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  • Depression
    It is a serious medical illness that affects one’s thoughts, feelings, behaviour, mood and physical health. It may be a lifelong condition in which periods of wellness alternate with recurrences of illness. Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide with more than 350 million sufferers, according to the World Health Organisation. The number is growing in all age groups in every community, and with many young people falling prey to depression.  
Submitted by PatientsEngage on 28 September 2015

Types of depression

Severity can vary from person to person. 

Severe depression is when almost all of the nine symptoms mentioned above are present. Symptoms will markedly interfere with your normal functioning.
Moderate depression is when more than 5 symptoms mentioned above are present. Normal functioning is impaired between mild to severe. 
Mild depression is when 5 or fewer symptoms of those mentioned above are present. Normal functioning is mildly impaired. 

Complications of depression

Untreated depression can result in emotional, behavioural and physical health problems. Complications include:

  • Excess weight gain or obesity, which can lead to heart disease and diabetes. Depressed people often try to feel better by eating more.
  • Alcohol abuse
  • Anxiety, panic disorder or social phobia
  • Family conflicts and relationship difficulties
  • Work or academic problems
  • Social isolation
  • Suicidal feelings – suicide attempt or suicide
  • Self mutilation – such as cutting the wrist
Condition

Stories

  • Myriad Dimensions of Suicide
    World Suicide Prevention Week 2016 A suicide story has various dimensions: there are those who think of committing it all the time, there are those who have tried and survived, and then there are those who have gone ahead and taken their own lives, leaving behind a shattered family who have to look for ways to grapple with the situation. The following stories are vignettes showcasing some of these aspects. All names are changed to preserve identity. THE GIRL WHO IS PUSHED TO THE BRINK …
  • Myths and Facts about Suicide
    On  World Suicide Prevention Day, Paras Sharma, Programme Coordinator, iCALL Psychosocial Helpline, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) dispels some common misconceptions about suicide. 1.  People who talk about suicide don’t usually do it, they just want attention. Suicide is a call for help that went unanswered. It's a myth that those who wish to end their lives don't explicitly say so, and those who don't are the ones who talk. There is ample research to show that suicidal…
  • Life is worth living
    Five failed relationships and an elaborate suicide plan later, Thomas Heng finds out that life is worth living after all! Clinical Depression led him to almost jump off a building, further thoughts of which were thwarted by prolonged counselling sessions with a helpful psychiatrist By and large I see myself as a rather ordinary person, who happens to be approaching the fifth decade of his life. Yet 17 years ago, it could have all ended by personal choice. If you have ever been in an all-boy…
  • Surviving Suicides
    World Suicide Prevention Day 2016 Yuna Angell realises, after several attempts at suicide, that life is too sacred to be lost like this. She advises people with suicidal tendencies to reach out for help in times of desperation, because everyone matters in life. The two songs I love to listen to when I have suicidal thoughts are “If I Die Young” by The Band Perry and “Vincent (Starry Starry Night)” by Don McLean. I would read the lyrics online while I listened intently to the songs, encouraging…
  • Ma you are the rock, the support, the best,
    Happy Mother's Day 2016 This Mother's Day we asked a few of our contributors, to share a Mother's Day wish. They shared poems, beautiful thoughts for their mothers who have been their caregivers and their stength in their journey. We look forward to hearing from each of you what you wish for your Mother or if you have a message for her, express yourself today. Read Smitha's entire poem here: To the World's Best Mother - My Mom Know more about Siddharth Jayakumar, Melissa Chan, Vedika and Smitha…
  • Waiting to Belong
    Forlorn and aching I write... Of a lost heart waiting to belong... Waiting to Belong I wake up thanking God for another day, Another day to look out at the dancing trees to the hum of the breeze, To raise my face to the warm kiss of the Sun, To share an unspelled love with the flowers the bees and my dog Another day to respect my temple I neglected for many years, Another day to tell the world , how beautiful is life, I knock at a door , see a frown and turn around, To knock at another door,…
  • Vegetarian Protein is the way to go!
    Ujjwala Baxi shows the easy way to supplement proteins in a vegetarian or even a vegan diet The other day I had a mother sharing with me her daughter’s New Year’s resolution of switching to vegetarianism and also that she continues to feel strongly about it. The mother, of course, had mixed emotions about the decision. While she was happy about her daughter’s apparent sensitivity towards animals, she seemed also worried about her daughter’s abrupt decrease in protein intake…
  • Using Mindfulness and Awareness as a Tool towards Wellbeing
    The unquiet mind Can you be with this one breath, This moment, this now?  —Paul Salmon Mindfulness is defined by Jon Kabat-Zinn, founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic at the University of Massachusetts, as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment.”1 This rests on the simple idea that sorrow or distress is caused by not living in the moment, or feeling bad…
  • Accept Yourself
    By Vedika Aum, an ongoing survivor of depression Just let the light in... Don't block it Don't hide from it Don't look through it with unseeing eyes Don't shut it out Don't run from it Don't turn your back to it Don't create illusions nor excuses to avoid it Don't let your darkness become your comfort Don't swim in pools of self pity - sympathy - self righteous pain or martyrdom stop wearing them as a medal a crown No don't even run to it... Don't rush towards it Be gentle with yourself Be kind…
  • The Prison of Silence
    By Vedika Aum, an ongoing survivor of depression. The image is of a sketch by Vedika depicting bursting forth through the darkness I live I laugh I create I think I learn ...and I question I meet silence I question again and am told to be silent Watch in silence Obey in silence Silence your thoughts,  your questions I face deafening silence within and without The silence implodes bursting without in destructive expression                …