It’s not uncommon to know someone who is dealing with depression.  If you’ve never experienced depression, you are rare. What medical research tells us is that depression is widespread and should not be stigmatized. New statistics note that mental health issues including depression affect at least 32.4% of the world’s population. But what is it, exactly? And how can we keep from getting depressed?

 

Depression is a prevalent and often misunderstood mental health condition that affects millions of adults worldwide. It can be debilitating, but with the right knowledge and support, it is manageable. It is characterized by persistent sadness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, and a range of physical and emotional symptoms.

The causes are many. Physical triggers, such imbalances in brain chemistry, genetics, and brain injuries to name a few. Stressful life events, trauma, chronic illnesses, or substance abuse can also trigger or exacerbate depression. Low self-esteem, perfectionism, and a history of other mental health conditions may also contribute to depression. A frequent precipitating factor in depression is also chronic pain. Many older adults suffer from chronic pain. It’s important to be mindful of how this can drag you into depression. Avoiding the pitfall will take serious planning and the best of pain management techniques. These include non-traditional pain treatments, meditation, journaling, and consistent emotional support. One danger of traditional pain treatment is narcotic pain medication dependency. Doctors prescribe what they think will help, and it has side effects. They then add more medication to address the side effects. That can lead to other issues and more medication is added. Sometimes the overall result is depression.

When you get depressed, you may feel persistent sadness or emptiness, loss of interest in things you used to enjoy, fatigue and low energy, and changes in appetite or weight. You may have trouble sleeping either falling asleep or staying asleep or sleeping too much. You may feel hopelessness or helpless to change things. Depressed people often have difficulty concentrating or making decisions. At its worst, depressing leads to thoughts of death or suicide. Depression can be quite serious, and even life-threatening if a person who experiences it does not get the help they need.

This is a rotary service and safari travel experience curated by Melisa Prandi Children Foundation for rotarians and friends of rotary to visit Africa (Uganda) for charity work and an adventure safari experience in the wild.