Depression: It is All in the Head
Imagine yourself in a room filled with people, yet you feel lonely at the same time. Imagine doing everything that can be done, but the thought of emptiness lingers within, and imagine this feeling staying with you 24/7. That is how depression makes you feel.
Depression is often mistaken for a feeling of sadness and is underestimated, whereas it is a disease. It has a significant impact on mental health.
Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their community. It is an integral component of health and well-being that underpins our individual and collective skills to make decisions, build relationships, and shape our world. Mental health is a fundamental human right. Likewise, it is crucial to personal, communal, and socio-economic development.
Depression and anxiety are two of the most common mental health issues, which are, in fact, disorders. Major depressive disorder, sometimes known as “depression,” is a severe medical condition that frequently interferes with people's feelings, thoughts, and behaviors.
Depression is a feeling or a loss of interest or pleasure in activities that develop into a disorder when it becomes intense enough to interfere with functioning. Even though it is an illness that can develop for no apparent reason, there may be some triggering factors that cause it to initiate. It could be from a recent loss or another sad event that is out of proportion to that event and lasts beyond an appropriate length of time. Also, experiencing occasional anxiety is a normal part of life. However, people with anxiety disorders frequently have intense, excessive, persistent worry and fear about everyday situations. Often, anxiety disorders involve repeated episodes of sudden feelings of intense anxiety and fear or terror that reach a peak within minutes, which is known as panic attacks.
Mental health problems can affect anyone at any point in life, no matter how young or old they are. Depression can affect anyone—even someone who appears to live in relatively ideal circumstances.
Depression can be caused by a number of different factors, including the following:
Biochemistry: Differences in certain chemicals in the brain may contribute to symptoms of depression.
Genetics: Depression can run in families. For example, if one identical twin has depression, the other has a 70 percent chance of having the illness sometime in life.
Personality: People with low self-esteem, who are easily overwhelmed by stress, or who are generally pessimistic, appear more likely to experience depression.
Environment: Continuous exposure to violence, neglect, abuse, or poverty may make some people more vulnerable to depression.
While severe mental illnesses such as bipolar disorder and schizophrenia usually develop in your teens or early 20s, they can be affected for the first time in later life. A mix of biological, environmental, and psychological variables contributes to depression. A high incidence of depression in families raises the possibility that genetics may be at play. If one biological twin has depression, there is a 70% chance that the other twin will as well.
Leo and Lacasse (1999) found variations in the brains of depressed individuals as well as in the way chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters function. Depressive symptoms can also be triggered by hormonal changes, such as during a woman's menstrual cycle or after childbirth.
Factors including a family history of depression or related mental diseases, personal trauma or stress brought on by physical or sexual abuse, difficult relationships, or financial worries raise the risk of depression.
The benefit of focusing on mental health awareness is that it can make the signs and symptoms of certain conditions more widely known. In many cases, early intervention predicts the success of mental health treatment. The earlier someone is diagnosed and begins treatment, the more likely they will be able to manage their conditions and improve their mental health. With all of these accolades, workplace mental health must be addressed. Creating a safe space for employees at all levels to communicate openly and without discrimination is crucial. Without this, you risk losing out on valuable feedback that could help you retain valuable talent.
An emotionally healthy and stable person always feels lively and fully alive and can easily handle emotionally challenging events. One needs to be physically fit as well as emotionally strong. Even mental health is very individual. What affects one person may or may not affect another. Many crucial factors contribute to mental health problems, such as social isolation or loneliness, experiencing discrimination, poverty, bereavement, poor housing, unemployment, drug use, and many more.
Our fitness level is greatly influenced by various emotional elements, such as fear, anger, negative thinking, despair, and violence. Regular exercise helps maintain a high level of physical fitness since physically fit people are generally upbeat and can handle stress and depression with ease.
References
Leo, J., Lacasse, J.R. The Media and the Chemical Imbalance Theory of Depression. Soc 45, 35–45 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12115-007-9047-3
