Depression is a medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way. One in ten Americans are affected at one point or another sometime in their lives, I am that one of ten. It started my freshmen year of high school. It didn’t start like those sob stories in every young adult book where something traumatic happens and boom, depression. It happened slowly like a blanket of tar that nonchalantly covers me up in my own personal cocoon of darkness. I don’t notice its gentle caress as it gradually drags me into its sweet embrace, but suddenly I’m there and no one is there to help me. I had to learn to pick myself up and keep moving or I would get buried alive. Sometimes my depression likes to take vacations and it’s the most wonderful relief. It could be gone for a few …show more content…
The night when one of my friends first told me he wanted to commit suicide. My heart sank to the bottom of my stomach. When I got information like that, it stunned me, like a jolt to my chest, and a million things go through my head, what to do, who to call. He had just gotten back from basics for the National Guard, and he felt like he was nothing and that he wasn’t important. I drove to his house instantly with food and the fake sparkling wine, trying my best to not get pulled over. I sat there with him all night talking through things and trying to figure out what we thought was the best way to handle this. After that night, I decided to make sure that all of my friends have someone to talk to always. I go out of my way to make sure my friends are ok and that if they need anyone to talk to that I am here for them. It definitely makes me feel better to help people and I find it easy to relate to them, this was I can actually help in a way that no one else
Depression is an incredibly serious matter that affects many people around the world. It is fairly common for many people to experience depression in some sort of way after a tragic event, such as the death of a family member or the severing of a long-term relationship. In fact, some may argue that these feelings are indeed appropriate for the time being. However, for some individuals, these feelings of despair and stress can last for weeks at a time or longer. While some who are not dealing with depression may interpret the feelings and the mindset of those who are struggling with major depression as a case of “the blues”, depression is undoubtedly a serious condition when left to itself without any type of support or medication. Depression
Tommaso Francesco Stalletti, born in 1997 on the dark cold morning of Grand view hospital, as the youngest therapist in the world only being 16 years old. Tommaso has appeared in TIME magazine and countless CNN articles as being one of the best and most effective therapist of his time. In his free time he does not play video games or sports like most young adults, but rather writes essays and books in order for the public to start understanding the people he works with, and how they too are important to the world. Some of his works including “What it Means”, “On Bravery”, and “The Importance of Devotion”. All of these getting multiple awards that define Tommaso for the talents and unique passion he has at just being 16 years old. His writings have all gotten multiple awards including “Best author of the year”, “Best motivational writer”, and “Most unique writing style.” This has by far out passed any other author and writer as this amazing, young, and talented 16 year old boy outwits most. Not to mention his three wives, polygamy at best.
The word ‘depression’ has become a common everyday word. We hear the term ‘depression’ so frequently today, it’s even used in the contexts of jokes. For example you may hear someone say ‘My favorite show is over, now I have nothing to watch, I’m so depressed’. Obviously this person is not depressed, but we have come to overuse it in our expressions, to the point that is takes away from the seriousness of this disorder. Major depressive disorder is a mood disorder characterized by at least two weeks of depressed mood or loss of interest in nearly all activities, along with sleep or eating disturbances, loss of energy, and feelings of hopelessness (Kosslyn, Rosenberg, 2006). This mood disorder is characterized by a depressed mood, lack of interest in activities normally enjoyed, and feeling of worthlessness. Over the course of two weeks, someone who is suffering with major depressive disorder can experience symptoms such as significant weight loss, daily insomnia or hypersomnia, loss of energy, diminished ability to think or concentration, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide (Kosslyn, Rosenberg, 2006).
It is known that depression is a growing issue, but the question is why it is continuing to affect more and more people, specifically students. It is difficult to pinpoint a specific cause when there are so many theories as to what exactly causes depression. Some argue that it is genetic while others say it is a result of too much stress. This is not to say that there is only one cause of depression, but there has to be a reason why the number of depressed students has been increasing in the recent years.
Symptoms for depression don’t completely disappear for 20%-30% of the people who have suffer from depression
Depression is an illness within itself that affects the “whole body”. (Staywell,1998) The body, feelings, thoughts, and behavior are all immensely altered when someone is depressed. It is not a sign of personal weakness, or a condition that can be wished or willed away. For some people depression is just temporary, but for others it can last for weeks, months and even years.
Depression is sometimes mistaken as the typical sad feeling all humans get once in a while. However, the distinct difference between depression and those typical sad feelings are that depression is long-term whereas feeling sad is short-term. Depression is a mental illness that should be taken seriously as this illness can affect the individual emotionally and physically, and impair the daily life. So what is it that causes depression? This is the big question psychologists try to answer through research but their explanations do not explain how those who face one of those factors, only a few are able to avoid developing depression. Everyone thinks and behaves differently, but there are specific personal factors such as one’s negative personalities, chronic illnesses, and substance abuse that causes each individual to respond in a similar and certain way, thus causing them to be prone to developing a depressive disorder. Low self-esteem and negative personality styles can cause depression due to its negative influences on the individual’s mind. Chronic illnesses triggers depression due to its biological and psychological effects. Lastly, substance abuse affects an individual’s mood, personal life, and health causing vulnerability to developing depression.
As Descartes argued, the mind and the body are the base of our existence, and many different cultures view different illnesses positively or negatively. Certain cultures, like the Hmong, believe that epilepsy is a good spiritual thing, but others, such as Western culture, believe that it is medically bad because it could cause death. Many illnesses can be viewed both negatively and positively, some more than others. However, one such illness that is mostly viewed negatively is depression. It is viewed negatively in a symptomatic sense – the symptoms are useless – and in a diagnostic sense – those diagnosed with depression are not actually depressed and the illness itself does not exist; it is simply an excuse to be lazy. There are many different approaches to depression and most of them consider that this illness is negative; however, depression is actually an evolutionary tactic subconsciously employed by humans that can have very positive effects.
The experience of depression has a profound effect on the lives and health of millions of people around the world. We all experience mood swing, and most of us think that we have experienced true depression and think they understand clinical depression and even know what it feels like; to be honest those emotions we feel are not half as much as what a depressed person goes through.
People that have it have most likely experienced some kind of loss. The loss is not limited to a death of an important person in the patient’s life, but can also be the loss of an important relationship, the loss of status, the loss of health, etc. Sufferers have a negative opinion of themselves, pessimistic look at life and over-generalized memories. In addition, they may experience self-critical and suicide thoughts. In severe cases, patients can have auditory hallucinations.
What is depression? Who are the groups affected by depression? How do people know when they are having signs, and/or symptoms of depression? Depression has numerous signs and symptoms, which means it comes in different shapes and sizes. No one individual is identical when it comes to feeling depressed.
Depression is a rapidly growing mental illness that strikes millions, but they never know the cause of this common, yet sometimes, harmful illness. If victims and potential victims knew what caused depression, they could do more to prevent it from happening. In order to know what causes depression, one has to know what it is. The online dictionary defines it as “a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason (Dictionary: 1)”.
The silent killer that takes lives without warning, punishment, or any sympathy; depression is truly one of the most prominent mental illnesses in the world. Depression is defined as a mental illness inducing a severe and staunch feeling of sadness. The term depressed is coined in English as a temporary sadness that everyone experiences in their life. Despite that depression is more active in women, it is still one of the most common mental illnesses in the world. It affects anybody, regardless of sex, race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic standing. Regardless of all these facts, surprisingly little is known about depression, however, scientists have been able to hypothesize major causes, effects, and treatments for the disability affecting over
"I'm depressed." You might say it casually to refer to sadness that engulfs you and then goes away. But depression is also a mental health illness that may require help from an experienced professional(1). Depression has been considered to be the leading cause of teen suicide in the 20th century, affecting approximately eight million teens in North America (2). Recen...
When you hear the word depression most think of feeling down or sad, but usually you don’t think of it as a mental illness or disease. In today’s society we hide depression from others because we feel it is not acceptable to be sad, or to let others know that we have faults. Depression is a darkness that can overwhelm you, it can take your happiness away and replaces it with negative thoughts. Many people use depression to attract attention, which gives depression a bad reputation. Depression is not just a sad feeling or an attention seeker like society thinks, it is a serious mental illness that is common in many Americans, makes it difficult to live in a normal way, can be life threatening, and with the proper help is treatable.