Coping With Chronic Illness And Depression By Joseph Goldberg

Depression is defined as, “a mood disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty with thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal thoughts or an attempt to commit suicide” (Merriam Webster). A close friend of mine battles depression and would describe it is, “a debilitating mood that makes it hard to get out of the bed in the morning, a desire to sleep all the time, inability to experience joy, and apathy towards life.” Due to its prevalent occurrence among several people groups throughout history, depression is known as the “common cold of mental illnesses” and has been called “the most widespread, serious,

Depression not only takes a toll on a person mentally and emotionally but physically as well. Depression can cause chronic physical pain. Depression can cause: Fatigue or loss of energy, sleep disruptions, eating disturbances, inappropriate or excessive crying, headaches, back pain, muscle aches and joint pain, chest pain, and digestive problems. Sleeping disruptions and weight loss or gain add to the cycle of depression. Physical pain causes someone suffering from depression to have a less likely chance to move around more and help to naturally stimulate the body which would help in releasing serotonin and endorphins . “Depression, like heart disease and cancer, is a major public-health problem” (Depression, 1997). Depression can also be more predisposed to some than others especially if: there is a family history of depression

Depression is technically a mental illness, but it also affects your body and well-being. The person you are and the traits you possess can be altered dramatically if these symptoms persist and affect our life substantially. The most common symptoms of depression include:

Depression is a mental disorder in which a patient might feel intense, prolonged, negative emotions (Beyond Blue, 2014). This can have severe impact on a person's mental and physical health, thus affecting a person's quality of life. Severe cases can even lead to suicide. It is estimated that one in six Australians will experience depression in their lifetime (Beyond Blue, 2014). The burden of disease gives an indication of of the loss of health and well being of Australians due to each disease (ABS, 2010). Depression and anxiety is the leading cause of burden among females, accounting for 10% of burden while it is the third leading cause for men, accounting for 4.8% (AIHW, 2003) (This was the most recent information found).

“Recent data estimate the overall prevalence of depression at about 11.1% of the American population, or nearly 35 million individuals (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2011). A predictive models suggest that up to 50% of the population will experience at least one episode of depression during their lives” (Life Extension, 2014). Depression has negatively affected the lives of many individuals throughout the world. Look around you there may even be someone close to you that is demonstrating signs of its stifling affects. Depression does not discriminate with its suffocating

People develop depression because he/she is either engaged in too many events and people or engaged too less with it. Balance is the key to a healthy life and having the extremes of life can bring drastic effects to the mind.

Depression can have a big impact on your health, and that strength is better directed to fighting cancer, rather than depression. They may entirely give up fighting the disease.

Depression is not just a woman’s illness but according to the National Institute of Mental Health women are diagnosed with depression twice as often as men. Twenty percent of women will have major depression in their lifetime.

Did you know that 20 % of the population suffers from some form of immune system disease? The world is becoming more sick by the day, as illnesses such as Arthritis and joint disease affect over 43 million people in the United States alone!

"Depression 's Upside" a New York Times article written by Jonah Lehrer takes a different approach when looking at depression. He notes that Charles Darwin 's depression allowed Darwin to concentrate on his work and therefore accelerated his research. The article looks at how depression changes the way someone thinks and processes their environment on an evolutionary standpoint. This article focuses on research by psychiatrist Andy Thomson and psychologist Paul Andrews, who took a special interest in evolutionary psychology. They wanted to concentrate on the evolutionary root of depression, thus began the outlook of rumination; the thought processes that surrounds depression. Thomson and Andrews formed the analytical-rumination hypothesis which states, the rumination thoughts forces an individual to over think and become very analytical and hyper-focus on their own flaws causing their depression. Many studies show that the constant negative thoughts lead to depression, however Thomson and Andrews were more concerned with the evolutionary purpose of rumination, if there is one? They explained the purpose as a fever that sends white blood cells into overdrive in order to fight off infections, depression might be the fever that fights off one 's affliction. Rumination often starts because of a psychological blow, leading to a cycle of negativity which can be hard to get out of, if the psychological blow continues to affect an individual, they tend to fixate on the problem and

Depression would be hard to cure, but with the involvement of the society and the professional health caregivers, it is manageable.

More people suffer from depression than you might think. People of all ages, backgrounds, lifestyles, and nationalities get clinical depression. An estimated 35 to 40 million Americas living today will suffer from major depression at some time during their lives. (4) This is about 13 to 20 percent of all Americans. (1) About half of these individuals will experience recurring depression. (3) Despite being what authorities call "the nation's leading mental health problem" (6), depression is often misdiagnosed or undiagnosed, and therefore not treated. (4) Often as a result, about 25 percent of these people attempt suicide to end their

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression is a serious but common illness that interferes with daily life and causes pain for you and the your loved ones (National Institute of Mental Health, 2015). Depression affects males and females; however, females are more likely to be diagnosed with depression at any given year. Mental health problems such as depression, anxiety and insomnia are amongst the most common reasons for individuals to seek out treatment

Diabetics are at a greater risk for developing depression. The stress of living with a chronic condition is one of the reasons that diabetics

. Those who suffer from chronic illness are more likely to develop depression than healthy people. One-third of people with chronic illness will experience depression throughout their time of being ill (medicinenet.com). For example, according to medicinenet.com, 40% of people with Parkinson’s disease, 40% of people with multiple sclerosis, and 25% of people with diabetes will experience depression. Depression caused by an illness can, in turn, make the illness worse. Not only can chronic illness easily cause depression, but it can also intensify pain (medicinenet.com). The chronic illness may cause depression. After that depression can cause the illness to become worse, which may causes one’s depression to worsen as well. Chronic illness combined