Depression: What you didn't know

Ordinary sadness

The normalcy of unhappiness is less acknowledged by our society that strives for perfection (which itself is a myth of perception). Dissatisfaction, sadness, frustration and discontentment are all customary reactions to anomalous events. What one chooses to do with them takes them on the path to personal growth and transformation versus depression and melancholy.  Nonetheless cognizance of the direction one is about to take is imperative to offer an understanding of ones own psychological processes. There are things we know; and then there are the masked and unknown subtleties that escape our eye. Identification of trouble is the first most important step for solving it. Clarify the myths to bask in the warmth of reality...

No one is immune

Often prevalent are the self-preserving thoughts of immunity to psychological troubles. These apparently protective instincts eventually lead to destruction of the self with the over compensation effort.

• I’m too strong to be depressed
• I do not need help; I can handle it
• Seeking help is cowardly and irrational
• If I seek help I’ll feel worse that I’m so weak
• These are my troubles I have to deal with it myself

There is no vaccination that assures protection from psychological weakness. Positive attitudes and appropriate coping defenses do safeguard, but if one feels the symptoms, it is prudent to manage it wisely.

The mind and body are connected

Few realize the connection between the mind and the remainder of the human body. All physiological impacts in the body are linked with psychological processes in the emotional brain of every individual.

• I’m tired so I have tremors
• That food is giving me acidity
• My head hurts daily due to fatigue
• I have an upset stomach; I’m not nervous
• I have lost stamina, my stress is unrelated to this

Sleep, appetite, fatigue, laziness, stomachache, indigestion, diarrhea, and headache; even osteoporosis and cancers are linked to diminished immunity owing to depression and stress. The mind and body work in synch; to get the best outcome, both need to be nurtured and nourished else one or both of them give way and sanity get out of hand.

Everyone is fighting a battle
Most people have problems, some fail to show them to others. Abraham Lincoln fell into deep depression after the death of his first love. He is claimed to have suffered depression all his life; he nonetheless did run for presidency and did impact the world in irrevocably positive ways. 

• She’s just simply lucky
• She has it all sorted for her
• She would never have problems
• He has it laid out on a carpet for him
• Others were born lucky, somehow I wasn't

Investing in luck is a big gamble. Creating your own luck is more plausible. Everyone is fighting a battle; some hide their wounds and offer smiles. It is wise to be sensitive to the pain of others as well as ones own.

Time doesn't heal all

Of all healers, time has frequently received the award of excellence. Time does ease the pain of a physical wound, however it leaves a nasty scar if there was no medical or surgical intervention offered. Likewise, psychological trauma needs time only in addition to appropriate medical or behavioral intermediation.

• I’ll get fed up of crying
• It must be my hormones
• I’ll be better once I move out
• Children outgrow their problems
• It will be OK when I go to the next class

It is acceptable to find reasons for ones sadness and correct them; however if they persist, there is more that ought to be intervened here.

Depression is quite bad

Living to the optimum seems unnecessary to some; sub maximal existence is acceptable to them. They are unaware of their own potential; thus failure to attain it is not a matter of concern.

• I am only a little bit sad
• Depression is not a big deal
• It’s OK to be a little it depressed
• There are worse off medical illnesses
• Malignancy, tuberculosis and AIDS are killers

By 2030, depression will be deadliest killer disease only second to HIV/AIDS. One in every 4 individuals has a chance of developing depression at least once in their lifetime. We only live once, why not try to make it happy and fulfilling? And if there are diversions that have taken one away form that joyous path, one must try and find the way out of it.

Help is sometimes just a click away…