For this blog I’d like to talk a bit about depression. Many people, especially in the US, have been diagnosed with depression. This seems to be a fairly recent phenomenon that no one can really explain in definite terms. My aunt is one of those people. She was recently diagnosed with major depressive disorder by her doctor.
When I first heard about this disorder, I wasn’t really sure what to think. It seems like TV commercials are constantly advertising different drugs that help people manage depression, but I wasn’t really sure what depression actually was. I know that my aunt did not act like herself at the time she was diagnosed. She became very apathetic and had a hard time going to work and socializing with the rest of the family. When we first heard that she was depressed, my family thought that there was something wrong in her life, maybe something that we did not know about. She insisted that there was no specific cause, but we found that hard to believe.
After learning more about depression, i found out that sometimes there isn’t a specific cause. This aspect is very hard for people without depression to understand though. Usually when people without depression feel sad, they are feeling that way because of some specific event, but with depression, a chemical imbalance in the brain can cause this feeling to persist without a direct reason.
My aunt was given Prozac to help her cope with her depression and she is doing very well now. She is back to work and just as productive and friendly as ever. Untreated depression can be very serious, but with therapy and the help of antidepressants, can be very manageable as well. If anyone has a friend or family member with depression, I would strongly urge them to encourage that person to seek help so that they can get better faster.
Your blog post is something that I feel a lot of people can relate too. I know I can, a friend of mine suffered from depression dating back to the time we lost one of our good friends. They were a lot closer to each other than I was. Do to the severe nature at which we lost our friend, his ptsd goes and hand in hand with his depression. He feels at fault for his accident. Even though no one had control over it, he, to this day still suffers from depression. He has trouble socializing and being with friends and family. The only people he talks to are the ones that were present during the event. His parents tell me that he sits in his basement in the dark and doesn’t do anything. He takes medication now and that seems to help a little bit, but he still feels the affects. We all try and help him as much as we can but theres only so much we can do. Depression has since become a huge topic of conversation among a lot of people. But I feel that a good way to come back from depression, just give it time. Most people will make peace with their demons one day.
Duncan,
I really enjoyed your post, thank you for sharing. I have a similar situation in dealing with mood disorders in my family, as my aunt, my mom’s sister, has bipolar disorder. I am not sure how long ago she was diagnosed with the disorder, but my mother first mentioned it to me a few years ago. I did not understand the disorder at first, so my mom explained the manic and depressive sides of the disorder, and it helped me realize a lot. Sometimes my aunt embellished good news that I told her when I saw her, showering me in hugs and giving me amazing praise. Other times when she visited, she was very stressed and pensive. My mom’s explanation of the symptoms helped me understand quite a bit, and this class helped me complete my understanding of bipolar disorder.
Thanks for the well written post,
Chris
Your blog is definitely something I can relate to. My uncle suffers from depression and it definitely puts a strain on his relationships with family and friends. Before medication, his mood could go from happy to sad in the matter of a second. However, after trying to medicines and talking with his doctors he his more stable than ever and you can tell there is a difference in how he acts and in how he thinks. Like the first person who commented shared, I too suffer from test anxiety and they prescribed medication that has allowed to calm down and think logically when I take tests.
I also know someone who has depression and uses the drug Prozac. I have noticed that my friend is doing so much better now that she is on Prozac, she is not nearly as moody as she used to be, and she has been all around a happier more put together person emotionally. My sister struggles with test anxiety and she was prescribed Prozac for this. I thought that was interesting, the doctor also informed us that often children are prescribed Prozac when they are nervous in school and have trouble talking to other students. I just thought that this was interesting and I wanted to share!
Sorry to hear about your aunt. It’s good to hear that she is doing better than she was previously do to dealing with her disorder. Depression that is not diagnosed can be horrible. Dealing with apathy about everything and losing motivation and will power to complete things are some of the day to day problems with depression I feel. Speaking personally about my encounters with depression, getting help is the best way to deal with it. Many people don’t know how to deal or cope so they do something extremely impulsive and possibly irreversible. The situation for people has gotten so bad for some people that they will harm themselves. Anybody that has depression or knows someone that does, please get help or support the person you know struggling with the disorder.