DEPRESSION DEBUNKED

For issues relating to mental health and mental illness, the challenge still very much lies with our society’s ability to conceptualise, fully comprehend and basically make sense of what exactly is being spoken about.

The difficulty, I believe (and I have mentioned it before), rests on the intangibility of a bi-polar disorder, for example, and because of lack of ‘touchable’ proof that you have bi-polar disorder, it makes it harder for the next person to believe that you really do have what you say you do. This statement is probably generalised on the broadest of mental illness scales, so much so that, it is difficult for someone who is experiencing the indications of a mental illness to put into words, for instance, why and how they feel at a particular time. To this, depression is no exception.

Many individuals suffering from depression struggle to put into words the root of their feelings, the persistent negative thoughts they harbour and the subsequent impact that these begin to have on their lives and lifestyles. The nature of these feelings are, in essence, self-executionary - meaning, they harbour perceptions of themselves that are negative, hypercritical and essentially damning. These are normally the product of their external environments (that is, the workplace, school, relationships or even at home), where the individual is more often than not, subject to experiences that cause them to doubt, belittle and be unsure of themselves or their place in society.

Withdrawal

Overtime, the ‘weight’ of these adverse experiences begins to take place in that individuals’ self-esteem, their confidence and the self-belief that they take part in and be competent members of their society. Consequently, this causes the withdrawal (from society) that we begin to see in depressed individuals, which can be explained by the fact that the individual keeps in their mind, a skewed perception of themselves, as well as their place in that society.

The human mind is very impressionable or maybe even naturally gullible in that, with enough exposure to certain words, behaviours or actions, it begins to believe them and before you know it, you have internalised a million different opinions of yourself, regardless of how true or untrue they may be. This is the premise that depression particularly operates on; you experience enough rejection or enough belittlement, your mind begins to process these and assimilate them into your thought process consistently. You begin to create an image of yourself that is tainted by the negativity and begin to see yourself as that. This is the source of the deep sadness, the feelings of helplessness, the lack of interest and the dents in self-esteem that someone who is depressed may exhibit as part of their behaviour.

Challenge

That then becomes the ‘cornerstone’ of their existence, which is why they too begin to display sudden, questionable behaviours. Quitting your job or dropping out of university may be one, socially cutting off family members (and friends) may be another or reverting to isolation; these along with many more signs, offer a glimpse to the possible mental infliction that one may be struggling with. The sternest challenge with regards to depression is that how you feel becomes a part of your internal-personal self and because you assume the next person may be a tad judgmental, it becomes very difficult to open up and share these with anyone. This is core to why many depressed individuals choose to suffer in seclusion until eventually giving in to the persuasions of suicide.

With this being said, the process of living is not as smooth for some of us, therefore, emphasis must be put on being kind, patient and most importantly, be a non-judgmental ‘ear’. Send comments to runsford0505@gmail.com.

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