A lingering heavy feeling

CEBU, Philippines — From time to time, a person would feel down and gloomy. That’s normal. “Life is not a bed of roses.”

Life’s struggles and setbacks can frequently take their toll on the person’s emotional state. A weary body and mind are most susceptible to slump. Good thing, the gloomy disposition quickly picks up back again as soon as the person has recharged and recuperated.

But when the feeling of weariness and despair tends to take hold and just won’t go away, it is no longer normal. It can be depression. There is cause for alarm.

Depression changes how a person thinks, feels, and functions in his day-to-day life. The ‘dark cloud’ that hovers over him can affect his ability to work, study, eat, sleep, and enjoy life. It becomes a major ordeal for him just trying to get through the day.

Some people describe depression as “living in a black hole” or having a feeling of impending doom. Others feel dreary, empty, and apathetic. Men in particular can feel angry and restless. The feeling can vary according to gender and age – but miserable for all.

Health experts warn that depression can become a serious health condition. Lingering feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are leading symptoms of depression, especially if these have no actual basis in reality. A depressive person has the tendency to make trivial, day-to-day matters into major issues.

Aside from a bleak outlook, certain changes and behaviors can also hint of depression. These include loss of interest in daily activities, changes in appetite or weight, changes in sleep patterns, anger or irritability, loss of energy, reckless behavior, difficulty concentrating, and unexplained aches and pains. There may also be a general lack of structure or organization in one’s daily activities.

There are various forms of depression, the most common of which are the mild and moderate types. More than simply feeling blue, the symptoms of mild depression can interfere with one’s daily life, robbing the person of joy and motivation. The symptoms become amplified in moderate depression and can lead to a decline in one’s self-confidence and self-esteem.

Major depression is much less common than mild or moderate depression, and is characterized by severe, relentless symptoms. If not treated, major depression typically lasts for about six months. While some people may experience just a single depressive episode in their lifetime, major depression can be a recurring disorder.

A common subtype of major depression is atypical depression, with a specific symptom pattern. It responds better to some therapies and medications than others. People with atypical depression experience a temporary mood lift in response to positive events, such as after receiving good news or while out with friends.

Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, affects a very small minority of the population, particularly women and young people, during the cold months. SAD can make one feel completely different from how he feels during the sunny season. The affected person may feel hopeless, sad, tense, or stressed, with no interest in friends or activities he normally loves.

Depression most often results from a combination of factors, rather than a single cause. If a person has experienced a relationship problem, been diagnosed with a serious medical condition, or lost his job, the stress could prompt him to start drinking more, which in turn could cause him to withdraw from family and friends. These factors altogether could then trigger depression.

It is also believed that depression can be caused by genetics; that some people have a genetic susceptibility to depression, and that it can run in families. The medical circle, though, has not identified a single “depression” gene. And just because a family member suffers from depression, it doesn’t mean that everybody in the family will, too.

To a depressive person, it can feel like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel. But, in fact, there are many things he can do to lift and stabilize his mood. The website www.helpguide.org suggests:

Reach out to other people. Isolation fuels depression, so reach out to friends and loved ones, even if you feel like being alone or don’t want to be a burden to others. The simple act of talking to someone face-to-face about how you feel can be an enormous help.

Get moving. When you’re depressed, just getting out of bed can seem daunting, let alone exercising. But regular exercise can be as effective as an antidepressant medication in countering the symptoms of depression. Take a short walk or put some music on and dance around, and then build up from there.

Eat a mood-boosting diet. Reduce your intake of caffeine, alcohol, trans fats, sugar and refined carbs as these can adversely affect your mood. Instead, increase your mood-enhancing nutrients such as Omega-3 fatty acids.

Engage with the world again. Spend some time in nature, care for a pet, do volunteer work, pick up a hobby to enjoy. It may take a little while, but as you participate in the world again, you will start to feel better.

No matter how hopeless the feeling, it can get better. By understanding how depression can come about and trying ways for overcoming the problem, anyone can beat it. Or, one may seek medical attention.