Depression

Once in my confession (one of the posts I saved for posterity and I will revert to as long as content of my blog is not erased from the Internet) I held forth that problems with mental health are the aftermath of attempting to remain strong for too long. Over five years I have studied more on the topic and that very assertion appears now simplified to me since it narrows down to only some circumstances in life that may wreak havoc to one’s psyche and leave there scars for years to come.

The popular belief that people who need to consult a psychiatrist to get their health fixed are mental jobs, wackos, or have a screw loose is now on the wane. More and more individuals realise they have fellows afflicted by mental diseases around them who are not dangerous for anyone around (though life with them is anything but carefree) who fight what haunts them and strive to live normally.

Much contribution to understanding the nature of mental illnesses has been made by public confessions of famous people who have been struggling depression and told stories of what it has felt like, in Poland the best examples are Justyna Kowalczyk and Tomasz Jastrun.

Just as the world is not black and white, but painted with different shades of grey (when colours are gone), depression and other mental illnesses can have different intensity which may vary from being on the verge of committing suicide (but being short of enough energy to take the ultimate step) to functioning seeming normally, yet doing things mechanically, not drawing pleasure from activities which should bring pleasure. Joylessness looms as the mildest form of depression, creeping in cunningly, wiping smile off a human’s face, slowly poisoning one’s life. Joylessness is the most difficult to cure, since actually a doctor does not need to bring a patient back to a state of being able to function normally.

Such consideration brings forth the question of apposite therapy for individuals affected with mental disorders. Generally speaking the two cure methods usually combined are pharmacological and psychotherapy. The former bring quick relief and help patient live quite normally, while the latter is geared at long-term effect and improving quality of life to make patients live without pills at some moment in time.

Opinions on what causes depression among laymen vary. Those more familiar with the topic would say “damages in the brain” play a vital role in seeding depression. Others in turn claim traumatic or stressful situations in life bring about the disease. The former are closer to the truth, since had it not been for something that goes wrong at the back of your head, people whose lives are enviable would not fall victim of depression. Obviously, adverse circumstances, such as family conflicts, stress at work, loneliness, financial troubles, increase the risk of being depression-stricken, yet some genes which predestine one to come down with this mental disease intensify impulses which send one’s spirits down.

What lifts spirits in turns is the growing awareness and tolerance to people struggling mental problems. It should be borne in mind they are like somatic diseases – may affect anyone, though there are individuals more prone to it on account of their lifestyle or what fate has bestowed on them.