Getting to know Depression (save a life)

My heart was crushed on a discussion I had with two of my colleagues. We are discussing depression because one of our colleagues was narrating the death of her brother who suicide and hanged himself. She also said that it has been a common cause of death in their family.

I opened up my experience about depression agreeing that going through it is a painful process and that death is always tempting. I shared my suicidal attempts and the episodes where cutting myself with blade has been an addiction. That was when my other colleague interrupted.

She said that those are just dramas due to a desire to be noticed (the exact term she used was "kulang sa pansin" in Filipino). This is still ringing in my ears, I felt so sad and pissed at the same time because she blatantly uttered those words without a slight idea of what depression really is and said that it is just her opinion.

We shouldn't be telling our own opinion without acquiring facts and learning the illness. I explained the basic or common explanation of depression and suggested for her to do her research too, otherwise to just shut up and never comment on it again.

There are still people who misunderstood depression. Here are the basic facts or studies from my research. Let's get to know depression in a deeper sense to avoid offending someone, especially those who were diagnosed with it. This could help save a life so, let's go through it.

What is Depression?

It is common that we tend to confuse the feeling of sadness with depression. According to American Psychiatric Association, feelings of sadness on a long period of time and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed defines depression. It can decrease a person's ability to function at work or home and could cause variety of emotional and physical problems.

Sadness on the other hand is a temporary feeling or an initial/common reaction towards a difficult event and it can heal in a day or two. To simplify, sadness is short term while depression is long term. Sadness is there as a reaction on a situation while depression sometimes has no exact or specific reason why you feel that way or could be due to multiple reasons.

There is still no exact reason why people get depression but it has been observed by many studies that it could be genetically and environmentally.

Common Types of Depression

Depression is classified into different types and we'll discuss it one by one to know each of its form.

This is also called as major depression or clinical depression. This is the state where one loses interest in usual activities which were once enjoyed. It is a constant feeling of hopelessness and despair. This may occur from one generation to the other. It may also affect those with no family history of the illness.

Symptoms

Trouble in sleeping
Changes in appetite
Weight loss or gain
Loss of energy
Low self-esteem or feeling worthless and guilty
Restless and agitated most of the time
Sluggish and slowed down physically/mentally
Having thoughts of suicide

A depression that lasts for 2 years or longer is called persistent depressive disorder. It previously describe two conditions called dysthymia or low-grade persistent depression and chronic major depression. There are times that people suffering this could suffer major depression at the same time, this is called double depression.

Symptoms

Having depressed mood almost every day
Change in appetite
Sleeping too much or too little
Low self-esteem
Lack of energy
Poor decision making
Having the feeling of hopelessness
Having thoughts of suicide or suicide attempts

Bipolar disorder is when someone has a high energy with a nice mood to low and depressive periods and is sometimes called manic depression. A person with bipolar disorder enters a major depression phase during low times.

Symptoms:

Unrealistically high self-esteem
Quick thoughts and activities
Pursuits of pleasure
Risk taking
Having ideas that are grandiose
Irritability
Thoughts of suicide

Seasonal Affective Depression (SAD) happens during a change of season. Most of the time this happens during winter because there is lesser sunlight (at least not here in Philippines which is a tropical country), but I guess this happens during rainy days too. Lack of sunlight would mean lower production of brain chemicals such as serotonin and melatonin; these chemicals are responsible in giving us a good mood.

Symptoms

Less energy
Fatigue
Greater appetite
Weight gain
Wanting to be alone increased

Honestly, I never thought that there is a form of depression like this. Psychotic depression is a subtype of major depression with having impaired relationship with reality which is also called as psychosis. People who have this illness hear voices telling them that they are worthless or a failure.

Symptoms

Seeing or hearing things that aren't there or having hallucinations
Believing that others are trying to harm you or Paranoia
Having delusions or false beliefs
Neglecting appearance

Atypical depression is a subtype of major depression where mood can be improved depending on positive events.

Symptoms

Sleeping more than usual
Being oversensitive to criticism or rejection
Feeling of heaviness in either arms or legs
Increased appetite
Having recurring thoughts of death or suicide attempts

Postpartum depression is commonly known as postnatal depression which happens on women in the first 12 months after labor. This happens due to hormonal imbalance in the body during pregnancy and the sudden decline on hormones after giving birth.

Symptoms

Anxiety
Having low energy
Irritability
Changes in appetite
Having different sleep patterns
Extreme sadness
Thoughts of suicide or hurting someone

Medication or treatment of depression

There are different kinds of depression and each has a specific, applicable medication for it to be treated.

ANTIDEPRESSANTS

There are different kinds of antidepressants that could help. It can help on boosting the activity of brain chemicals. Two of these chemicals are serotonin and noradrenaline. However, there are times that it might not work.

ELECTROCONVULSIVE THERAPY

When these antidepressants do not work another treatment is what they call Electroconvulsive Therapy. This is a brain stimulation technique where electrodes (electric conductor) are placed on the scalp applying an electric current on it. This current causes a brief seizure in the brain which could relieve depression.

PSYCHOTHERAPY OR TALK THERAPY

This is when you meet with a psychiatrist who will help you in handling difficulties caused by depression. The psychiatrist may also suggest your own talk therapy with family, friends, or loved ones. However, this can only be applicable with mild to moderate depression.

How to help someone suffering from depression

Knowing someone who has depression can be challenging in a way that we have to be sensitive of how we communicate with them. Going through this illness is not a choice. We tend to give advices which could only make them feel more helpless.

Telling a person who is suffering depression to "just be positive", "look at the Brightside", "you are only thinking that you're sad", "you just have to exercise," isn't helpful at all. You have to give encouragement, not by educating them what should or should not be done.

It is better if you will ask them what they have done so far to cope up with depression. Share with them what you have seen or read that helped people to go through the same illness. Ask them if they are willing to listen and to do it. In this case you are not mandating them on what they need to do.

As simple as learning what depression is would greatly help. This can avoid having own opinions which can be offensive and could harm a person suffering from the illness, most especially these people are having thoughts of suicide.

Suicide data and statistics

_Source

Most of the people suffering from depression has suicidal thoughts and suicidal attempts. According to World Health Organization there are close to 800,000 people who die due to suicide every year. There are also many more people who attempts to suicide. 20.8% of this is due to a mood disorder. Suicide is the second leading cause of death globally for people within 19-29 years old. 78% of suicides usually happen in low and middle income countries.

TAKE AWAYS

Depression is not just an emotion or a personal trait, it is an illness like cancer, diabetes, asthma etc. We cannot just simply say that depression is just a mere want to be noticed by others. It is like telling someone with cancer that what they are going through is just pure drama. Depression is real and is existing to almost 300 million people in the world.

It can be difficult to identify its symptoms as it is intangible, there are some who looks fine but is actually suffering from depression. Many of these people could take at least 10 years before seeking treatment, hence the importance of being aware of what this illness entails. In this case, we could potentially save a life.

_{Image Source: Pixabay, Practical Pain Management, Medical News Today, Everyday Health, Mental Health Treatments, Shin Wellness
Source: World Health Organization, Harvard, WebMD}