Sadness, feeling down, and losing interest in daily activities, are familiar feelings for all of us. But if they persist and affect our lives substantially, then that may be considered a sign of depression.
Depression is a mental health disorder characterised by persistent loss of interest in activities, decreased desire for life, and generally things that usually give satisfaction no longer seem pleasurable.
It is a complex that can affect adults, adolescents, and children. In this special report, gbcghanaonline examines the symptoms, causes and effects and how to treat depression.
Medical experts describe depression as a complex mental health condition that causes persons to have low moods and may leave them feeling persistently sad or hopeless. It can be a temporary experience in response to grief or trauma, but when the mood swing lasts longer than two weeks, it can be a sign of a serious depressive disorder.
Depression can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems, which can also decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.
Family pressure, broken homes or marriages, unemployment and the lack of support from family can cause a person to be depressed. Not too long ago, dance hall artiste MsVee, admitted in an interview that she went off the musical scene as a result of depression.
According to the songstress, she had to travel around the world to be able to come out of the depressed mood. MsVee is just one of the many artistes and indeed people who suffered depression and were able to come out of it.
Research has shown that there are many suffering from depression who do not show the sign. A Medical Doctor at GBC Clinic, Jude Adomako, sheds more insight on depression.Dr Adomako said women are more prone to depression than men, adding that children can also be affected by depression.
Gbcghanaonline also interacted with a nurse at the Accra Psychiatric Hospital, who says issues of life, can get a person to be depressed. But how abreast of the condition is the lay man.
The mainstay of treatment is usually medication, talk therapy or a combination of the two. Research however suggests, that these treatments may normalize brain changes associated with depression.
To avoid depression, it is important to always do pleasurable activities and have fun, while avoiding ones usual routine.
