Image credit: Shattered.Art Flickr, creative commons
Lindsay Holmes of Huffington Post writes an important article entitled 9 Things Only People With Depression Can Truly Understand, which I recommend everyone read. Even if you are among the lucky that never develops depression, my understanding is that over 20% of people will develop clinical depression at some time in their lives. So you probably have or will some you love experience clinical depression.
Lindsey Holmes tells us over 350 million people worldwide suffer from clinical depression.
The most important take away I hope people would come away with from this post is the understanding that clinical depression is not just a mood, or attitude such as feeling down, or blue, the way we commonly use the word "depressed" in informal lingo. Clinical depression is a disease that affects the brain, nervous system, and entire body, including neuro-chemical imbalances that can zap a persons energy, motivation, ability to think clearly, and a host of other painful conditions. '
"At one point, everyone considered depression to be a mood state, and that's a huge misconception," Greden says. "Depression, for most people, actually involves major physical symptoms. And as a result, people don't consider themselves depressed and they think something else is wrong."
When someone experiences depression, physical ailments you already have can be made worse, Greden explains. Other physical symptoms include restlessness, indigestion, nausea, headaches, and joint and muscle fatigue. "These physical symptoms as well as the mood symptoms affect their routine life patterns," he notes. "They're all tied together."
Peoples symptoms can vary a great deal, and the impact depression has on the other dimensions of your life can vary a great deal.
One of the most important misperceptions this article tries to dispel is the popular notion that depression is a mood, an attitude, or a lack of making heroic and positive choices. I'm not a doctor but I believe I can correctly relay to you the opinion that depression is a physiological disease and at major clinical levels can usually be treated effectively by doctors.
It's a common misconception that depression is just a result of being overly sad. But as David Kaplan, Ph.D., chief professional officer of the American Counseling Association, stresses, the two are not one and the same. ... "People throw around the word 'depressed' a lot," Kaplan previously told HuffPost Healthy Living. "Depression is a clinical term -- and a lot of times when people say they're depressed, they really mean sad. The words that we use are very powerful and it's important to make that distinction."
This medical definition does not mean that there are not a lot of different types of moods, attitudes, poor choices such as lack of exercise can not also exists and perhaps can be treated with self-help pep rallies, or "toughing it out." Which is one reason it can be helpful to have people you trust that you can talk about what is going on, including a good therapist and psychiatrist.
If we could all develop a more discriminating vocabulary to describe these other conditions we might be able to better help those in a terrible disease state that need medical help. For example, we wouldn't tell someone afflicted with cancer to "tough if out," or "choose to be healthy" in exclusion of getting proper medical care from doctors and specialists in mental health.
Also, much drug abuse and alcoholism can be co-morbidities with depression and many suffering from a wide variety of mental health illnesses try self-medication. Especially in the United States where health care for the poor is so inadequate. Conflating these medical conditions with "moral failings" and labels as criminals is sad and damaging. In the United States too many of our mentally ill are languishing in prisons for decades for minor non-violent drug offenses which is terribly wrong, and cruel.
The frustration that comes when someone suggests you can "snap out of it."
The hard truth is, depression is not the sort of thing you can just wake up and be over one morning -- and suggesting such may be sending an unsupportive message. According to John F. Greden, M.D., the executive director of the University of Michigan Comprehensive Depression Center, these phrases often stem from a lack of understanding of mental illness. ... "When [loved ones] don't understand what's happening, their responses are 'suck it up' and 'stop feeling sorry for yourself,'" Greden tells The Huffington Post. "It's not understood that these are underlying illnesses and chemical abnormalities, so what they'll do is use these phrases. ... These comments are probably one of the worst irritations."
Alena Hall adds helpful perspectives with
10 Depression Myths We Need To Stop Believing.
In recent weeks, the global conversation surrounding death by suicide has taken center stage, and now more than ever, we're acknowledging the effects of undiagnosed, untreated and mistreated depression on those rising numbers. Approximately two out of three people who commit suicide suffer from major depression first. In the past, we have spent more time focusing on suicide than on this dominant root cause. And that's finally changing. ...
It's a sign of mental weakness.
This stigma is one of the main reasons why so many people elect to suffer in silence rather than seek the help they need. However, no one chooses to develop depression. It is a complex mental disorder that affects a person biologically, psychologically and socially, and does not discriminate. If anything, there is great resilience in the person that feels truly debilitated by this condition but makes an effort to work through it on a daily basis. ...
Real men don't get depressed.
Just because women are twice as likely to develop depression doesn't mean men should suffer in silence. In fact, middle-aged white men have experienced the greatest increase in number of suicides committed each year, and the majority of them can be linked back to depression. Men often express depression differently than women, which makes depression among men easier for society to overlook. Afraid of appearing less masculine, strong and stable, men often feel less able to speak up and receive the help they need. This makes depression even more dangerous for men, because they avoid treatment, tend to complicate their condition with substance abuse and are far more successful in suicide attempts, should their condition worsen to that level.
My diagnosis is "Major Clinical Depression in partial remission," so I can testify first hand that while everyone gets really terribly sad, or blue sometimes, even tears and such sick feeling that you can't get out of bed. These kinds of feelings do not reach the level of clinical depression we are talking about here unless they persist unbroken for at least two weeks, and are accompanied by other symptoms.
Also, I can support the observation that the assumption that "real men don't get depressed" is wide-spread. The way I was brought up this is a shameful affliction which I do not like to talk about. Even worse than the disease itself is what it can do to one's life if it strikes at an "unlucky" time, as in my case during a surprise divorce, 10 year custody and probate court battle with my ex-wife, which ended up with me declaring bankruptcy, and losing pretty much everything except for the love of my son.
How does on explain with any dignity that one is "starting over" in financial terms late in mid-life? In my generation, a great deal of one's self-esteem and respect from others was and is based on financial status, large estates, and other "badges of honor" that are easy to lose if afflicted with prolonged depression.
Reticence, and self-isolation are less painful options for many of us. For me, leaving my old world behind, changing species and starting over as a blogging dog was preferable to facing old colleagues, friends, and social networks where I might have to explain what happened to me. What I "allowed to happen to me." Trust me. (Humor alert. (Yes, one can have a sense of humor while "depressed." Ask Robin Williams. Oh wait, ... he's dead. ... Don't let this happen to you. Imagine how many he could have helped had he managed to hang in there.)' Many of us become highly skilled at masking our symptoms from others.
Let me say thank you to all of you have accepted me here, despite some of my eccentricities and occasional "moodiness, become great and supportive friends, and helped me start over rebuilding my life after my worst depressive crisis a decade and a half ago. My own recovery has been greatly helped by your kindness and tolerance.
But, as the article says, a lot of you other middle-aged men should "knock of being silly, 'grow up' and share your emotions with someone in real life." Or, at least, like me, get a UID as an anonymous animal, and we can start a group about some other more respectable topic to have social interactions. (Humor alert.) Seriously, I have no idea how I would have done it, or even still be here without the Daily Kos community. Please don't ever eliminate the opportunity to remain anonymous.
I had intended to put together a resource list for anyone that might find it helpful, however, so many of the google hits seem to be either advertising fronts, or affiliated with groups I can not vouch for. As I said I did not joint any support groups. Perhaps, some of our readers can help out, by sharing any organizations or approaches you have found to be helpful and credible.
This link may be useful, I know nothing about them, but a lot of the advice about exercise, regular sleep, seeking a doctors helps, and medication, etc seem sound.
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The authors of the first article invite people to share their stories. "Email strongertogether@huffingtonpost.com, or give us a call at (860) 348-3376."
Also, you may want to bookmark, or put on refrigerator the number for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, in the U.S. at 1-800-273-8255.
My father gave me the most helpful advice when bullies were picking on me in Kindergarten. "Don't let the bastards get you down." Hang in there fellow travelers, and "Keep on truckin.'" (sic)