Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Depression is an illness not a choice



Being depressed is not about being emotional or moody.  Depression is much more than just sadness.  You can’t just toughen up or get over it, it’s not that easy.  Depression is a serious medical condition that we all should be aware.

We all suffer from the normal ups and downs of life from time to time and that’s a normal reaction to life’s struggles and disappointments.  But when someone suffers from depression, the emptiness and despair doesn’t go away, it takes over their lives by interfering with their ability to study, eat, sleep, work, have fun and in general it makes it tough for them to function.  They feel helpless, hopeless, and worthless, so much that they can’t enjoy life as they once did and they want to give up.

Sometimes people dealing with depression don’t feel sad, but they feel angry and aggression.   But no matter how hopeless you feel, it can get better.   If left untreated, depression can become very serious, have long term consequences, and it could even be deadly. 

I have to confess that I used to think that people dealing with sadness could just suck it up or if they were moody they could just get over it, but I was wrong.   This year I've learned firsthand about depression, not only it deprives you of any joy you derive from life and causes you to doubt yourself but you lose interest in just about everything.  I misunderstood the signs of depression on one of my loved ones, but I’m glad to say it wasn’t too late.   It was a wakeup call for me and it scared me, especially because it was dealing with someone that I love dearly and how close I came to lose him.

The first step to overcoming the problem is to understand the signs, symptoms, causes, and treatment of depression.  If you're suffering from depression, do not suffer in silence and seek professional help!    Depression can be successfully treated and controlled.  

And remember this, there is always hope, and you should never ever give up!


XOXO

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