Depression: The silent crisis of our times

As per a recent study made by World Health Organization (WHO), approximately 3.8 % of the world population is suffering from a ‘common mental disorder’ – which is known as ‘Depression’. The study further states that every year, over 1.64 lakh Indians take their lives according to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB). However, experts believe these numbers may be an underestimation, especially when considering the increasing number of suicide attempts, particularly during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent report that was released post pandemic, the prevalence rate of depression in India was found at 4.50% and the cases stand at 56.6 million. Moreover, according to UNICEF reports which warned that the pandemic can impact the mental health and well-being of children and youth for years, it has been found that one out of seven children among the age group of 15 to 24 feels depressed or has little interest in doing things. Majority of us would not want to believe that these findings are right, but deep within we all accept and realise that ‘It’s True’. This is because we all are subjected to heavy duty tension & stress in our day-to-day life. However, we do not realise that remaining under constant siege of mental stress gradually transforms us into a depressed person. A person suffering from depression would never accept his/her condition in the first place, because the majority of us do not believe that it exists. One of the hardest things for people to understand about depression is that it can’t be seen visually as the pain is very deep within, subtle & not visible. This lack of visual impairment makes depression difficult to deal with and be identified by both, those suffering from it and for those around them. Due to our double standards, we fail to understand a fact that someone who looks completely normal from outside, could be going through absolute hell and experience melt down within. There are umpteen reasons in the world for a person to get depressed. Some feel depressed because their efforts to achieve something have ended in utter failure; some may feel disappointed and low-spirited because they think that they have been let down by those from whom they expected help or support, some others feel that they have been left alone and that there is no one who really loves them or cares for them. There are also many such people who feel that the society has no useful role for them whereas others feel frustrated to find that there are hurdles all the way in this vitiated social set-up. The pressure of these thoughts is so severe that in some cases a person may feel that life has become an unbearable burden for him/her and is, therefore, not worth living.

It’s quite common to talk about lingering stress or tension as silent killers or major causes of crime and psycho¬somatic diseases. But a look-around on a quick count gives us the impression that it is actually depression which is more disastrous and fatal for humanity, because in current scenario, it is not only a cause for the major addictions among people in society but it is also the reason for break-down of family life, rise in crime-graph and even the high rate of population-growth across the world. When one feels that quite a large number of people in this age are congenitally selfish, transparently exploitative and cruelly competitive and jealous, and that there is utter lack of sympathy or fellow-feeling in the social environment, one feels deeply depressed. In fact, the behaviour of even those who are not visibly depressed may have been influenced directly or indirectly by an under-current of depression as it gripped them earlier today or yesterday, or a few days ago. Successful medical experiments over the years have proved ‘Mediation’ to be an effective tool for curing chronic cases of depression. A society, which consists of a very large number of tense and depressed people would certainly march towards gloom and doom if it does not use this remedy which is psychological, biological and spiritual. As a part of society, each one of us can play a constructive role to help such people by empathizing with them and just standing by their side & letting them know that we are there & will go out of our way to fight their personal battle against depression. Let them know that you don’t and won’t think any differently of them because of their illness. Remember!! You may not be able to visually identify that someone has depression, but it’s important to think about their normal behaviour, and if they are acting differently then you should encourage them to see a doctor. So let us all come together to break down the stigma around Depression so that we don’t see it claim any more lives of our brothers & sisters.