Those grey clouds are always following me……. I still remember the words of my first patient on the first day of my residency in psychiatry department. He further said “I don’t remember when the sun shone bright in my anyways dull life”. His words hit my thoughts more than any other thing ever had. I wondered that why would otherwise healthy looking people suddenly become so gloomy, withdrawn and directionless. He further added, “sir there are days I feel happy, charged up and get my things done and then on days these clouds of depression do not let me think clearly, I cannot enjoy or even engage into things that are usually so pleasurable.”
Yes depression is a brain disease. Or more we all need to look at it as a disorder rather than any weakness, mind state or a negative emotion. After my 3 years of training in psychiatry and across 10 years of my experience with thousands of patients suffering from mental illness I have figured out that of all mental health related problems depression is the worst of them all. The sheer faces of depression and the impact it has on an individual is alarming. According to research by World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide. Globally, more than 300 million people of all ages suffer from the depression and India is almost becoming the breeding ground for this illness. A country known for its rich culture, positive attitude and cheerful festivals the last decade has literally been depressive. Depression has increased 10 folds in the last decade, more and more people are helpless, hopeless and unhappy than ever before.
Depression is also a leading cause of increasing cases of drug addiction as drugs gives a user a temporary high. This temporary high especially to people surrounded by dark clouds of depression becomes a self medicating scenario. But alas this temporary high later becomes the major reason for even more severe depression.
Lets start from a fact that everyone who suffers from depression has this question in their mind, Why do I have depression? I understand that medical fraternity have different laboratory, radiological or screening tests the result of which give you a conclusion that why did you have fever, headache or even a tumor. Depression or mental health related disease markedly differ here.
Any psychiatric illness do not have any biological markers like blood tests, X Rays or Brain scans through which it can be identified. This situation makes it all the more difficult to explain people the reason behind their mental illness. There are myths, superstitions and misconceptions about the cause and effects of mental illnesses as no doctor can specifically point out the ‘real reason’ for depression or mental illness per se.
Dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Consetetur sadipscing elitr, sed diam nonumy eirmod tempor invidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliquyam erat, sed diam voluptua. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisici elit, sed eiusmod tempor incidunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Stet clita kasd gubergren, no sea takimata sanctus est Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consetetur sadipscing elitr, At accusam aliquyam diam diam dolore dolores duo eirmod eos erat.
I still with all these years of experience and medical science cannot with all the years of research cannot point to one single reason for depression. Causes of depression are usually combination of genetic, biologic, environmental, and psychological factors. Negative experiences like childhood trauma due to emotional or sexual abuse, difficult parenting, loss of a loved one, academic underperformance while among the younger adult’s broken relationship, unfulfilled ambitions or marital disharmony challenges the coping skills of an individual. Such trigger-based situations combined with inability to cope can be a reason for depression. However, the biological aspects explain more about depression. Usually I meet patients who say “I have been through even worse times than these, I have been a motivator to my friends and colleuges, I have solved problems for me, my family or friends but today as I meet you I cannot do the same and that too for a minor matter considering my past problems, doctor why is it happening now when I should be so easily able to solve my depression?”. Well this is where I explain the neurobiology of depression. Its important to understand that Depression cannot be an inevitable consequence of only negative life events.
Research in this field using brain-imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has shown that the brains of patients suffering from depression look different than those of people who do not have depression. Especially the areas of brain responsible for thinking, sleep, mood, appetite, and behavior appear to function abnormally. Serotonin, Dopamine problems in depression have been well understood by people especially due to awareness activities lately but there are areas in brain which shrink due to depression like your hippocampus and there are areas which swell like your amygdala
Knowing that you have depression is just a beginning, however its important to be diagnosed with this disorder by a registered Medical Practioner like a psychiatrist. Self diagnosis via internet or search and even worse through posts of various influencers on social media is as big a problem as depression itself. Try to take the prescribed treatment and loom for healtier lifestyle options to avopid future episodes of depression.
As I go back to attend my patients in my OPD, even after 13 years in this field I still share the same question that most of my patients will still ask me “Why do I have depression”, some day with the advances in medical science I surely will answer that with more conviction, until then I continue my journey to treat and heal as many sufferers as I can.
