I think I have been depressed lately. For the first time, I think I really felt for people who had gone through this. I could see and feel how draining it can be. How hard it can get to do the most simple daily tasks. Me, who was full of life and passion, find it hard to put myself together and do my job. I find myself procrastinating. It takes forever to finish a few charts.
-"It is hard to focus and get things done these days", I told an old friend and colleague that I admire a lot.
-"You will have better days gradually. It takes at least 6 months to a year to even get used to the idea of loss".
I nodded.
A couple of days ago, I found myself talking and laughing, surrounded by old and new friends in a short casual get-together. Maybe I can get back to my old self. That is what getting out of your routine, good friends and people do. They bring you out of your shell, remind yourself to you, bring you glimpses of hope. Maybe I will be all right again.
My learning experiences, feelings, and memories often in form of a poem or a story.
Full Moon Rising
This picture is by Stefan Seip.
5 comments:
Hi Nargess, I don't know if this is just a chance observation, but of people I know personally or of which I heared of, and of people who write blogs I recognise more and more reports about phases of depression. And in biomedical research, this is also a big issue: Some colleagues in a neighboring institute of neuro-genetics have large projects on depression, including mouse models for this, but also large patient studies. There are big efforts, and some small results, about the importance of inherited factors (i.e. genes transmitted from one generation to the next) and about
the detrimental experiences during childhood and adolescence for the development of depressive conditions. So the focus goes mainly to the patient himself (inherited factors) or to contributions from the surrounding family.
Don't you think that the influence of the society (including social media) and of the working community by far underestimated ? I know of people who were really suffering from depression for long time, untill they change their job and became completely normal. And these were not people who used to complain about the former job. Nobody would have guessed that the job was somehow linked to their depressive state. But since their condition improved so much after changing job, it is obvious that parts of the problem must have been job related. There are also several studies showing that th eintensive consumption of social media steams, biased to show happy people and success-stories, can contribute to depression.
I'd just be interested to know what you think about this .
bets regards, Michael
Hi Michael,
I am no expert on this subject, but I agree that environment and many other things like nutrition, exercise, feeling satisfied with work, being happy at work and home, etc all play a role in one's well being. I know just half an hour of walking or exercise makes you feel better due to hormones your body releases, and one may feel stressed or emotional if s/he consumes too much stimulants like caffeine and sugar. In my experience, depression was due to grieving and loss; but I know there are many other ways I can get depressed: like not getting enough natural air and light, watching or reading sad news hour after hour, being surrounded by negative people, etc. So, I think you are right that factors from our society and environment influence us too and can contribute to depression.
Hi Nargess, some believe that depression is more frequent in societies of a highly developed wellfare system, whereas during times of economic or political turbulence (wars, revolutions, natural disaster) depression is much less common. Could it be that this is related to your advice of doing some physical acticity ? What is perhaps really bad is the situation of unemployment in a society that promotes this state with relatively large benefits.
SO in contrast to what I originally suggested, a job (if it is a satisfying one) can also help to fight depression. Sometimes it hits people when they retire. So a bad job can cause depression, but no job might be equally bad.
greetings, Michael
Hi Michael, Yes, I think what makes a difference in our lives is having good relationships and interactions, as well as having a purpose and meaning for our life. Jobs help achieve these two, but if one can follow his/her hobbies and have a good social network, these needs can be satisfied outside the job too. Interestingly, I came across this sentence on internet today regarding employees who are going through a tough time or depression: "Although some employees may need time off to work through their problems, productive work is historically a “healer” of emotional damage."
Hi Nargess, exactly this would be my gut-feeling. However, when one reads the established psychatrists view at wikipedia, it is always the patient himself to blame. Impaired serotonin production, dysregulated cortison and noradrenalin secretion, alterations in the limbic system, inability to cope with stress, etc. At least one question seems to be clear: that depression is the manifestation of a longer asymptomatic period of disease development. And since depression cannot be cured (like an infection or a bone trauma), one should try to intervene as early as possible and interrupt the development of the disease.
Michael
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