Today World Depression Day. A day to make this mental health issue visible, remove the taboo around it and require better public health care. But it’s also the perfect day to debunk myths. Fortunately, today this topic is not as taboo as it used to be. More and more people are talking about it openly, but there are still a lot of them. myths about depression which are alarmingly widespread.

If the majority of the population holds this misconception about people suffering from depression, we can’t help them properly. Even people who are sick can be afraid to ask for help or feel worse. Therefore, debunking myths about depression is necessary today, as well as throughout the rest of the year.

You may already know the truth about most of them, but some may still be ingrained in your mind the wrong way. It is important to review them, remember them and, why not, also disseminate them. When we all understand what depression is, we will be ready to face it head on, in our own skin or in the skin of those around us.

Myths about depression you should know

There are many myths about depression, but these are some of the most common;

Myth 1: People with depression are always sad

There are two equally erroneous lines here. On the one hand, we think that if one day we see a depressed person laughing while watching a movie, it means they are imagining a mental health problem. “How can you laugh if you are depressed?” On the other hand, sometimes we associate sadness with depression. “I’m not going anywhere today, I’m depressed.” One day we may feel sad or lethargic and not want to go outside or do anything other than stare at the ceiling on the couch, but that doesn’t mean we’re depressed.

According to the World Health Organization, depression is a common mental disorder that “includes depressed mood wave loss of pleasure or interest in an activity over an extended period of time.” For my part, US National Institute of Mental Health He adds that “it can cause severe symptoms that affect how you feel, think and manage daily activities such as sleeping, eating or working.”

For our part, in Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-V) create list of symptoms 5 of them must be completed within two weeks in a row, and it is imperative that one of them be the first and second. This is a depressed mood most of the day, almost every day, and a marked decrease in pleasure from all or almost all activities on most days. Other possible symptoms include weight loss, slower thinking and physical movements, fatigue, excessive feelings of guilt, decreased ability to concentrate, or repeated thoughts of death. Not all symptoms need to appear. At number 5 the diagnosis will be made.

Thus, a person can be considered to have a depressed mood almost every day, weight loss, fatigue, decreased concentration and slow thinking.

Someone can laugh and become depressed. It’s not exclusive. Photo: Ainara Oto (Unsplash)

This means that a person may laugh at one point while watching a movie, but remain apathetic, sad and frustrated for the rest of the day. This also means that we can congratulate someone for losing weight without realizing that they actually having a bad time. Or that these “mistakes” could mean something else.

There is no golden definition. depression It’s something complicatedwhich can manifest itself in different ways, so it would be a dangerous mistake to simplify it or reduce it to “sadness.”

Myth 2: There is a list of hidden causes of depression

Another of the most common myths about depression is that there must be a clear reason. If a person is successful in his job, has a wonderful family and relationships, we cannot imagine that he is depressed. However, this is something complex in which partner environmentMe, of course, but also genetics, neurobiology and many other factors. Moreover, a successful person may, for example, become so by sacrificing hobbies, relationships, or countless incentives that would benefit him. Behind what we see from the outside as success may lie a lot of sacrifice and suffering.

That’s why we should never downplay discomfort about someone telling him, “You have no reason to be like this.” In fact, we should never downplay its importance, especially not under this pretext.

Myth 3: Depression can be treated with antidepressants

There is a lot of controversy about taking antidepressants. We have already seen that depression multifactorial. There are many studies that confirm its biological origin, but there are also studies that refute it. Some note that there is some influence, but not enough to justify use of antidepressants.

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Antidepressants are useless without therapy. Photo: Jeshhotscom (Pexels)

In any case, most professionals agree that antidepressants can be effective in many cases. Not all of them, but many. All that happens is that depression mask. Essentially this is adhesive plaster from the discomfort of the mind, but what really stops this discomfort is psychological therapy. If a person takes antidepressants without therapy, there may come a time when he feels cured, but once he stops taking the medication, he is back to square one. Or even further back. When the patch is removed, the wound bleeds again. Therefore, without therapy it is incurable. This patch may be necessary to keep him from bleeding during therapy, but a combination of both is necessary.

Myth 4: Depression occurs due to lack of willpower

“Are you sad? “Don’t be sad”. We may not have heard this phrase because it goes beyond humor. But most people with depression and other mental health problems hear phrases like, “You should be fine,” “Come on, cheer up,” or “You’re just not trying.”

Of course, to get out of depression, a person must want to do it. If you don’t do your part in therapy, for example, it will be much more difficult. recovery. But this does not mean that a person with depression is weak or not trying to get better. It’s not easy. Sometimes it takes a long time, and besides, if you are not able to put all the effort into therapy, it is not because you do not want to get better. Our brain keeps us alive, but it can also play very cruel tricks on us. If we say any of these phrases to someone suffering from depression, anxiety or similar disorders, the only thing we will do is create guilt that will not help you, quite the contrary.

This is why some pseudosciences are so dangerous, such as biodecoding, which point to the emotional origin of all diseases, physical or mental, blaming those who suffer from them.

Myth 5: Children don’t have depression

This is one of the most harmful myths about depression. If we think that children cannot suffer from depression because they are innocent and do not yet have the life problems of adults, we may underestimate their symptoms. According to the World Health Organization, 50% of mental illnesses occur about 14 years old, depression is one of the most common. On the other hand, according to 2019 data from the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), there are 9 million children aged from 10 to 19 years old with any of these conditions, of which depression accounts for 40%.

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Children and teenagers may also develop depression. 1 credit

Cases occur even before the age of 10 years. Therefore, we must pay attention to the mental health of babies, as it can cause problems not only in the present. They may also get worse in the future.

Debunk myths about depression, but be careful with labels

While it’s important to debunk myths about depression, it’s also important to be careful when calling someone depressed. Some psychologists believe that great caution should be exercised when calling “depression” or any other disorder. This largely depends on the patient, but in some cases he may think that this label defines them and therefore cannot change. It is important for someone to define themselves not as “depressed” but as, for example, a cheerful, dreamy and somewhat demanding person who is currently experiencing a number of depressive symptoms.

We shouldn’t trivialize depression.. But we should not use it as a label to describe a person, as this may make them think that depression will always be a part of them when it is not. This is actually another great myth about depression. Depression is not forever.

Don’t be confused

Finally, we must keep in mind that if someone is crying because of the death of a loved one, because of a romantic breakup, or because of the loss of a job he is not depressed. Even if it takes a little longer.

sadness is natural mechanism It helps us get through difficult times and tells us when something is wrong and we need to take action. We should not demonize this sadness or classify as depression any time we feel it for more than two days in a row. It can be defined as such if it lasts for a long time and interferes with the daily life of the person suffering from it.

law of attraction, choose a psychologist, pseudoscience
Don’t wait until you feel depressed to see a psychologist. 1 credit

Don’t wait to ask for help

The latter does not mean that you should not seek help if you are overwhelmed by discomfort. You don’t have to wait until you’re depressed to go to a psychologist. In fact, the role of these specialists is very broad. They can help us in many aspects of our lives and with many types of mental discomfort. If you think you need it, it’s because you need it, nothing more. Just thinking about it is usually the first warning sign. Today and the remaining 364 days of the yearLet’s take care of our mental health and the health of others around us. It is time to break all the myths and taboos that still exist and, above all, fight to ensure that those who need it receive services from the public system. Because it is not a myth that depression does not understand religion, social status or economic level.

Source: Hiper Textual

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