Depression Awareness
Elisabeth Levesque
English/147
April 6, 2015
Kevin Phillips
Depression Awareness
Did you know that one in ten Americans will suffer from depression at one point in their life? Over 80% of people suffering from symptoms of depression are not receiving treatments. (Healthline, 2005-2015). Many people are uneducated on the topic of depression. Some people would say that discussing depression is morbid. Nothing happy comes to mind when thinking about the meaning of depression. More people need to be aware of what exactly depression is and how it can make the affected person feel. Some people believe that depression is not a real illness. They think it is made up and is all in the affected persons’ mind. According to Suicide.org (n.d.), “Untreated depression is the number one cause for suicide.” (2). Depression is a very serious illness that needs to be treated as one.
Most people do not realize what depression is and how it can make the affected person feel. The definition of depression, according to “Meriam-Webster” (n.d.), is “a serious medical condition in which a person feels very sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way.” (para. 1). Depression can increase or decrease your appetite and time spent sleeping. People suffering from depression may have suicidal tendencies or thoughts. (“Meriam-Webster”, n.d.). Depression can make it hard to go about daily activities. Normal day to day things are turned into daily chores. Sometimes getting out of bed in the morning can be turned into a hassle. Depression causes the mind to work differently than it should.
Have you ever heard the expression “It’s all in your head” or maybe “you’re just overthinking it.”? You may have. But, have you ever heard someone tell a person who is having an asthma attack “Oh, it’s just in your lungs.”? The concept is the same, yet some people still believe depression is not a real illness. Why is an illness with one organ treated differently than an illness with another? The brain is just as important as the lungs or any other organ in the human body. The mind is needed to function. However, people with depression are treated as though what they are going through is not real. Imagine feeling like you’re worthless every day of your life; constantly feeling sad but not having a reason to be sad. Then you are told that you are making it up, and nothing at all is wrong with you. The Mayo-Clinic (1998-2015) website shows studies of two PET scans taken. One with depression and one without, the one with has a substantial amount less of the yellow color than the PET scan on the one without depression.
Depression is a serious mental illness which if not treated can lead to suicide. Treating depression can be somewhat complicated. First, the patient must want the treatment otherwise they can shut out the treatment and their condition will not improve. Next, you need to diagnose your depression. The treatment that is best for you depends on the type of depression you have. (“WebMD”, 2005-2015). Some of the options for treatments are psychotherapy