A Little About Depression

Depression is a terrible condition that affects many people myself included and it should not be taken lightly but too many people do just that. Now most people think if someone has depression they will be sad and cry a lot and will have suicidal thoughts but that is not the case. Depression can affect different people in different ways, I do get sad and I do cry a lot and things do get to me easy when I am not taking my medication, however both Tim and Kathy are different both of them get angry and moody and all in all they are not nice to be around. They both have times when they want to stop taking their medication, in fact at the moment Tim is cutting back how often he takes his medication because he no longer things he needs it. I said only time will tell and if I say to him I think he needs to increase it again I don’t want him arguing with me about it………

Sometimes depression or a depressed mood may have no apparent cause and sometimes it may be caused by a number of factors (by themselves or in combination), such as:

• Genetics or a history of depression within your family. 
• Biochemical – In normal brain functioning, neurotransmitters (which regulate mood) jump from one nerve cell to the next, with the signal being as strong in the second and subsequent cells as it was in the first. For people who have depression, the mood regulating neurotransmitters fail to function normally, meaning that the signal is either depleted or disrupted before passing on to the next nerve cell, thus resulting in a lowering of your mood. In non-melancholic depression, it’s likely that the transmission of serotonin (which improves mood) is reduced or less active, whereas in people with melancholic and psychotic depression, the neurotransmitters noradrenaline and dopamine are more likely to have failed or be functioning abnormally. 
• A stressful event or chain of events such as a family break-up, abuse, ongoing bullying at school, rape, a death, a relationship break up, family conflict.
• Personality style – Certain personality types are more at risk of depression than others. This includes people who tend to be anxious, have low self-esteem, are perfectionists or are shy.
• Having a baby (called post-natal depression).
• Other mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

I remember when Kathy was first prescribed medication for her depression it was explained to me that it was felt that her brain wasn’t producing enough serotonin and because she was so young (14) that this could be a lifelong problem with her and only time would tell if she would ever be able to stop taking the medication.  

I was also told that if the depression was caused by genetics or chemical or through something like schizophrenia then it would most likely be a lifelong condition, the other causes of depression are different and after having medication for a short while it will no longer be needed.

If a person had a condition like a heart condition or epilsey no one would be saying you have been taking medication for a while now and maybe you don’t need it anymore, so why do people thing depression is different. It is as if they don’t think it is a “real” disease.

I know that some people will only suffer from depression for a short period of time or are able to stop taking medication for it and if that is you then that is awesome, but it is not me nor is it my daughter Kathy or my sister Sue. 

Also some people may not be suffering from depression but are in fact burnt out. Here is the difference between depression and burnout………………

 

Depression                                                                         Burnout

Flat and Numb                                                                  Drained and Defeated

Tired all the time due to low mood                         Exhausted by you relentless responsibilities

Withdrawn & Disinterested                                       Overwhelmed & Unmotivated

Enjoyable activities are no longer enjoyable      Frustrated you don’t have time to do anything enjoyable

Life keeps bring you down                                          Life seems unfair and full of pressures

Worried that you’ll never feel happy                     Worried that you won’t get onto of things

 

  

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