First, I would like to tell why I am writing ways out of depression and why I am a suitable person to write about this. Why I write this? It is not a hidden fact what happened to the young Bollywood superstar Sushant Singh Rajput. He had been undergoing depression for a long time before his death, and was getting professional help with palliatives and other medicines. But still, this depression — the silent killer — made him take his life at his home in Bandra.
Depression cannot be ignored anymore. To go back to why I am a suitable person to write about this? Because I, too, have gone through depression and got out of it, conquered it.
Well, the thing is, you cannot understand depression until you have lived through it. While writing this piece, I found a perfect quote to describe depression: “What is depression like? It’s like drowning, except everyone around you is breathing.” This is the reality of it.
As the medical term suggests, depression is a mental health disorder characterised by persistently depressed mood or a loss of interest in everyday activities, causing significant impairment in daily life. Possible causes include a combination of biological, psychological and social sources of distress.
Increasingly, research suggests that these factors may cause changes in brain function, including altered activity of certain neural circuits in the brain. The persistent feeling of sadness or loss of interest that characterises major depression can lead to a range of behavioural and physical symptoms. These may include changes in sleep, appetite, energy level, concentration, daily behaviour or self-esteem. Depression can also be associated with thoughts of suicide.
However, these practical words cannot solve anything at all. The mainstay of treatment is usually medication, talk therapy or a combination of the two. Increasingly, research suggests that these treatments may normalise brain changes associated with depression. But this did not happen with Sushant Singh Rajput. It a common illness worldwide, with more than 264 million people affected by it. It can cause the affected person to suffer greatly and function poorly at work, school and with family.
Close to 800,000 people die due to suicide every year. Suicide is the second leading cause of death between 15-29-year-olds. Although there are known, effective treatments for mental disorders, between 76% and 85% of people in low- and middle-income countries receive no treatment for their disorder. Barriers to effective care include a lack of resources, lack of trained health-care providers and social stigma associated with mental disorders.
Another barrier to an effective care is inaccurate assessment. In countries of varied income levels, people who are depressed are often incorrectly diagnosed and others, those who do not have the disorder, are often misdiagnosed and prescribed antidepressants. The burden of depression and other mental health conditions is on the rise globally. A World Health Assembly resolution passed in May 2013 called for a comprehensive, coordinated response to mental disorders at the country level.
The cause of a state of depression could be anything: you girlfriend parted ways with you, you had an argument with your friend, you got low marks, you have nothing to do. You will understand it yourself when you walk in our shoes. When you’re depressed, you don’t control your thoughts, your thoughts control you. I wish people understood that. But still this can be categorised:
Abuse: Past physical, sexual, or emotional abuse can increase the vulnerability to clinical depression later in life.
Conflict: Depression in someone who has the biological vulnerability to develop depression may result from personal conflicts or disputes with family members or friends.
Death or loss: Sadness or grief from the death or loss of a loved one, though natural, may increase the risk of depression.
Genetics: A family history of depression may increase the risk. It’s thought that depression is a complex trait, meaning that there are probably many different genes that each exert small effects, rather than a single gene that contributes to disease risk. The genetics of depression, like most psychiatric disorders, are not as simple or straightforward as a purely genetic disease such as Huntington’s chorea or cystic fibrosis.
Emotional: Loving someone and not being loved back can also be the cause of depression. And may some time lead to the consumption of drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.
Major events: Even good events such as starting a new job, graduating, or getting married can lead to depression. So can moving, losing a job or income, getting divorced or retiring. However, the syndrome of clinical depression is never just a ‘normal’ response to stressful life events.
Other personal problems: Problems such as social isolation due to other mental illnesses or being cast out of a family or social group can contribute to the risk of developing clinical depression.
Serious illnesses: Sometimes, depression co-exists with a major illness or may be triggered by another medical condition.
Substance abuse: Nearly 30% of people with substance abuse problems also have major or clinical depression. Even if drugs or alcohol temporarily make you feel better, they will ultimately aggravate depression.
Is There A Cure To Depression?
The most common symptom in my opinion is that of developing a dislike towards something you love. Some people think depression is sadness, crying or dressing in black. But these people are wrong. Depression is the constant feeling of being numb. Being numb to emotions, to life. You wake up in the morning just to go to bed again. But then again, when there’s a problem, there’s a way:
Professional Help: The most influential and certified method of getting out of depression is seeking a professional help. Letting your feelings out to a psychiatrist or your physician is the most certified way of getting out of depression.
Get in a routine: If you’re depressed, you need a routine, says Ian Cook, MD. He’s a psychiatrist and director of the Depression Research and Clinic Program at UCLA. Depression can strip away structure from your life. One day melts into the next. Setting a gentle daily schedule can help you get back on track.
Set goals: When you’re depressed, you may feel like you can’t accomplish anything. That makes you feel worse about yourself. To push back, set daily goals for yourself. Start very small. Make your goal something that you can succeed at, like doing the dishes every other day. As you start to feel better, you can add more challenging daily goals.
Get enough sleep: Depression can make it hard to get enough shut-eye, and too little sleep can make depression worse. What can you do? Start by making some changes to your lifestyle. Go to bed and get up at the same time every day. Try not to nap. Take all the distractions out of your bedroom — no computer and no TV. In time, you may find your sleep improves.
Take on responsibilities: When you’re depressed, you may want to pull back from life and give up your responsibilities at home and at work. Don’t. Staying involved and having daily responsibilities can help you maintain a lifestyle that can help counter depression. They ground you and give you a sense of accomplishment. If you’re not up to full-time school or work, that’s fine. Think about part-time. If that seems like too much, consider volunteer work.
Challenge negative thoughts: In your fight against depression, a lot of the work is mental — changing how you think. When you’re depressed, you leap to the worst possible conclusions. The next time you’re feeling terrible about yourself, use logic as a natural depression treatment. You might feel like no one likes you, but is there real evidence for that? You might feel like the most worthless person on the planet, but is that really likely? It takes practice, but in time you can beat back those negative thoughts before they get out of control.
The most effective way: Depressions comes when you have no one to talk to. So, you have to be the person to listen to so that when you needed people can listen to you. You must understand that you cannot please everyone. Everyone is significantly busy in their lives. They have their own demons to fight against. Share your feelings to the person you trust the most and they will help you out of it. And also be there for all the persons wanting to tell their tale to you.
I have gone through depression and it was really bad. Perhaps, I faced this phase of life because I was always pensive. I am an introvert and I like to keep to myself. On some occasions, this means that I sometimes have no one to guide me out of a depressive phase. I have found Life’s Amazing Secrets by Gour Gopal Das to be quite helpful in such circumstances.