Understanding Depression: Causes, Symptoms, and Solutions

Not murder

It was the other day when I was reading an article in the newspaper. The news was about. The couple apparently attempted suicide in front of the Ghaziabad AIMS rehabilitation center. At first, when I read the headline. It was written as "husband killed wife then killed himself" So I thought that it might be a murder case or anything else. However, that was not the case. It was suicide. When the background research was done, It was revealed that depression might be the reason for the attempted suicide. It really baffled me. Depression is a Concern raising issue in India right now because not only teenagers but also adults are attempting suicide, and this couple had children. depression is common, but it is not normal. 

Still a long road ahead...

Data from the government of India and WHO (world health organization) shows how many people are harming themselves because they are suffering from depression, and they got no help. Right now, Many movies and shows have been made on depression, but still, deep down at the lower level, people think their depression is not a Harmful Situation. I would not call it sickness or disease, but it is as harmful as any physical sickness. We might not know at which level depression is started. Because depression is like cancer. It is like that virus; it doesn't make itself known and visible till it gets bigger. Many people don't understand the seriousness of depression or the state of a person who is suffering from it. You tell me, guys. How many You have heard? Has anyone in your life said that I am depressed? how do you react? how the other people react? "Depression is not a thing, "But it is. 

A real story

It has brought many people to their senses after TV shows, web series, and movies are made on depression. But there is a real story here I'm telling you guys, there was this one classmate of mine. It was during the Corona, and she was not attending classes. Our English teacher asked her "Why are you not attending classes even though they are online", her answer was "Ma'am, I am depressed". The teacher started laughing "Like, really? Why are you depressed? You don't have any worries in your life." But that is the difference. " What are what are your worries in your life?" this sentence shows how people perceive depression. Tell me. If she has said this "Ma'am, I have kidney cancer or stomach cancer instead.   How would people have reacted?

Depression is just a state of mind

one reaction would be totally different from the other. In India, it is true because many people react like that. They think and it is instilled in their mind that Depression is just a state of mind, and it will just pass with time, but no. Sometimes it doesn't pass with the time. Many people Have healed from depression and made their life greater than it was before. But somehow larger portion of the people who are currently suffering from depression. Have met their end to suicide. Like the teacher said, what is the reason for having depression? I'm just going to put a screenshot of WHO's Causes for Depression Statement.

Causes 

Remember, Depression can be caused by any reason, any traumatic past. It could be unemployment, psychological and biological factors. so, depression can be the result of any case. There are many reasons that a person could be suffering from depression. It might be a financial crisis in his/her  family. It might be after pregnancy. pregnant ladies who have just delivered their babies feel depressed for a very long time as their bodies go through many changes during that time.  For example, sexual abuse. Any childhood trauma or it could be like one time period trauma event that happened in the past could result in depression. But there is one thing common in all of them, feeling of hopelessness, Losing hope in life, losing excitement from the fun activities you loved, Feeling disappointed in your loved ones, your parents, your partner, or even from yourself.

Symptoms and signs

As I stated before, depression can start on a very small level it cannot be detectable. So, we might feel like that. "I am just bored" or. "It's just I didn't have a coffee" or" I'm just tired. "I just need to sleep". Over time it becomes more and more. But there are some basic symptoms and signs that can show if we have depression. It is from a reliable source. these signs are basic.  I hope that it helps you Because they are correct, I too felt that.

 

 Changes in appetite weight loss or excessive weight gain. It shows That our body is going through many changes because the mind and stomach are correlated.  If one is Upset The other is going to get the aftermath. It is like that because Our brain controls everything. Depression severely affects our minds and brain. however, change in appetite could be due to various other reasons.

Depression. It's a very serious topic. It should be, more talked about, written about, and imprinted about. I wish and hope anyone who is reading this may come forward and give support to Any other person they know who is suffering from the same. I hope we understand the severity of the Issue. 

solutions

1. self-care

self-care is of utmost and very important factor because we are human beings. We, at the very core level and at the very highest level of thoughts, think about the only person, us. When we have depression, we tend not to take care of ourselves. So, in that case, self-care is very important. self-care includes not only Physical self-care but also mental and emotional self-care.

Depression makes us feel very tired. So, you just don't want to get up from bed. So, the first thing you have to do is Get up and take a shower, a cold shower. Then get ready. That is the first step towards self-care. Start getting ready. Start prepping yourself. Show yourself love. Love yourself. 

You can do emotional self-care by Cutting out people from your life, who always belittle you. If you can't cut out people from your life who are toxic, so you just have to distance yourself from them. 

2. prioritize yourself.

Start taking care of yourself. place yourself on the pedestal. Trust yourself because you are the only person who is going to take care of yourself better in this whole universe. Love yourself. Love yourself very hard and stand up for yourself. Feeling guilty during this is common. guilt is a strong and most felt emotion. however, remember not to judge yourself. do not judge yourself. 

do not take other emotional baggage.  REMEMBER THESE EMOTIONS ARE JUST FEELINGS THEY WILL GO AWAY WITH TIME. Most of the time, we feel guilty because of others. Remember, you do not have any control over others' activity However, yourself.  

3. LOOK AT POSITIVE.

You are strong. You always have been strong. you are fine and you will be fine. Remember, this is just a phase of life. this phase will pass away. Imagine, telling people it was hard, but you did it. Try to look at the positive aspects of your situation. You do not have any friends, ok I got you, spend that time getting to know yourself better. Every situation, everything in life, offers two choices in life, you just have to make a decision. Let me tell you a story. I was depressed during the COVID-19 pandemic for whole two years. However, after two years, I realized if I just continued to be like this, I would always be like this. There will be nothing good in my story if I do not get up today. if I do not change this one chapter in my life. Then how the whole book can be changed? 

4. meditate

Meditation has many benefits. It has been proven scientifically and ancient scriptures provide a wide range of detailed benefits of it. Meditation rewires our brains. I think we all know what meditation is good for. However, there are also many other things. like, meditation helps in better focus. It makes us able to see the picture in a better way. So just take a step back and sit in a comfortable posture. Take a deep breath in and breath out. Relax your whole body. close your eyes. Just sit in silence for just.  If you do not want to do it in silence, then it's fine, because meditation is a practice you can do at any time of the day and place. many forget to mention this, but meditation is practice, and it shouldn't be made exclusive. If you are focusing on something, then it is also part of mediation. Meditation helps in controlling our thoughts. It is going to help in regulating your thoughts. Remember that thoughts are like emotions. We have to remember this; thoughts and emotions are not always correct. Sometimes they happen without reason. They happen without any correspondence to any of the situations in our lives. for outdoor meditation, you can sit on a chair, close your eyes, or remain open and try to focus your attention on one thing. if thoughts come let them come. do it for five minutes in the beginning then gradually increase the duration.

5. journal/ write 

Writing helps a lot. Write about your day like what you did? how are you feeling? you can make a diary or just a pen and paper or if you're at an outside place and you cannot have access to your diary or pen or paper, just open the Notes app on your mobile and type it on it because thoughts are always running in your mind. It was a major game-changer for me. after I started journaling, and it really helped me a lot. And if you're not comfortable with that you can talk to someone you trust.

6. talk to someone you trust.

Talk to someone you trust. Talk to someone who understands you, who trust you and whom you trust. Talk with them. Tell them how you are feeling. Tell them, what are your thoughts. Tell them whatever you want to do. Just get it out of your heart and mind. it helps. If you do not have anyone to talk to you can do one thing which is take your phone and record yourself, document yourself speaking about whatever you want to. Start doing it I'm telling you; it will make you feel more goody- goody than before. Just talk and speak like you are speaking to someone else. Say everything you want to say, whatever thing you want to just let it out of your system. 

7. do new things 

Try something new for example, going on a walk. Listen to music. watching something new. Watching something funny. Do something new that you did not have in the past.  there are lots of things you can do for example, during COVID-19 I started writing lyrics for a song. I chose any song and then started to translate the lyrics into another language. Of course, it was in English, and I did it. I made a whole notebook on that. It was fun. You can watch videos on YouTube and make a dish. Do shopping. it helps me a lot. Or if you can't go shopping or if you can't spend money, you can play games, just try something new. 

8. create new hobbies and meet new people. 

like painting, dancing, singing, listening to music anything that makes you comfortable and at peace. It was painting for me. It could be anything for you, like many people enjoy listening to music. You can listen to music. It is scientifically proven that music helps in healing. It helps in physical healing. It also helps in mental healing. Your new hobby doesn't have to be something very fancy. You can make anything your hobby because everyone is unique. Everybody enjoys different things. There must be something which you have passion for.

If you're tired of the people who are already in your life, then go out and search for new people it is simple. I know that it could be like very tedious task that go out and talk but it is very fun.

9. Change your environment.

Change an environment that's it. We don't realize it. However, our environment plays a great role in our well-being. if you constantly feel that you are living in a negative environment where there's always jealousy and way too much anger, guilt, insecurity and move out. If you can't move out, then take a break. Make a space in which you can be yourself in which you can breathe properly. let me tell you, negative environment. takes a huge toll on our well-being. It takes you huge toll on our mental well-being. significant time of your day just for yourself, spend that time with yourself. 

10. exercise and diet 

I know what you are thinking. but that's important. exercise is important and diet is also important. Meditation is our mental exercise. and exercise is our physical workout. Go on a walk. Run. Do bicycling. Do whatever you want. Just exercise. Exercise is very important. It  keeps us physically healthy. I don't think I'd have to write the facts about exercise as we all know how important is exercise. So, let's just not cut this out from Our routine. As much as exercise is important, diet is also important. Eat food. eat. eat. Do not do let your mood control your body. Mood can be good or worse in a blink of an eye. So do not eat according to your mood. Eat according to your body's needs.

That's all guys. Thank you for reading this. And I hope that this has given you some sort of assurance and Idea that everything is curable for you. you do not have any disease. It's just a state of mind. for the comment, you do not have to make an account. So you can just write your story or whatever. chapter of your book in the comments as anonymous. You can write whatever you want. You can also DM me on my Instagram account. I will put the link. below.

https://instagram.com/empoweredinnerself?igshid=MWZjMTM2ODFkZg==

bye bye, tata!!!!!