Informative

8 Facts About Depression

While being one of the most common conditions around the world, Depression is also the most misunderstood concept. With around 264 million people suffering from depression around the world, the number keeps increasing every day. Unfortunately, these are just the numbers that are registered. Every day, millions of people fight the battle alone and sometimes fall prey to false notions, making their condition worse. In this blog, we discuss a few real causes of depression and easily neglected facts. 

Causes – 

Contrary to popular belief, depression can have both mental and physical causes. These causes can be deep running and take a long time to diagnose. Listed below are a few examples of both mental and physical causes of depression – Hormones – Flux in hormones due to any other physical change such as pregnancy, thyroid (both in men and women), diabetes, obesity, pregnancy and menstruation can lead to depression.

Chemical Imbalance – Imbalances in neurotransmitters can impact mood regulation. These include dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. The theory is that having too much or too little of these neurotransmitters can cause (or contribute to) depression.

Seasonal Changes – As the circadian rhythm of the body gets affected due to seasonal change, so does a person’s mood and their mental health. The words gloomy day and sad month are real. Lack of sleep due to change in seasons is also a big factor in leading to depression.

Trauma and Stress – If a person is physical or mentally abused or gone through an accident or a traumatic situation in the past, they are much more likely to suffer with depression. Losing a loved one, a job, a divorce, chronic stress, moving cities or countries can also lead to stressful situations that eventually lead to depression. This is because these situations lead to high levels of cortisol that are secreted during these times, which in turn affect the serotonin and trigger depression. 

Belief Systems – All of us lead our lives based on our belief systems that we formed as kids or in past lives. These belief systems are not necessarily helpful and may have been formed when they seemed right but have not lost their credibility. However, since their formation, we haven’t done anything to change them simply because we aren’t even aware of them. One such belief system can be “I don’t deserve Love”. These kind of belief systems have people living their entire lives feeling they are unworthy of love and being depressed as a result. 

Let’s now look at some facts about depression 

Children aren’t immune to depression – The common belief that children are full of hope and life and they can’t be depressed is just that, a common belief. Children are as prone to depression as an adult, rather more and the opposite belief only makes matters worse. 

Depression is a Real Illness – As we read in the causes section, there are actual chemical imbalances and hormonal changes that lead to depression and not just a broken toenail. So, the next time you meet a friend who is depressed, instead of asking them to just go for a jog, just be there for them and show them hope. 

No One Size Fits All – While depression is treatable, there is no one size fits all for the treatment of depression. The medications, the therapy techniques, the counsellors and the treatment time are all different and one needs to have the patience and love to go through with it and come out victorious. 

The Forms – There are different forms of depression such as persistent depressive disorder (also called dysthymia), postpartum depression, psychotic depression, seasonal affective disorder, and major depression. There can be more types on which research and studies are still on due to the varied and complex nature of the disease. 

Wealthy people are not immune to depression – Thinking that if I earn this much money, I will be happy or how can they be depressed they are so rich and successful is one of the biggest mistakes ever. A person can be the most successful and affluent person in the world and still be depressed. So instead of thinking that I will earn money and then by happy, be happy now and it will improve your chances of earning more. 

Spirituality and Depression – Regular Sadhana, Meditation and spiritual practices can lead to effective depression treatment over time along with improved mental and physical immunity. 

We hope this blog helped you understand depression a little better. We will be back with an effective treatment plan for depression in a few days. Until then, feel free to write to us at info@chamundaswamiji.com for a consultation with Swami Ji and spiritual guidance. 

Swami Ji sends his unconditional love, blessings and protection. 

– Team CSJ