ViV Magazine Volume 4 (April - May 2014) ViV Magazine Volume 4 (April - May 2014) | Page 58

S.O.S. DEPRESSION Depression is a very serious ailment that wounds the soul... It was four o’clock in the morning when the vibrations on my cell woke me up with a jolt. At this hour, it could not be good news. Nevertheless, when I heard Brenda, my colleague and dear friend, begging me in tears to help her, I was not surprised at all and rushed to her side, aware that there was no time to lose. Since a few weeks back, at home just as at the office, those who are close to her had noticed radical changes in her behavior. At work, she could no longer concentrate and was unable to solve common problems or situations in a positive manner. At home, she had sudden and unexplainable mood swings; she permanently had the blues and talked one too many a time about suicide. I immediately contacted the emergency services of the neighborhood clinic and accompanied her to see the doctor on duty, who after talking to her during more than an hour, referred her to the neurologist, after giving her a tentative diagnosis of a possible depression. Have you ever felt sad, melancholic, unhappy, miserable, blue, depressed, and disheartened for no particular reason and for too long? Beware!! If so, those are clear signs of a depression. Many people tend to take depression lightly. Many are those who believe that it is a temporary and even imaginary phase, and some go as far as ridiculing it, labeling it as an alibi generally used by “wealthy and idle people” to hunker down into their own shell, to isolate themselves from the world or to draw the attention of the people who surround them. NOTHING FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH… Depression is a very serious ailment that wounds the soul, deteriorates your physical condition and can result in death if not treated properly and opportunely. Obviously, everybody has not gone through depressing times at some point during one’s life. But for valid reasons and during relatively short periods of time. Nevertheless, true clinical depression is a mood disorder that can go from feelings of sadness and loss to those of rage and frustration and which interferes with your daily life during weeks and even months. Depression can distort the way you see yourself, your perspective of life and of your surroundings. There are different types of depression. Seasonal Affective Disorder also called “winter blues” (when winter makes you gloomy), which can be treated with light psychotherapy, often given jointly with “luminotherapy”. Serious depression which can be accompanied of one, several or all the following symptoms : unrest, impatience, annoyance, irritability, anger; a tendency to withdraw or to isolate oneself; fatigue and lack of energy; feelings of helplessness and impo- ViVmaghaiti.com | Pg. 58 | tency, of worthlessness, of guilt and even of self-hatred ; loss of interest , inability to enj