How To Recognise and Treat Depression

Depression, just like cancer or diabetes is a serious health problem and like these can be life-threatening.  It needs to be taken very seriously and treated. I hear almost every day, people talking about depression as if it is a common cold, to the point of  self medicating themselves; sometimes for most of their adult lives.

Unfortunately the word ‘depression’ has come into common usage. For many the word is diluted to mean such things as ‘boredom’ and ‘dyspepsia’. This creates confusion and harms those suffering from the clinical condition who may be labeled by relatives as ‘shirkers’ or ‘lazy’.

Facts About Depression

According to the World Health Organization, 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression, of which only less than 10% receive effective treatment.  Moreover 30 to70% of all suicides are due to untreated depression.

The  difficulty in receiving effective treatment is associated sometimes with not knowing what to do, sometimes with not accepting and hiding the symptoms due to social stigma.  Finding trained professionals and resources to get help can be limited as well.

Recognising Depression

Weexperience all sorts of emotions through the journey of life; hope, joy, joie de vivre, love as well as hopelessness, grief, sadness in response to life events. One thing common about them is that what we feel can change from one moment to another and over time.

However when these negative emotions continue more than 2 weeks and you experience symptoms like irritability or anger, sleep changes, loss of energy, thoughts of death, and it is affecting your daily life you may be clinically depressed.  You need to consult a mental health professional as soon as possible as early diagnosis helps with recovery.

Treatment For Depression

Effective treatment for depression is a process, and recovery can take some time. Sometimes depression recurs following an absence of symptoms. It is important to be patient with yourself and your loved ones who suffer from depression.

There are several therapeutic approaches.  As we live in a network of relationships systemic approaches that involve families in the treatment are found to be very effective.  If you are a relative of a depressed person you need to understand that this is a problem in which you are affected as well, and your attitude and actions may aid recovery.

Here are some pointers for the treatment:

• Speak up about your feelings and experiences, share with your friends and family. If necessary give them resources about how to help you.
• Connect to people who have had similar problems who recovered.
• Commit to a long term therapeutic relationship with a team of mental health professionals who can monitor your progress. Choose a trusted team.
• Antidepressants should not be used with kids, can rarely be used with adolescents with great caution.
• Medication is not advised for mild depression.
• Follow advice on medication, in combination with therapy.
• Self medication or stopping it as you feel like it is dangerous. Follow medical advice.
• Make sure that the expert who is prescribing you medication is qualified to do so.

Remember there is always light at the end of the tunnel, all you need is the right help.