What Is Depression Epidemic?

Depression, most of the time, arises due to our incapability to cope with failure. The key word that should capture your attention here, is the word “failure”. To fail at something often means that you are not gifted enough to accomplish this thing, or just not prepared enough for it. Depressed people often have a hard time recognizing their flaws, or simply are not strong enough to work on themselves, try again, or simply move on. This inability “to dig inside” themselves and find solutions on their own, unfortunately leads to sometimes serious cases of depression, where only the prescription of clinical drugs is the solution.

Everyone has felt sadness as some point in their lives, but that does not necessarily mean that they are depressed. When someone reaches a point of depression, it could be defined as having been sad for a long period of time, having no motivation to do what once made them happy, and feeling as though there is no more hope. Along with losing all faith, there is the long lasting feelings of guilt, and many depressed people feel this way because they blame themselves for not being able to feel happy. This way of thinking stems from today’s conventional society. People are always told that they can choose optimism, choose to be happy, and it is all their fault if they are anything but. However, this way of thinking is very toxic for those who are

“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

Many people completely misunderstand mental disorders and don’t bother trying to correct mistakes made by themselves or others. Depression is no exception. Although it is one of the most common mental disorders categorized in the United States, how is it still such an issue? Although it is so common many people do not recognize the signs in others due to media portrayal, gender stereotypes, and the many misconceptions about this serious mental disorder.

While working on the Depression project the author found a way to sum up their depression in a way that took both philosophies. Instead of confronting them with statistic, or medical data the blog put a face to the problem and the realities of being stuck in your own head sparling down.” I wake up in the morning and I feel like I can’t get up that if I just stay in bed everything even the dark shadow that is my constant companion will melt away. It never does though so I have to pick myself up and go through the day. While I can fake the smiles and the looks I never can just live without the thoughts and shadow following me. It almost feels like I’m walking around with the grim reaper. Tempting me to play a game with him just so I can lose.” (Content) Looking at this scenario put forth by the author it becomes clear that the two philosophies that people have about depression aren’t going to help.

In recent years there has been a noticeable increase in the number people who have been diagnosed with depression According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention one in ten Americans twelve and over are currently on antidepressants. This fact is especially true for females whose use was double of what men used. This increase in diagnosis and use of antidepressant many believe that depression is becoming an epidemic. Rottenberg mentions in his article the severity of depression epidemic according to the World Health Organization, “by 2030, the amount of disability and life lost as a result of depression will be greater than that resulting from any other condition, including accidents, war, suicide, cancer, and stroke”(Rottenberg). Though these statistics seem very alarming it may be a case of over medicalization. Medicalization is the when a problem that was not normally seen as a medical problem that has now seen as a medical problem. Examples of conditions that have been medicalized are ADHD, Alzheimer’s, and depression. Due to the fact that depression has been many are wondering if there is really a growing depression epidemic or is it a case of depression the being over medicalized.

The plaque of major depression (MD) is wide spread and an ever increasing one. The age of diagnosis is steadily decreasing. This raises the question: do psychologists diagnose this disorder too frequently; is it a means to an end when no problem really exists? Or is there a clinical rise in prevalence as a result of genetic, physiological, social, stress, psychosocial or any other factor that may contribute to the manifestation of MD.

Imagine that you could only see life in a dull grey. The world that is full of life and somehow dead because of an overcast view that only you can see, and everyone else can see every saturation and detailed shade of color. This can be just a slight piece of what depression is actually like, but it’s not the same for everyone. I believe that this disorder can be perceived as different for everyone for the reasons of the different lives people have lived, how every person varies in their perspective, and a matter of which disorders may impact the person with it.

Depression isn’t a choice for people, many people battle depression and try to overcome it by medication or psychological counseling but never a choice. Health Central states “Some new age authors such as Louise Hay, best known for You Can Heal Your Life (1984), tells us that we create every so-called illness" in our body” (Me). In other words, the author is one of the many others that believe that depression is just a choice. Depression is a disorder that causes a major interferences in people’s life. No one ever chooses to make life more difficult for them by choosing depression. Overall there are many things that lead to depression or can cause it but people with depression don’t choose to have

Depression is a rising epidemic that needs to be handled quickly. “In 2016, an estimated 10.3 million U.S. adults aged 18 or older had at least one major depression episode with severe impairment. This number represented 4.3% of all U.S. adults(“Major Depressive Episode with impairment” pg 1). This is a really high percentage and for all we know it will increase more and more over the years. Continue on if you want to know how to help with depression victims.

Poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, “every man has his secret sorrows which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad.” Such sadness, which in older times was considered sheer insanity, goes by a name with many meanings. This name is depression. Many people suffer from depression, and as a worldwide pandemic which captures and holds onto its victims, I personally wish to see its debilitating reign overthrown with an increase in education.

Depression has become a world-wide epidemic that is still doubted by the general public. Classified as an illness, it affects men and women, young and old, black and white, both mentally and physically. Many believe that depression is simply a creative choice one’s mind, but mental and physical depression is a true debilitating condition.

There is a negative view of depression because of the lack of understanding since many people do not understand the seriousness of the illness. Depression is often misunderstood as something that makes people sad or as if people choose to feel less than happy about what is going on in their life. With many support systems and advocates fighting to deliver

Living with depression is not an easy way to go through life. It is a constant struggle just to feel normal most of the time. Because the nature of the condition, it is too often dismissed as people as being lazy, or merely over dramatic. Individuals with depression are often misunderstood. They aren’t emotional because they want the attention. They have been battling against their overwhelming sadness and that carries a weight after a while. Whether they like it or not, it is part of them. Nobody else knows what’s going on in their head. It’s a complex interaction of their thoughts and the world around them.

Depression has numerous causes and effects which affect not only the person but the people around them. Depression doesn’t have a specific cause; in most cases it’s different for everyone. It is a common, treatable mental illness that can be experienced at any time in life. It is often described with feeling sad, unhappy, miserable, or “down in the dumps”. Most people have these feelings on occasion. There are several types of depression. These different types of depression describe slight, but often important, diagnostic differences. True clinical depression interferes with mood disorder in everyday life for weeks, months, or even years. Most people think depression affects only one