Mental Depression: Real or Myth?

Abstract

For many years, mental depression has been expressed as a rising epidemic in the United States, but many victims of this disease do not receive the proper treatment they need to get better. Even though many see depression as a major problem some argue that the illness does not really exist. This paper outlines the effects of depression on victims ranging from children to the elderly. It expresses how mental depression can negatively affect one's life by draining them physically and mentally, and can increase the risk of obtaining other difficulties later on in life if not treated. Many are ignorant to the true nature of depression, and to help correct this ignorance depression awareness should increase among schools to spread more acceptance to the illness at a young age.

A Rising Epidemic

Mental Depression: Real or Myth?

Sunday, April 10, 2011. My flesh was hot, my heart was accelerating, and tears were victimizing my eyes. There was only one word to describe how I was feeling: empty. I had reached my darkest hour, falling head first into a hole, where there was no chance of escape or comfort. Everything I knew appeared to me as a lie, and everything I ever felt passionate about now held no interest to me.

"I am so depressed," I murmured to my grandma.

"What is there to be depressed about? Shake it off, and you'll be fine." But how can a person simply "shake it off"? The answer is that they cannot. Depression is a serious mental illness that usually goes untreated amongst many all over the world. Signs of depression can appear in people during their childhood and become increasingly severe as they age. The adolescent years are usually the most common when signs of depression begin to appear on the surface. Statistics show that between 10 and 15 percent of teens suffer from depression at any one time. Most people do not understand the complexity that is depression, and think that it is a person's choice. In reality, depression is a syndrome that, without treatment, can lead to deadly results. Symptoms including fatigue, difficulty concentrating, change in appetite, and thoughts of death can make it hard for one to live happily (Facts about teen depression, 2012). Mental depression is a serious disease that many seemingly overlook due to lack of knowledge. Many people in the United States suffer from depression, but unfortunately usually do not receive the help they need. Depression is a draining mental illness that affects many people due to the controversy over whether or not it is a real illness; therefore depression awareness should increase.

Mental depression is a syndrome, meaning that is has symptoms that affect the human body, and usually exhausts the victim physically and mentally. It affects how one thinks, acts, feels, and how one's body functions. Depressed people can notice increased confusion, difficulty concentrating, and sometimes thoughts about death (Lucas p5). They lose interest in the activities that they used to be passionate about. Some experience fatigue; "it was hard for me to even get out of bed. I didn't really see any point when all I wanted to do was sleep forever and never wake up" (K. Yentz, personal communication, April 3, 2012). Battling with depression is one of the most difficult things to overcome since it affects the person at home, at school, and with one's friends. Emotionally, depression can do great damage to one's health. This disease can make one feel extremely empty, numb, and hopeless. It is most crippling to adolescents because they are at their most important stage of development, and having untreated depression leaves them at risk of having more episodes later on in their lives (Martin p9). Depression can make life just as difficult as any other disease because of symptoms such as loss of appetite lack of sleep and unexplainable pain that can make life unpleasant.

The problem with mental depression is that many lack knowledge of the true nature of the disease, and some do not like to admit that it even exists (Lucas). Most people in society believe that depression is a choice or a result from a flaw in character. They think that it is a cry for attention and an excuse for people to be lazy. However, these people do not know the inner turmoil one goes through everyday, and that depression goes far beyond just feeling "sad". Depression is definitely not a choice that someone would choose to live with, and the causes of the diseases are too complex to understand fully. What comes into play is "something in that individual's personality, heredity, or biology" embeds depression into one's system, and is usually "triggered" by a stressful or unpleasant event (Martin). An individual might have depression and not know it until they experience a loss or stressful event that would trigger the disease. Also, the amount of neurotransmitters in the brain plays a huge role in whether or not a person has depression. Episodes of depression may surface if there is a lack of communication in the brain due to an abnormally low amount of neurotransmitters (Martin). To help achieve better understand of the disease, children should be taught about the risks of depression, and how to handle stressful situations on order to reduce the risks of major episodes in the future.

A person who is suffering from depression can also encounter further turmoil from negative reactions from their loved ones. Family and friends who are not open or accepting to the disease may increase the risk of a major outbreak of depression to the patient. Also, being ignorant to the disease may cause tension between the victim and the other individual. Bringing up depression to a loved one may be a difficult task to do, and can prove to be very shocking. "I think my dad had a harder time coping with the fact that his daughter was suffering from clinical depression than my mom. He didn't understand how much it was affecting my life at the time. It wasn't something that would just go away over night" (K. Yentz, personal communication, April 3, 2012). Many parents of depressed teens are usually not aware that their child is suffering of depression or thoughts of suicide, and studies show that "parents do not know of suicide attempts 90 percent of the time" (Choi, 2007). Symptoms of depression are not clear-cut or the same for everyone; they may appear as mood swings, which parents find to be normal for teenagers dealing with stress from school and other activities. However these changes in mood are not healthy, and may result in depression if not spotted right away. In some situations some teens