Depression is a medical illness of the brain. It is a feeling that generally persists and interferes in everyday life. Here are the myths that are often believed regarding it.
Depression is not a real medical illnessIt’s a commonly held belief that depression is not a real medical illness. However, clinical depression is considered as a serious medical condition that not only induces changes in an individual’s body, but also affects the overall temperament and thought system. According to certain researches, depression, in fact, has genetic and biological causes. It’s been observed that people who muddle through depression tend to have a significantly higher level of stress hormones in their body. Patients who develop depression also reveal decreased activity in certain areas of their brain.Depression is not curableAlthough it might now be regarded as absurd, but the myth of depression being ‘not curable’ has been quite popular among people for ages. On the contrary, depression is quite treatable and can be eradicated completely. From the analysis perspective, over 80 percent of depression patients show improvement when provided adequate treatment. Nevertheless, the foremost step to curing the illness is to have a physical examination executed by a doctor and discover the symptoms and possibility of the cause. Once the problem has been diagnosed, the course of treatment can be decided which will comprise medication, psychotherapy or a combination of both.Depression is similar to being upsetOne of the most common myths about depression that eventually adopts a serious, grave approach is that depression is as similar to feeling disappointed or disturbed in everyday life. There’s no ambiguity that sadness and distress can occur when something unpleasant or unfortunate happens, but the feeling of blues must not be mistaken with the feeling of depression in any case. Blues can continue for a day or two, whereas depression can last a lifetime. Depression is a severe mental and emotional condition which requires to be considered seriously before thoughts of committing suicide start dominating the patient’s mind.Depression will disappear on its ownThis is another widespread notion that depression tends to wane and disappear by itself over a period of time. However, there is no truth behind the myth. In fact, the illness can continue to grow for months, years or indefinitely. If depression goes away by itself, then there is high possibility that it will come back some time in the future. Therefore, depression patients need to ascertain that their condition receives medical help in order to evade any future episodes of depression. In a nutshell, the potentially fatal disease should be treated as soon as possible and never be neglected in any circumstance.Depression is normal for people getting olderWhile there are a number of health difficulties that affect an individual with age, depression is not a normal part of aging. At the same time, the fact remains that older people do generally experience situations that can set off depression, for example, events such as social isolation, poor health, illness, loss of close family or friends, and financial worries. It has also been observed that people who are above 60 years of age grew up in a period in which mental illness was not talked about and, thus, they may end up feeling ashamed of asking for assistance from the younger generation. Therefore, it is extremely important that seniors with depression seek help and overcome the problem.Depression only affects womenMany would continue holding on to the myth that only women are vulnerable to depression. But, the truth differs in a significant, insightful manner. In fact, quite a lot of times, clinical depression stays undiagnosed among men. Some recent cases have also revealed that men tend to have a higher rate of suicide than women. Therefore, it would be thoroughly ungrounded to assume that depression does not affect men and targets only women. Rather, the ratio of men’s vulnerability to depression has been reported to be comparatively higher than women encountering such mental condition.If a family member has had depression, you will inherit itLastly, it’s believed that depression is sure to attack an individual who has a family member who had the illness. However, the myth is only partially true. Similar to diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, which are usually genetically predisposed, depression could be passed on genetically as well. It’s not true that you will have to suffer or are fated to have depression just because your family member has had a history of depression. It merely means that your possibility of contracting depression is more likely than if you had absolutely no family history of depression. In such cases, it’s important to seek medical advice and help as soon as you notice any symptoms of the illness.
