Depression

A Hollow Heart &

  A weeping Art

Our emotions go up and down in life, at times we are happy cheerful and hopeful for a bright tomorrow.  Other times we get sad, disheartened and even a little hopeless, there are many reasons why we may feel low whether it's due to hardships of life, breaks in relationships, loss of a loved one or failures we may come across, while it is perfectly normal to feel sad. How do we know when sad feelings turn into a medical condition of depression?

Depression is a common problem affecting people of all ages. Almost one in three people experience an episode of depression in their life but oftentimes it is not recognized or treated, so what exactly is depression? How do we identify its signs in ourselves and others? And what should we do if someone has it today?

 

 

 Let’s talk about depression. What is normal grief and what is depression, all of us experience grief at some point in our lives. Feelings of sadness and emptiness are normal, human responses to any loss that can be in the form of a family member, a break in relationship, an unexpected failure, and a calamity or for other reasons, normal grief is usually short-lived and after a while we're able to bounce back these events. It may leave us with sad memories and such experiences help us grow in life, on the other hand depression is a medical problem. It may start as normal grief after a major event in life or it may start without any apparent reason. The feeling of low mood and sadness becomes too intense and overwhelming, it goes on for long and affects regular life there's also a deep sense of hopelessness helplessness and low self- worth.

 The person gets stuck in negative thoughts in low mood, the chemicals in the brain are also disturbed, some chemicals and neurotransmitters are reduced and these changes prolong depressive mood and negative thoughts and without treatment it's not easy to come out of this condition.

 There are effective ways to manage and treat depression, unfortunately many times symptoms of depression are not recognized and an appropriate treatment is not provided, making the person suffer for a long time. What are signs of depression? And what can we do if we are concerned that someone is suffering from it. Depression can present with a variety of different features, each person may be different from another symptoms of depression include a low mood that persists most days. Person maybe having at times a sense of guilt. They may also experience low energy and motivation and struggle with concentrating everyday activities like reading or watching TV. They lose interest in things that they used to enjoy before, they may also have difficulty with sleep and appetite sometimes. Being unable to sleep and having a poor appetite can affect women, men, young and old sometimes. It’s hard to recognize and people may not be comfortable in sharing their feelings. This is why it's important for doctors and family members to look out for symptoms of depression.

 Encouraging someone to seek professional help can make a difference, sometimes people who suffer from depression begin to feel that things are so hopeless and will never change that they start having thoughts of wanting to die in some cases. They may even begin to have thoughts of harming themselves. It’s important to ask about these thoughts. If you are concerned that a friend or family member may be depressed. If someone is struggling with such thoughts then providing emotional support and encouraging them to seek professional help quickly can be life-saving.

 How is depression treated? Does it go away on its own? Sometimes an episode of depression can get better by itself but most of the times it needs treatment especially when it interferes with day-to-day life. Treatment usually includes a combination of medicines counseling and talk therapy and building life habits that promote good mental health like daily exercise, social connection and good sleep. We now have effective medicines to treat depression, these medicines regulate the chemicals in the brain to help them bring back to normal balance. They enhance the effects of chemicals that promote good mood. There are many different medicines available. Which medicine is right for you will depend on what other symptoms or medical problems you may have. Remember depression is a common illness and can be very serious at times, we all need to play our part in helping those who suffer by it, by recognizing the signs, providing emotional support and facilitating and seeking the right therapies