Every once in a while, occurrences in our lives disappoint us and make us sad. having a bad day could lead you to say “I feel so depressed.” Some people tell that depression feels like a black curtain of despair coming down over their lives. In our lifetime, it is quite normal to feel depressed on a certain point but chronic depression appears among people who are not able to recover from the normal cycle of sorrow. These are people who are not able to deal with stress.
Depression is not just a state of mind but it is also connected to physical changes in the 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 think over and over about the difficulties and disappointments one come across until that’s all one can focus on. Depression could be both caused by the genes or the environment. To most, depression is hereditary. An individual tends 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 individuals may not have inherited depression but still they are prone to be depressed when they are not able to recover from their sad moments. Moreover, 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. Someone who is depressed can either be restless or exhausted that a little movement is a very great effort for them .
Gender difference is one factor in considering depression. Women are almost twice as likely to become depressed as men. Reasons could be attributed to changes in the hormones of the body like 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 mask their condition with drugs or alcohol. On an interesting fact, a high number of men are seen to commit suicide due to depression. 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. Feelings of being useless and unimportant may lead the elderly to feel depression.
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 assists ease the pain of depression, and addresses the feelings of hopelessness. Cognitive remedy on the other hand, transforms the negative thoughts, expectations, and negative self-evaluations that create depression and sustain it. This remedy facilitates the person distinguish significant from minor problems and it helps one to build up positive life goals and a more positive self-evaluation. Behavioral therapy lets the person to try solving certain problems in a more constructive way. This develops improved coping skills. These therapies may be combined for a better and faster recovery.
Though depression may have biological basis, it is still a state of mind. The person has control over his mind. We can say that our minds are very powerful that our thinking affects our judgment and outlook in life, but the individual is capable of allowing these pessimistic rule over all aside and decide
to view the brighter side of life.
