Mood

Depression - A Quick Introduction

Seeking help is part of the recovery process.

Depression isn't the word for it. We're talking about a condition that can take over your mind, rob you of your dignity, deprive you of all the joyful offerings of life, and leave you nose down in two inches of water, feeling totally abandoned by man and God. Brain crash is more like it, of the inside of the head throwing up error codes and sucking up energy and failing to accomplish even the most simple of tasks, reducing one to a state of utter despair, a walking corpse perhaps on the way to becoming a real one.

William Styron, the Pulitzer Prize winning writer, in his memoir of depression, Darkness Visible, had this to say:

"... all sense of hope had vanished, along with the idea of a futurity; my brain, in thrall to its outlaw hormones, had become less an organ of thought than an instrument registering, minute by minute, varying degrees of its own suffering."

In addition, one may experience these symptoms: fatigue, weight gain or loss, loss of libido, loss of pleasure, lack of concentration, pronounced disinterest in one's surroundings and the world in general, and suicidal thoughts.

If you are depressed, the first thing you must know is: IT IS NOT YOUR FAULT. What has happened to you is not the result of some kind of bad attitude or moral weakness. You are suffering from an imbalance of chemicals in the brain, and the key to recovery lies in correcting that imbalance.

The second thing to know is: TREATMENT IS AVAILABLE. Antidepressants are not magic bullets, but doctors and therapists can assist you in working out a medication strategy, and in helping change some of the thought processes that can make your brain go crash.

The third thing to know is: YOU ARE NOT ALONE. There is plenty of support out there. Some of the people around you have been through the same thing. There are support groups you can attend. In addition, the internet offers the cyber equivalent of a shoulder to lean on.

Now for a dose of reality: Medications may take as long as six weeks to kick in, an eternity to someone experiencing hell. In addition, your first prescription may not be right for you. Either it doesn't work or it produces unpleasant side-effects, creating a sense of hell on top of your present state of hell.

Battling depression is not as simple as a few Prozacs down the hatch. We are all wired slightly differently and can experience different reactions to the same drug, which can turn the simple act of finding the right medication into a long drawn-out game of pill roulette.

Also, well-meaning but ignorant doctors or therapists may drive you to despair rather than give you hope. The same holds true for family and friends.

The good thing is that the mind takes part in its own healing. Many patients show signs of improvement before the medication they are on actually kicks in. We don't want to jump to conclusions, but this suggests that the simple act of seeking help might actually lay the groundwork for eventual recovery.

This justifies emphasis: SEEKING HELP IS PART OF THE RECOVERY PROCESS.

To rephrase it, nature may be providing us with a means of coping with one of her own failures - of giving us one inch of hope out of the almighty despair of the brain going crash. But first one must hold onto that precious one inch for dear life - and then be patient.

Fast Depression Facts

From the NIMH:

Approximately 18.8 million American adults, or about 9.5 percent of the US population age 18 and older in a given year, have a depressive disorder.
Nearly twice as many women (12. percent) as men (6.6 percent) are affected by depression each year. These figures translate to 12.4 million women and 6.4 million men in the US.
Depressive disorders may be appearing earlier in life in people born in recent decades compared to the past.
Depression often co-occurs with anxiety disorders and substance use.
Major depressive disorder is the leading cause of disability in the US and established market economies worldwide.
Major depressive disorder affects approximately 9.9 million American adults, or about 5.0 percent of the US. population age 18 and older in a given year.
Dysthymia (chronic mild depression) affects approximately 5.4 percent of the US population age 18 and older during their lifetime. This figure translates to about 10.9 million American adults.
About 40 percent of adults with dysthymic disorder also meet criteria for major depressive disorder or bipolar disorder in a given year.
Bipolar disorder (manic depression) affects approximately 2.3 million American adults, or about 1.2 percent of the US population age 18 and older in a given year.
Men and women are equally likely to develop bipolar disorder.

More Facts

According a National Mental Health Association survey involving 1,319 in-depth interviews, only 18 percent of the American adult depressed population (of 19 million) has ever received a diagnosis. Other findings:

Even though 44 percent of those who are undiagnosed say their symptoms cause significant emotional pain and restricted function in their daily lives, 93 percent do not associate their symptoms with a mental health disorder
Forty-four percent of the undiagnosed believe their symptoms are self-manageable.
Twenty-eight percent of the undiagnosed won't go to a doctor because of limited or no insurance coverage.
Forty-two percent of those with a formal diagnosis say they are embarrassed or ashamed by their symptoms, and 16 percent are afraid to talk to their friends.
Only 55 percent of diagnosed people expect treatment will provide even initial treatment relief.
Fifty-one percent of those diagnosed say they are not where they want to be in terms of remission.

A National Comorbidity Survey Replication survey of 9,090 US residents found that the prevalence for lifetime major depression was 16.2 percent, equating to 32.6 to 35.1 million US adults, and for the past 12 months was 6.6 percent, representing 13.1 to 14.2 million US adults. Thirty-eight percent of the episodes were severe and 12.9 percent very severe, with mean duration of 16 weeks. Three-quarters had co-occurring psychiatric illnesses, with major depression only rarely the primary illness. Half of the 12-month individuals had received care for their depression, but treatment was only adequate in 41.9 of the time, resulting in just 21.7 percent receiving adequate treatment.

First published 2000, reviewed Feb 10, 2008

Important Note

This article constitutes a quick introduction into depression. It should be read in conjunction with the next article, which goes into far more detail, and which offers invaluable guidance on further exploring your illness.

Also Worth Checking Out

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