Depression
Understanding the Dangers of Depression
Our
lives are colored by numerous textures of feeling ranging from deep joy
to being down in the dumps with many shades of grey in between. It is
but natural to feel sad at the death of a loved one, or to be
melancholic to be leaving a familiar place or to be upset when we have
disagreements with people or get laid off from work.
In fact, there are many instances in life where we feel the blues and this is but natural. However, what is
not
psychologically healthy is to remain in a perpetual state of dysphoria,
which could be described as a “profound state of dis-ease, unhappiness
and dissatisfaction,” day in and day out.
According to the DSM V,
the following symptoms would help you identify Persistent Depressive
Disorder (Dysthymia) in yourself or a loved one:
- Depressed mood for most of the day, for more days than not, as indicated by either subjective or observation by others
- Poor appetite or overeating
- Insomnia or hypersomnia
- Low energy or fatigue
- Low self esteem
- Poor concentration or difficulty making decisions
- Feelings of hopelessness
If
a person embodies having a “depressed mood for most of the day” with
two or more other symptoms one can be said to be clinically
depression therapist in mumbai.
Being clinically depressed, in turn, will have negative consequences on
one’s health, wellbeing, relationships, work, productivity and bring
down the overall quality of one’s life. Research has shown, that high
levels of the stress hormone cortisol have been found in the blood
stream of people who identified being depressed, this in turn reduces
immune function and makes any pre-existing medical disorder worse or may
perhaps even create new ones. What we can gauge from this is that
depressed people are more likely to be easily stressed and in turn,
people who have a low threshold to stress are more susceptible to
becoming depressed.
If an individual is in an intimate
relationship or has small children their having depression would impact
their loved one’s in very harmful ways where there is a diminishing of
real interpersonal contact and closeness since the depressed person is
no longer present to anything other than overwhelming feelings of
sadness. Spouses of depressed individuals report very low relationship
satisfaction as depressions gnaws away at the fabric of intimacy where
emotional connection, sexuality and simply having fun together is
greatly reduced or becomes non-existent Studies have also shown that
children of depressed people have a higher risk of being depressed
themselves, as well as a vulnerability to having addictions and exhibit
behavioural disorders.
It is extremely harmful to the self and to
one’s loved ones to ignore constant negative ruminations and feelings
about one’s life, as they could transition from being pathological to
fatal, where individuals driven by disturbing thoughts and emotions
could end up taking their life. Another alarming point regarding
depression is that it has a propensity to recur once a person has
suffered from it before. Since depression, in essence, is a thinking
dis-ease, which is premised on habitual negative thinking, perceiving
and evaluating one’s self and the world, this in turn creates neural
pathways in the brain, literally grooves in our psyche, which get easily
activated when certain triggers are present. Over a period of time,
even small mundane disappointments may set off disproportionate feelings
of anguish and hopelessness.
Although, ironically, depression is
extremely common, with 20 percent of the population suffering from it at
any given time; literally, perhaps one in every five people experiences
depression, it remains unfortunately, ignored, undetected and
untreated. While awareness is increasing regarding the importance of
mental health globally, in India, historically and perhaps even to some
extent today, psychological issues have been ignorantly stigmatized.
Individuals are made to feel ashamed of themselves for having life
traumas and upheavals and are marginalized for seeking help.
Contemporarily, this is a very unfortunate set of circumstances, as
historically in ancient India,
dukkha was greatly acknowledged
by all philosophical traditions, and especially, highlighted by the
ultimate healer and therapist, Gautama Buddha who stated that “Life is
suffering.”
If you or anyone close to you is depressed it is extremely important that you seek professional
psychotherapist in mumbai
attention, while exercise, yoga, meditation and good nutrition are
useful adjuncts and supports, what the depressed person really needs is a
facilitation to cognitively re-frame and dis-identify with negative
thoughts while developing the ability to tolerate distress and work
though disturbing affect, which, unfortunately, does not happen
automatically or with family support.