Shocking News: One in a family is hit by Depression

According to the World Health Organization, one in every 4 people is affected by Depression at some stage of their life. Just imagine, one in your family, even two if you have more than 4 family members, are affected by depression. At any instant, there will be more than 450 million people are suffering from depression. If left untreated or even unspoken Depression will rank second in the Global Disease Burden list by 2020.

How to Find out whether you or your friends/family members are suffering from depression?

The main reason for the surge in mental health awareness everywhere in the social media and news channels is because of the high neglect to speak out about it or even understate about the seriousness of depression. Many couldn’t find out whether they are just sad or suffering from depression. Well, it is very simple to find out. Every one of us will feel sad; Sadness is an emotion that will be felt if a person is hurt, or if you watch a sad climax, we even feel a hard weighing feel inside our chest whenever our friend or family member express their sadness.  

The only thing that you should note here is, if you feel sadness for a period more than a day or two, and in addition to that if you experience even any two of – no interest in doing work, having lack of concentration and unlikeness in everything in the world, detachment from everything, suicidal thoughts, and the feeling of anxiety and despair; then you are suffering from Depression.

How to get help?

Depression hits people irrespective of their age. So, the first step towards conquering Depression is by consulting a Psychologist or talk with someone.

Open up to your loved ones

You might find it scary to hear that you are suffering from a mental disorder; But in reality, you are not alone, even your friend or your colleague might be suffering from this disorder. As a person who has experienced depression, I urge you to express yourself. There might one person in your life with whom you share your feelings and vent. Take your mobile call THEM! Only talking it out loud will help you. It is not said just for the sake that venting will make you feel better. Venting really does make you feel better.

Even Deepika Padukone has experienced this mental disorder and has been creating awareness about it through various social media and news channels. So, when you express yourself, it is not only good for you but also for the person you express to. Without your knowledge, they might also be suffering in silence.

Do what you love

There is that one thing that cheers up every person. For some playing with dogs can boost their mood, for some music helps a lot, for many sleeping, and for others, it might be hitting the gym or doing yoga & meditation. Cooking also is a great escape from stress and it makes you feel keener and increase your concentration levels. Scrolling through the social media feeds and reading some news from news channels are also a good distraction. Choose “The one” for you and do that at least thrice a week. This acts as a natural anti-depressant and makes you feel better instantly.  

Going on a vacation or even a long drive will make you feel better as the new air and atmosphere will let you breathe freely. You can diminish the feeling of a lump in the throat by doing things that you love.

What’s is the deal with Cortisol & Serotonin?

Just so to be clear with the tasks of Hormones, Serotonin is a happy hormone whereas Cortisol is a Stress or Depression hormone. Serotonin is very vital for the transmission of information between the nerves and inside the brain. A huge amount of serotonin will release when you do things that make you happy, thereby making you feel better than before.  The cortisol hormone is produced in abundance by the pituitary glands when you stress a lot and sent to the whole body.

Now you are aware of these two hormones, understand that high levels of cortisol can impair your ability to think and make decisions, cause weight gain, tiredness and some chronic complications like diabetics.  It is quite evident from the comparison of the symptoms of depression & increased cortisol levels, that depression is indeed a result of a stressful lifestyle.

Conquer the Depression

According to a study, doing physical activities, even a small walk can boost your serotonin levels and decrease the cortisol levels.

By doing very easy things like talking with your loved ones, going on a walk, playing with your pets or even hearing music can act as a natural anti-depressant and improve your mood swings exceedingly. So, why wait or neglect?

‘Just do it’ as Nike says.

Think about the positives in your life. Reiterating about the good things happening and happened in your will make you feel thankful and enable the positive side of your brain, hence making you feel good. 

Author’s Note: Just a few days after the world mental health day, I felt a huge responsibility to share my methods of overcoming depression and sadness with you. If you feel any of your family or friends even a known person suffering from Depression, motivate them to talk aloud. The therapy not only needs a psychologist’s consultancy and treatment but also the loved ones care and motivation. I hope you share this piece with your loved ones and just talk with them.