Let's Talk About Depression

The unwanted roommate, the monster, the dark cloud - these are just three of a plethora of metaphors created for such a dark disorder called depression. Depression is a medical disorder that causes a person to feel extreme despondence which often results to a loss of interest in life itself. You may not know it but a huge chunk of our population is affected by it. With 350 million people affected by depression worldwide, depression is the leading cause of disability. However, it is still something we put aside and ignore - something we refuse talk about. Only branding it with “sadness,” we pretend that it does not exist. We neglect the fact that it takes away people’s lives. Because of our choice to not tackle this subject, the stigma regarding depression continues to worsen.

Depression is not just a mood or a phase. It is an illness. It causes several disturbances in a person’s day-to-day life. A person who suffers from depression experiences symptoms such as losing interest in a matter that used to entertain them, sleeping and eating too little or too much and constantly thinking of suicide. Although branded as a mental condition, depression has its biological manifestations. Looking at the brain of a person who suffers depression, the hippocampus, the part of the brain that is in charge of memory and emotion, is smaller than average. There are also abnormalities in certain neurotransmitters like serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine.

A common misconception about this subject is that it is mere sadness that will go away after a good night sleep or after getting an ice cream. Unfortunately, it is incredibly greater than that. Sadness is natural, it is an emotion. You see the person you love love someone else and you feel sad. You fail a major exam and you feel sad. See, sadness is natural and normal. The next day comes and the dark cloud on top of your head has gone away. On the other hand, depression is when you’re an honor student who does everything you love and still manages to maintain a social and a romantic life but you still do not want to wake up and see everything in its place. The problem lies on the fact that you’ve got your whole life figured out and all of your wishes have come true but you still find yourself utterly uninterested in living. This is depression: feeling sad and lifeless despite the “perfection” of one’s life. In simpler words, being sad without a rational reason. Unfortunately, the immense feeling of sadness does not go away.

Depression is an illness. More and more people should be aware of this fact. Its symptoms and effects pose a crucial threat to our society, especially to the succeeding generations. We need to work on a race that doesn’t shame those who suffer this illness. They should not feel the need to hide their wounds and scar. They should not be judged for feeling a monstrous weight of melancholy. To understand them is not what is basically needed but to let them feel comfortable. Comfortable in a way that both of you can talk it out - that they are not scared to seek for help.

People affected by depression are not seeking for your attention. They are not over-acting. They are sick. Just because you do not put a cast on it doesn’t mean it doesn’t need mending. We need to talk about it more. Depression should be rightfully acknowledged and the awareness of it should be strengthened. By acculturating ourselves with the behavior of this disease, we would know how to react, understand and deal with those who have it.