Depression decoded

“My eyes were wet and my legs were shivering. May be I was taking a wrong step but I wanted to end all these feelings and thoughts which have bothered me since ages. I knew that my decision would hamper life of many but I was helpless at that time. I wanted another chance in life, I wanted to live again, I wanted to smile but there was a chain which was pushing me and led me to take such a drastic step.”

Every year 0.8 million people commit suicide worldwide which results into shattering of so many lives which were revolving around them. We all work so much to ease the lifestyle of human civilization but it’s very sad that irrespective of so much advancement in science and technology, we are still losing so many innocent lives.

Sometimes it’s very difficult to understand some issue if we oneself are not part of it . The biggest drawback of depression is that it’s very difficult to quantify and the entire diagnosis depends upon the openness of the patient.  There is no thermometer or blood test for it but set of questionnaire and symptoms which helps in diagnosis of it.

Like any other disease, it also has different types like Persistent depressive disorder, perinatal depression, psychotic depression, seasonal effective disorder etc. The diagnosis and treatment for each one is different and it differs from person to person. Depression is usually treated by medication, counseling or other therapies. No two people are affected the same way by depression so there is no “one size fits all” treatment.

I will be talking in detail about the types and the therapies related to depression but it’s very important to first understand how a person feels while he gets trapped into such a situation.

Depression creates a wall around a person which traps all his/her energies. A person wakes up with all his/her energy drained which creates loss of interest in doing any activity. This results in feeling of worthlessness and helplessness.  The people around try to push him more, which again makes him/her feel more helpless. The anxiety level increases and he/she is unable to concentrate in doing the task. The entire night gets sucked up by negative thoughts which keeps revolving in his/her mind and  he/she is unable to sleep. The same cycle gets repeated everyday and he/she finds himself trapped in this complete cycle of pain and helplessness. With time even the small day-to-day tasks like cooking, reading, studying, talking to friends or cleaning one’s room become so difficult that people start feeling pity about self.

There are few lucky ones who get the close ones who could understand the situation  and help them to get out of it. But most of the people have to bear the burden of society  with the never-ending pain given by depression. People suffering from depression are very likely to hurt themselves, hurt the feelings of others ,ruin their career or shatter their relationships. Many lives and talents get wasted by it.

I have started this initiative to at least create awareness among people, make a common platform where one can freely share their feelings and knowledge about depression or any other issue which has become a menace. I would be adding many detailed discussion about different aspects, symptoms, therapies, medication, and scientific advancement about depression in my coming articles.

It would be a great help if people can share their own articles, stories, viewpoints about it and share it with as many people as they can. We all think about making this world a better place, so I request everyone to at least take little pain and “BE THE CHANGE” themselves.

Please write to me at sarfrazkhan416@gmail.com to share any  article, story or viewpoint.