HOW DEPRESSION CAN LEAD TO MENTAL ILLNESS AND DESTROY YOUR LIFE
Depression is one of the leading courses of mental illness in our society today. It is the most common mental illness affecting 30% of adults, depression affects your physical and social wellbeing thereby jeopardizing your general health which leads to mental health issues.
Your life is a treasure from God, guard it very well.
Feeling sad and anxious for a short period of time is seen as a normal part of life but when it goes far and beyond, it’s really a thing of concern.
For example, losing a close relative, friend, or even parents or more serious things happens.
This feeling of pain and sadness should only last for a short period of time but if it goes further, it should be handled in a proper way that does not lead to depression.
We are human beings and somethings life happens; it is normal but be careful while handling the issue not to get bitter with it.
SIGNS OF DEPRESSION
Feelings like sadness and anxiety are very common symptoms experience with people going through depression.
Some people experience difficulties in sleeping (Insomnia), inability to express their feelings through words, and sometimes fear of been judgmental from people, difficulties in understanding as symptoms could also manifest in form of physical reactions.
For example, crying; some people tend to cry a lot when they are depressed. Other symptoms of depression include;
- Feelings of emptiness and hopelessness
- Some people tend to overeat and experience massive weight gain, while others lose appetite and experience weight loss
- Severe distraction, difficulty in recalling details and making decisions
- The feeling of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness
- Loss of pleasure in life
- Restlessness
- Loss of energy
- Thoughts of Suicide
- Loss of interest in pleasurable activities, hobbies, jobs, friends, family, etc.
- Feeling of grief, overwhelming sadness.
- Anger
When you notice some of these signs around you for a longer period of time, seek for help, be open about how you feel and what is going on within you so you can get proper help.
Sometimes, people don’t notice what is going on around them, they thought that what they are feeling is normal.
Be your brother’s keeper, if you notice any abnormal behavior around your love ones, friends, and neighbors, call for an alert to save a soul because in this present world, people are going through stress or pain due to one problem or the other and they are very good in hiding their situation.
Take your time to ask people around you, how they really feel, who knows the soul you are saving.
LOOK OUT FOR YOURSELF AND LOVE ONES TO DICTATE ANY CHANGES.
Depression starts gradually before it becomes obvious. In the developing world, it is very hard for people to know what is happening around them because they are very naïve and ignorant of it.
In some cases, family and the love ones will dessert you, they will be angry at you because they don’t understand you anymore, for them you are becoming strange, annoying, and irritating for them, and most times they will use harsh words and force to make you come back to your normal self.
Some will even end up dumping the person in the mental health facility, not knowing that with little help from loved ones at an early stage will go a long way in helping the person to come back to normal. But that is not the case in the developed world because they know and dictate signs and symptoms at an early stage.
Depression starts by always finding fault in everybody, just to make yourself feel good, and always angry at every little thing. At a point, the person will start withdrawing from the public because all of them are insane, they don’t know what they are doing, they have one fault or the other.
Sometimes you will see a lovely person, all of a sudden he/ she will lose interest in associating with family members and friends, they decide to stay indoors all day because everybody irritates them, always moody.
After succeeding in withdrawing from people, they will start isolating themselves from the things they hold dear, all the activity they used to enjoy will not count to them anymore like going to out for function, swimming, shopping, or chatting with friends.
We all know what it means when somebody starts isolating him/herself from the public, the person will start to meltdown and become sober because human beings are not created to function like that, we are social animals, meaning that we need each other around us.
As time goes on, fear will cage the person, that is why they always stay at the comfort of their home to avoid been judged or criticized because they always see people’s attitude as directing to them.
Depression can always be corrected mostly at the early stage but when it gets severe, it tampers with our brain and jeopardize our sense of reasoning.
One woman was brought in the hospital, I don’t know her life history but her brother said she is suffering from severe depression, she doesn’t concentrate around the house if they give her food.
She will forget the food while sitting in front of the food, she will not touch the food, to the extent, she will sit in front of television watching news with others but will not capture one word from the television, sometimes, she will not shower for five days or more.
Severe depression can be a disaster for anyone suffering from it if not handled cautiously.
Severe depression needs medical attention like involving a professional psychologist for counseling and or proper treatment (use of medication), Life is so precious, even if it’s not working out for you now, don’t worry your light will shine again.
But don’t be a victim, look after your life irrespective of what is going on around it right now, it will always turn around for you but if your life is messed up by the time your situation becomes history, how are you going to enjoy it?.
The world we live in is a very harsh and critical place to adapt in, if you don’t have a strong will and mind, it will be very difficult to cope without breaking down at some point.
HOW CAN DEPRESSION JEOPARDIZE YOUR LIFE
- People experiencing depression may have trouble maintaining a normal work schedule or fulfilling social obligations. This could be due to symptoms like memory problems, inability to concentrate, and difficulty in decision making
- A person with depression may decide to channel the feeling of sadness, grief, and anxiety into misusing drugs, alcohol, tranquilizers, and other hard substances that can cause addiction.
He or she becomes very reckless and could portray abusive behavior.
- People with depression who have intentionally refused to get help may find themselves preoccupied with the thought of committing suicide.
- Depression and stress are closely related. Stress hormones speed up the heart rate and put the body in a prolonged state of emergency. This can lead to heart disease over time.
- Depression has a negative effect on the immune system as it makes a person more susceptible to infection.
Depression is not a mental illness that happens immediately, it develops gradually in a person. Realizing you are depressed and taking measures to get the necessary help is a major step in getting out of this situation.
HOW CAN YOU PREVENT DEPRESSION
- Try to stay optimistic
- Make happiness a major priority
- Spend more time with your family, friends. Those people who you can always confide with and makes you happy.
- Avoid pressuring yourself. Be patient with yourself
- Postpone important life decisions until you feel better
- Break up large tasks into smaller ones.
You owe yourself, thought, thinking, emotion, actions, and feelings. You decide what goes into your system and filter the ones you don’t want, don’t allow pressure to put you in an awkward position.
You can’t control life but you can control how you respond to life. To avoid depression, nurture your life and train your mind the best way you know how.
By doing this, you will not only be stabilizing your mental health, but you will also be taking steps towards staying happy, healthy, and hopeful, wanting to strive towards larger goals.
