Depression - STAMP OUT STIGMA, Part 1

STAMP OUT STIGMA

I hope this post can help someone out there.


This post, hopefully, will help raise awareness of Depression.

Please make a comment if you want to contribute or share anything at all.

When I think about mental health issues, I have a recurring thought that we are all part of a huge, global family, and we can all help each other to heal.

Depression

Depression is a complicated and often incapacitating disease.

We have all felt a bit low, unhappy and unfulfilled. That's life, full of ups and downs. "The Blues", however, is not true clinical depression.

The first main thing I want to convey to you, is that people living with clinical depression are not always "low". You won't see them 7 days a week, dressed in black, crying day and night, shaken with misery. Just because you see someone smile, does not mean they are no longer depressed.

They still need support, help and understanding, even if they are smiling!

Clinical depression has many different symptoms associated with it, and affects every person differently.

Such symptoms can include memory loss, sleep disturbance, irritability, apathy, lethargy, boredom, poor ability to concentrate, inability to enjoy anything, inability to see the "point" of anything, including themselves, feeling numb and feeling anxious.

People living with clinical depression often think about suicide, and sometimes attempt, and achieve, it.

Such a condition can affect every aspect of life. Relationships, work and physical health can suffer. Libido can disappear as well. Weight gain or loss is common, as appetite is often affected, as is a person's general daily routine.

I have heard someone report that, while having "a bad time", time itself changes. He could look at a clock. Then a few moments later, look again. Those "few moments" were actually 5 or 6 hours. Perception and judgement are often altered.

Yes, people with true depression can have bad times, and so also good times.

If you know someone with clinical depression, they need support at all times, but they must continue to be observed closely when the are leaving "a bad time".

Anyone with depression can be at risk of suicide. It has been noted that those people who are at risk of suicide, are more at risk when they are heading for "a good time". This is because they are beginning to feel stronger, having more energy than they previously had. They also often reflect on the horrific time they have just had, and how they really do not want to return to that. And, because they appear to "be better", their support network often relaxes, with friends and family not being as concerned. This can lead to opportunity for suicide.

There are different types of depression, and different causes and methods of management and treatment.

Some causes of clinical depression, currently recognised, include grief, trauma, stress, anxiety, hormone imbalances, uncontrolled blood sugar levels and abuse of drugs and alcohol.

When an event or situation triggers depression, it is sometimes termed Reactive Depression, or
Non Melancholic Depression. This type occurs in, approximately, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 6 men. The condition must last for at least 2 weeks before it can be clinically confirmed as depression. Treatment can include medication, but other treatments often have success, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, exercise, meditation and general life coaching.

Biological, or Melancholic Depression, affects less than 2% of the population. This type is often triggered by hormone imbalances, altered brain chemistry or even uncontrolled blood sugar levels. Affecting mental processes and physical movement, it is more severe than Reactive Depression, and such interventions as counselling provide minimum benefit. Medication appears to be the most effective treatment.

A more severe form of depression is Psychotic Depression. There are similiar symptoms to Biological Depression, but the person also experiences delusions and / or hallucinations. Medication provides the best benefit.
 
Regardless of the type of depression someone is living with, it is a disease.

Depression can affect anyone, at any time.

If you are living with depression, you are not crazy, you are not worthless and you are not a burden to society. You are unwell.

Let us all help Stamp Out Stigma!

For more information, click here and here.

Also, you might want to talk - Samaritans UK, Samaritans AU, Samaritans US.

If you feel you are, or someone you know is,  living with depression you must consult with a doctor. Seek help. If you identify and acknowledge that you are unwell, you can start that journey of getting better.

You are not alone.

You are important.

You will be healthy again.



                                                                                        STAMP OUT STIGMA, Part 2 to follow.