is one step to achieving success in depression recovery. When you’re depressed, life gets so gloomy. No one should tell you to pull yourself together because you cannot, even if you want to. But always remember that depression treatment is within your reach. There is light at the end of the tunnel even if you feel that the tunnel seems to be so long and uncertain. There is hope for people with depression.
