Depression is a popular mental disorder that affects about 3.8% of the total world population according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Depression which is more prevalent among the female gender than their male counterparts is said to be one of the leading causes of disability worldwide. When not properly managed it can snowball into suicide.
Combating depression may not be easy, but it is quite feasible if one can judiciously follow steps.
Before talking about the solutions, it is important to identify some symptoms and possible causes of depression.
Some of the popular symptoms that accompany depression are: difficulty in managing anger, inability to concentrate on a task and make decisions independently, a lack of enjoyment in things that previously excited someone, anxiety and fears, fatigue and restlessness, and ultimately thought of death/suicide.
Although depression is complex and may be difficult to ascertain its causes, it doesn’t happen by accident but can be traced to various reasons such as the following.
- Abuse
People who in the past have been victims of different abuses such as: physical, sexual, domestic, and even emotional are prone to falling into depression. The wound left by these abuses may prove difficult to heal, therefore leaving the victims in perpetual sadness which mostly results in depression.
- Age
Age is another factor that may be the cause of depression. The more one’s age is the more responsibility that accompanied the age. Inability to live up to the expectations of a certain age can bring about depression.
- Loneliness
loneliness is next to hopelessness. The world is a dangerous place already, and everybody needs somebody who can comfort them in times of adversity. Inability to have someone by one side can bring about unlimited sadness and trigger depression disease.
- Failure
From time immemorial, failure has always been one of man’s greatest fears. Failure in several aspects of life such as school, relationships, career, friendship, and the likes can lead to depression disease.
- Death of loved ones
The sadness and grief that accompanied the loss of loved ones can increase the risk of getting into a state of depression.
- Serious illness/accident
Nobody likes to spend days of his/her life on the hospital bed at the mercy of medical practitioners. Illness, when intense and persistent, is capable of jeopardizing one’s goals in life, which may ultimately result in depression. Similarly, being involved in an accident that disfigured or led to the amputation of a major part(s) of the body can bring about permanent excess sadness which later results in depression.
While there may not be any permanent method of taming depression, there are various ways it can be combat, managed, and overcome naturally along with therapy and medication.
1. Engagement
Being idle may allow depression to eat deep into a person. One of the best ways out of it is to always keep oneself busy with something. Always ensure to be engaged with one thing or the other at all times. You may keep yourself busy with things like exercise, working, traveling, and reading.
2. Confide in a trusted person
As the saying goes “a problem shared is half solved”. If you are battling depression, avoid the urge to keep it to yourself and die in silence. Rather, you should confide in a trusted person. It may be your parents, siblings, pastors/imams, guardians, and lecturers. Talking about it will help free your mind and ease the pain of depression.
3. Eat right
Food is an integral part of human life which is inevitable. The presence of depression in one’s life kills your taste for food, hence increasing your level of depression and decreasing your well-being. You should prioritize healthy food. Eating healthy helps to supply the necessary nutrients to the body. And it is important to avoid intake of unhealthy food which may jeopardize your health.
4. Express yourself
Depression does not only kill your joy, it also tampers with your creativity and makes you feel worthless. To overcome this disease, always try to express yourself through the things you have an interest in which may be painting, writing, designing, drawing, teaching, cooking, or baking.
5. Change negative thoughts with positive ones
The state of depression brings about different negative thoughts capable of impeding your well-being. The solution to this is to exchange those negative thoughts with positive ones. If you are the type that views things from a negative angle, then you will need to change your thinking and be optimistic about everything.
6. Avoid alcohol and hard drugs
If you are battling depression, getting yourself drunk and taking unprescribed pills will only add to your problem rather than solve them. Excessive drinking of alcohol and other hard drugs can lead to a change in how your brain and body system work, which in the long run affects your well-being.
In conclusion, it is pertinent to accept depression as part of human existence. We should always in our own way show love and support to those battling depression among us. Although, it may be difficult to identify someone battling with depression, which is where our inquisitiveness as human beings comes in.
We should pay attention to the people around us and equally take note of the little changes in their behavior and try to engage a likely depression victim. Another way is to always show love to people around us through positive words and deeds, rather than emphasizing their flaws which may push them to depression or worsen their case if they are already in a state of depression.
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