what’s depression and why are so many people suffering from it, Is it really so bad or are they trying to make an excuse to skip their work?
In: Biology
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Clinical Depression is a condition where a person’s brain does not make enough of certain chemicals called neurotransmitters. No one knows why it seems like more people are suffering from it. It could be higher awareness, or it might actually be on the rise. If it is on the rise, it could be environmental or cultural. It is really that bad. In very bad cases it is fatal through suicide. Everything seems to hurt in some way. Nothing is enjoyable.
I am fortunate. My treatment is mostly effective. For some people, finding the right combination and amounts of drugs is very difficult. Everyone I know with depression would love to feel good enough to go to work.
Depression is a literal thing, it can affect someone physically and/or mentally.
It is almost anything aswell. It could be that small voice in the back that keeps asking why? It could be the loss of feeling of why push onwards, that its same shit different day, that you live in the movie ground hog day. It could be the loss of colour in your site, literally like wearing a grayshaded sunglasses. It could be needing some substance to enjoy your day. Maybe music doesnt have the same feel, not that the song is old, repetitive, over played but that any form of art just cannot inspire you nor get you to think.
Your brain makes lots of chemicals that determine your moods. The happy chemical is called dopamine.
People with depression make less than/dont make this.
Depression also causes symptoms like fatigue, muscle pain, apathy, poor appetite, etc.
It is not fake. In fact, in America, it effects 6.8 million adults and is more likely to effect a woman.
Learn more: https://adaa.org/about-adaa/press-room/facts-statistics
Depression is a normal response to injury, illness, chronic emotional distress, or a hostile, stressful environment.
The purpose of the depression response is to keep you from taking excessive or impulsive risks when you’re in a weakened state For example if you have the flu, it’s a bad idea to go outside and chop wood in the rain. Indeed many of the symptoms of depression are the same as viral infections or traumatic injuries. There’s good evidence to suggest that the immune system and inflammation plays an important role in depression.
This is known as *Situational Depression.* Almost everyone has experienced it.
However, for some people this response is triggered for no obvious external reason, even if they’re healthy and have no major life conflict.
This is *Major Depression Disorder.*
It can sometimes be due to other mental health issues such as anxiety, schizophrenic disorders or developmental disorders, that causes chronic mental distress. The brain may respond to the distress of an overarching mental condition by dampening down such signals.
One interesting theory is that depression disorders may be a result complex immune response to certain bacteria in the gut.
Depression tends to be associated with a reduced level of certain key neurotransmitters such as dopamine, serotonin, norepinephrine, acetylcholine, phenylethylamine, GABA. Meanwhile there is an increase in others such as glutamic acid and adenosine.
The reasons why or pathways how this occurs are not well understood. I goes without saying that the brain is incredibly complex.
So, drugs used to treat depression work to artificially increase some of particularly serotonin. Some also work on dopamine and/or norepinephrine.
Caffeine is know to be modestly effective in treating depression and it blocks the action of adenosine.
Nicotine has a synergistic effect with acetylcholine, increasing it’s activity. Unfortunately, it has other characteristics such as a short period of action and rapid onset of withdrawal symptoms that make it very addictive. Many people with depression issues become addicted to tobacco products in attempts to find relief.
Some other people already explained the role of brain chemistry and neurotransmitters. Nobody truly knows what *causes* depression or why people are suffering from it, we just know that manipulating the serotonin levels in the brain can help relieve it. Many believe that there is a genetic predisposition and that some people’s brain chemistry is just more prone to depression, but there is also abundant evidence that it is environmental. This goes back to the nature vs. nurture debate. We cannot look at an individual and say, “Your depression is 30% genetic and 70% environmental.” Our understanding is not that clear.
There have always been people who have been described as melancholy or despairing, and suicide has always been around. However, it is very clear is that there is something about our modern world that is exacerbating the problem. Social media, for example, has been linked to a drastic uptick in depression (especially among teens). Meanwhile, chronic depression is virtually unheard of among people who live in primitive (or traditional) societies. The current hypothesis is that our modern world tends towards isolation and competition, whereas in more primitive societies people remain constantly surrounded by close family and everyone serves a role.
Anyway…
The second half of the question asks, ‘is it really so bad?’ The answer is unequivocal: **Yes, it really is that bad.**
It is hard for a cognitively normal person to understand just how bad depression can get. You have probably been sad at some point in your life because you suffered a misfortune (such as a death in the family, losing a job, etc). Take a minute to think about the saddest, most disappointing moment of your entire life, and then imagine that sadness lasted *forever*. Even when circumstances indicate you should be happy (like if something good happens to you) you still feel a deep, crushing sadness.
But it gets worse.
Your body is constantly fatigued. You feel guilty or ashamed all the time. Your anxieties are overwhelming. Even when good things happen, you know you don’t really ‘deserve’ it. You don’t want to be around people, because they make you feel ashamed and humiliated. Their happiness just reminds you how miserable and different and alone you really are, so you stop talking to them and put in earbuds so don’t have to listen to their voices. Then you realize that listening to music at an unpleasantly high volume can distract you from your miserable thoughts, so that’s what you do.
You are so tired, frustrated, angry, and bitter that you can’t focus on your work. Some days you can’t find the motivation get up, or move, or even eat. You just lay in bed contemplating how worthless you are. You sleep as much as possible because sleep is the only time you don’t feel miserable. You can’t make long-term goals because *why the fuck would you*? You’re just a worthless piece of shit and everything you do is shit, so putting actual effort into accomplishing things is just a waste of everybody’s time. The people you meet actively hate you, so why would you bother socializing? Eventually you stop washing and shaving because *who fucking cares*, right?
You are the absolute bottom of the human totem pole, and if you haven’t lost your job yet its just because your boss hasn’t realized what a piece of shit you really are. He’s going to figure it out sooner or later. And then you and your whole family are going to wind up living in a cardboard box but *at least then you’ll be getting what you actually deserve*.
So you hate your life, you hate yourself, you can barely summon the energy to actually function from day to day, you are a burden and a nuisance to the people around you, and you know it’s just a matter of time before your whole life just falls the fuck apart… so why not save everyone the hassle and skip straight to the end?
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