It Is Not What You Think

Did you know that 10 times more people suffer from depression now

than in 1945 and the fact that depression is the 4th most disabling

condition in the world, and the 2nd most in the developed world (Major

Depression Facts). A lot of people have no idea what depression is really

like, that actually it has been a controversial topic for a couple of

centuries, and that it isnt just all in your head. Depression is like the flu,

its an illness that needs to be treated to make the person suffering

healthy again; depression is not just a phase and neither can the person

suffering just "snap out of it", it is a serious mental condition that needs to

be treated accordingly.

Depression was called melancholia originally. The first descriptions of

melancholia emerged in ancient Mesopotamian texts in the second

millennium B.C. Even then, healers realized that it wasnt a physical

disease but a spiritual (mental) illness. The methods of healing however,

were quite different between civilizations. Ancient Greeks and Romans

thought it was a psychological disease and used gymnastics, massage,

special diets, music, and baths to help the patients (some of these

treatments used now). Demonic possession is what the early Babylonian,

Chinese, and Egyptian civilizations assumed depression connected to and

to heal the victim they used exorcism techniques such as: beatings,

restraint, and starvation. Throughout the centuries though, opinions

changed about the topic of depression and so did the healing methods

(Historical Understandings Of Depression).

 Even though it has been a known mental disease for a couple

centuries, there are still a lot of myths and stereotypes about depression.

Some of them include: that being sad means that the sufferer has it, that

having depression makes a person weak, that talking about it will only

make it worse, that it only occurs if the sufferer experienced traumatic life

events and finally, that taking medication will make the victim normal

again (Hall). All these stereotypes stem from the fact that for a long time

depression was considered to not be a real illness and because of that

people were embarrassed of having it and kept it a secret. Because no

awareness was spread about depression, so many stereotypes appeared.

Depression is a real mental disease. Depression (major depressive

disorder or clinical depression) is a common but serious mood disorder. It

causes severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think, and handle daily

activities, such as sleeping, eating, or working (Depression). It has

quite a few distinguishable symptoms involving: persistent sad, anxious,

or empty moods, lots of stress, feelings of guilt or worthlessness which

cause loss of interest in hobbies, either feeling suddenly tired or restless,

difficulty sleeping, aches or pains without cause, and in more severe cases

thoughts of death or suicide. Depression also has different types like:

persistent depressive disorder, perinatal depression, psychotic depression,

and seasonal affective disorder (Depression). This disease can affect

everyone differently, some can see an improvement in their symptoms

after a couple of months, nevertheless for others it can take up to

decades. Depression is a very complex disease that shouldnt be taken

lightly and should be treated by a professional doctor.

 Depression is a real and serious illness that affects everyone

differently. It has been known for centuries, yet people still have a lot of

stereotypes about it. However, now thanks to social media awareness

about depression is spread more than ever. This coverage caused

depression to be quite over used and not in the good way. Depression as a

questioned concept of mental illness has gone through many eras with

entirely different impacts on society. I hope that one day our civilization

will come to a stage where depression will be treated as any other

physical illness today.

 Works Cited

Bine, Anne-Sophie. "Social Media Is Redefining 'Depression'" The Atlantic.

Atlantic Media Company, 28 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

Clifton, Derrick. "6 Damaging Stereotypes About Depression That Need to

Be Retired Immediately." Identities.Mic. N.p., 2015. Web. 10 Dec.

2016.

"Depression." National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and

Human Services, Oct. 2016. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

"Depression: What You Need To Know." National Institutes of Health. U.S.

Department of Health and Human Services, 2015. Web. 10 Dec.

2016.

Hall, Alena. "10 Depression Myths We Need To Stop Believing." The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

"Historical Understandings Of Depression." Mental Help.net. N.p., n.d.

Web. 10 Dec. 2016.

"Major Depression Facts." Clinical Depression.co.uk. N.p., 2014. Web. 10

Dec. 2016.