BROADENING MINDSETS- Recognising and Battling Depression
The science of studying someone’s behaviour has made a significant progress in the last few years. Psychology has not only become one of the most respected and sought out courses in the world, it has also helped people in fighting many mental illnesses. Despite of all these progresses, one thing that still remains a problem is the mental stigma that people have attached to seeing a psychologist or a psychiatrist. Many people in the society still believe that people who need psychological help are ‘Pagal’ (Crazy). This mindset of people is one of the major reasons as to why patients who suffer from any mental illness are never cured as they do not have the support of the people around them and they live in the fear of being judged. Depression is one of the most common mental disorders amongst people in today’s world. It is vital that people recognise this problem and treat it like any other physical problem one faces and consult a psychologist or psychiatrist.
The DSM V ( Diagnostic and Statistical manual for Mental Disorders) by APA (American Psychiatric Association) gives three cardinal symptoms that helps in identifying if the patient is suffering from depression or not.
A) The person usually feels sad or depressed or there is loss of interest and pleasure.
B) All these symptoms cause problems in proper and daily functions performed by the person.
C) These symptoms are not due to direct psychological influence medications, drugs etc.
Once these symptoms have been recognised it is important to get the correct help as depression is not an easy phase. Depression is also one of the major causes as to why people commit suicide. People suffering from depression often have some problems in their personal, professional, social or family. Death of someone very close, major changes in life; break up in a relationship, experiencing something traumatic or being under lot of stress can also become the onset of depression for someone. Depression is also associated with the neurotransmitter Serotonin in our brain. Low serotonin levels can cause mild level of depression or MDD (Major Depressive Disorder).
One of the most important things that a depressed person needs is support and love from people around him or her. A lot also depends on the patient as he himself or herself can pull them out of this state. Keeping a positive attitude, shunning away negative thoughts, talking to people are just a few ways that can help a person.
According to a report by WHO (World Health Organization)-“Current predictions indicate that by 2030 depression will be the leading cause of disease burden globally”. This is a great cause of worry in the years to come as the number of people being affected by this problem and the number of lives lost to depression is increasing gradually. Hence, it is of the utmost importance that awareness of such disabilities is increased and that people stop stigmatizing people with any mental illnesses.
