Since I have been home, the topic I come across being back seems to
be depression. I go to church Sunday mornings and in my class we talk
about depression. We talk about the affects and it is linked to teen
suicide instantly. I choose not to say much about when the topic is
brought up, I know very well what it is like for both of those. I
hear people talk about it as I walk into the local bank, I have a few
friends that have and had suffer from it. One has helped me through
my depression and self harm more than what he has realized. As for my
other friends, one in particular back here I am trying to help him
overcome his. In order to do this, I needed to get a better
understanding of this illness or condition. The only knowledge
I had of this was my own personal account and the account from one
other friend. My depression was not the same as his, my depression is
not going to be the same as his depression, or your depression, or
whoever's depression. I think one thing we could all agree on is that
depression robs people of their energy, sleep, memory, concentration,
vitality, joy, and the ability to love, in extreme cases....the will
to even live.
Before fulling jumping into this, I decided to confront my Bible. I
wanted to see what it had to say about depression. There is one story
that comes to mind right off that deals with depression. The story of
Elijah to be exact. Bible
Passages about Elijah: 1 Kings 17-19; with Luke 4:25-26; James
5:17-18; 1 Kings 21:11-29; 2 Kings 1:1-2:18; with Romans 11:1-4;
Matthew 17:1-3; Mark 9:2-4; Luke 9:28-31.
Understanding Depression:
Over the past few years, depression in the United States as
increased. One in four people will be labeled as “depressed” at
some point in their life. That is like...seventy million people. It
is roughly ten times higher than it was two generations ago.
Twenty-one percent of children ages nine to seventeen have a
diagnosis of depression. In the past thirteen years, depression in
college students has double and suicide rates in the same area have
tripped. These statistics floored me. An evolutionist would say it
was something in the gene pool that caused it to happen. Lets be
honest for a moment, (I am not an evolutionist, I am a creationist)
everybody knows that the gene pool does not and could not change that
quickly. Pushing that thought away quickly, I had to think of what
had changed so much that this could happen in such a short span. The
first thing that comes to mind is (drum role)
Life Style.
If you look at statistics of
depression in the U.S. you will notice there is one group that has
not been hit by what is called the “Modern Depression Epidemic.”
That group is the Amish. They cling to eighth-century living. They
have the lowest rate of depression.
In developing (third-world)
countries, the rates of depression are a fraction of what they are in
the U.S. However, depression rates have started to go up in countries
where people are shifting to a more Americanized lifestyle than a
traditional.
Did you catch that last part?
Countries that shifted to a more Americanized lifestyle. Why would
that be? This made me think for a bit. I often ask myself what makes
this country so great? We are called “The Big Brother” because we
take care of everyone else. I think we should mind our own business,
unless someone asks for our help we stay out of it. I mean this
politically. I do believe in overseas missions. This is a different
subject for a different time. What I think it boils down to is we as
American's are selfish and we allow ourselves to fall into self pity.
God gave us life, but being selfish we want more. More out of life,
more from life, when we do not get it....we get mad. We complain
about how much our life sucks when really we have it pretty good. I
am NOT saying this is the case for everyone, this might not even be
true, it is just a thought do not get mad at me everyone has them, we
just might not agree.
Depression is split into two
different categories. Those categories are:
Endogenous Depression:
This can be caused by a medical illness or a high impact of stress.
This mainly creates a chemical imbalance in the brain effecting
neurotransmitters in the brain. Essentially, high stress levels are
messing with the serotonin, norepinphrine, or dopamine levels causing
them to be depleted. By messing with the neurotransmitters, this type
of depression is the one that causes suicidal thoughts, fatigue, and
loss of interest.
Exogenous Depression:
This is pretty self explanatory. Life in general is full of loss and
change. This form of depression can impact anybody at any time. Any
experience of loss can cause this type of depression. Exogenous
depression is not as bad as Endogenous depression, but over time it
may become Endogenous. Antidepressants usually do not work for this
type of depression since it does not mess with the neurotransmitters.
These categories are then split
further into Diagnostic categories. (I got these from Diagnostic
and Statistical Manual of Mental Disordres).
1. Major Depressive Disorder also
know as unipolar. This is what is commonly known as “clinical
depression.” Usually characterized by a persistent sad mood and
inability to feel happiness.
2. Dysthymia Disorder is a milder
form of smoldering depression. It lasts for a long time. It has the
symptoms of major depression, only milder. It can go on for years
meaning that it could start in the early teen years and possibly even
childhood.
3. Double Depression. Combination of major depression and dysthmia.
Can be both serious and chronic.
4.. Adjustment Disorder with
Depressed Mood. This depression parallels the Exogenous depression.
It implies the adjustment to loss or change is taking longer than the
average time expected. This is the most common diagnosis for mild to
moderate depression ass a result of a stressor or challenging life
event.
5. Bipolar Depression or “manic
depression” is very serious and is marked by episodes of depression
with a high energy. One can suffer from explosive outbursts during
this type of depression. It can be drug induced but is mainly
genetically passed on. It comes in two types:
Type I: Involves severe /bizarre
outbursts
Type II: Involves energetic but
not bizarre outbursts.
The others include Seasonal
Affective Disorder (SAD), Cyclothymic Disorder, and Substance-Induced
Mood Disorder. I will attach links so you can read about these if you
would like. The five listed above are the main ones I wanted to
understand and look into. I hope this has been interesting or has
maybe helped you understand what depression is, it has helped me some
and I felt like sharing it. I hope that by understanding it, one day
we can put and end to it. This is all I have for now, keep this in
mind and be checking for Part II, it will be looking into some things
that might cause depression.
If there is one thing I want you
to know right now is that you are not alone in this. My favourite
song is by Colton Dixon and it is called NeverGone.
The message in this song is extremely powerful and means a lot to me
personally. A few other things to keep in mind to is Jeremiah 29:11,
“plans to prosper you, not harm you.” Also Hebrews 13:5,
Deuteronomy 31:6, and Joshua 1:5, “I will never leave you nor
forsake you.” I have discovered that scripture is the best way to
combat a lot of my thoughts when it comes to depression and feeling
alone. There
are a
few things and a few
verses I want you to know when dealing with depression.
1. God Never Loses Sight Of You
2.Your Trust And Hope Is In Him, Call On Him
3.He Has Great Plans For You
I
hope you have a fantastic day or evening depending on your time zone
or whatever your hour of reading be. x
