I’m writing this now coming out of a major depressive episode. I’m not looking for sympathy, pity nor am I trying to guilt-trip. It’s something I feel passionately about and I only hope to provide some insight, raise awareness and hopefully change your perspective about depression.
Let me start off by sharing some distressing statistics. Suicide is the leading cause of death in men and women aged between 15 and 44 and for every death there are tragic ripple effects for friends, families, colleagues and the broader community. Every day in Australia 7 people die from suicide, 5 of which are men. That’s one brother, father, son or husband dead, every five hours. A mother, sister, daughter or niece, lost forever, every twelve hours. That’s a person …show more content…
It’s crucial to understand that it’s not someone being too emotional or seeking attention nor does it reflect a person’s real personality. It’s not a mood, a bad habit or a phase that will pass. I can’t emphasize enough that during depression what I am describing is absolutely the depressed person’s reality and when another person tries to disprove the person’s reality, they are very unlikely to succeed. Instead, they and the depressed person are likely to feel frustrated and alienated from one another. To the person suffering from depression, no one seems to understand or care and people seem insincere. Being in this state is extremely isolating and causes the person to feel irredeemably unlovable and convinced that everyone has abandoned or will abandon …show more content…
Well, depression is when the brain itself becomes sick. As a whole, the brain of a person with depression functions differently than that of a healthy person. Unlike illnesses of the body, you can’t actually see these changes or symptoms as they occur. Scientists have observed using Magnetic Resonance Imaging that in people suffering from depression some regions of the brain become smaller and dormant, others become over-stimulated and certain cells and networks in the brain literally deteriorate the longer a person has depression. The most notable changes are the shrinking of the Frontal Cortex (responsible for planning, judgement and emotion), Basal Ganglia (responsible for movement) and the Hippocampus (responsible for memory and emotion). It’s also believed that these changes are a response to the increased level of Cortisol which is released from the Adrenal Gland (which just-so-happens to enlarge in sufferers of depression). Increased levels of cortisol, aka ‘the stress hormone’ have also been linked to impaired cognitive performance, sleep disruption, decreased immune function, decreased muscle mass and bone density and a host of other negative effects. The production of ‘feel good chemicals’ in the brain such as Serotine, Dopamine and Oxytocin also decreases in sufferers of depression. Research shows that this affects the production of estrogen and testosterone, appetite, social functioning, sexual desire and
Let me start off by sharing some distressing statistics. Suicide is the leading cause of death in men and women aged between 15 and 44 and for every death there are tragic ripple effects for friends, families, colleagues and the broader community. Every day in Australia 7 people die from suicide, 5 of which are men. That’s one brother, father, son or husband dead, every five hours. A mother, sister, daughter or niece, lost forever, every twelve hours. That’s a person …show more content…
It’s crucial to understand that it’s not someone being too emotional or seeking attention nor does it reflect a person’s real personality. It’s not a mood, a bad habit or a phase that will pass. I can’t emphasize enough that during depression what I am describing is absolutely the depressed person’s reality and when another person tries to disprove the person’s reality, they are very unlikely to succeed. Instead, they and the depressed person are likely to feel frustrated and alienated from one another. To the person suffering from depression, no one seems to understand or care and people seem insincere. Being in this state is extremely isolating and causes the person to feel irredeemably unlovable and convinced that everyone has abandoned or will abandon …show more content…
Well, depression is when the brain itself becomes sick. As a whole, the brain of a person with depression functions differently than that of a healthy person. Unlike illnesses of the body, you can’t actually see these changes or symptoms as they occur. Scientists have observed using Magnetic Resonance Imaging that in people suffering from depression some regions of the brain become smaller and dormant, others become over-stimulated and certain cells and networks in the brain literally deteriorate the longer a person has depression. The most notable changes are the shrinking of the Frontal Cortex (responsible for planning, judgement and emotion), Basal Ganglia (responsible for movement) and the Hippocampus (responsible for memory and emotion). It’s also believed that these changes are a response to the increased level of Cortisol which is released from the Adrenal Gland (which just-so-happens to enlarge in sufferers of depression). Increased levels of cortisol, aka ‘the stress hormone’ have also been linked to impaired cognitive performance, sleep disruption, decreased immune function, decreased muscle mass and bone density and a host of other negative effects. The production of ‘feel good chemicals’ in the brain such as Serotine, Dopamine and Oxytocin also decreases in sufferers of depression. Research shows that this affects the production of estrogen and testosterone, appetite, social functioning, sexual desire and