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Mental Illness: Complications of Depression Overview of the Complications of Depression
Depression is a very real disease and one that still today can be very secretive
and shameful. Normally the one experiencing depression does not realize they are
in a depressive state although friends and family even co-workers may mention to
them that they do not seem themselves. The one experiencing depression will
shrug it off as having a bad day or even going through a slump. If treatment is
not found there can be serious consequences to this disease.
Those who experience depression have an increased risk of suicide mainly because
the person who is experiencing depression cannot see hope not even when others
are trying to help them. When a depressed individual does not seek treatment
they retreat within themselves and that place is a very dark environment and
hope is nowhere to be found. There are many statistics that state a certain
genre of men and women are more or less likely to commit suicide the bottom line
is that depression is not selective in who becomes affected and anyone can fall
prey to suicidal ideation if they are left to deal with it on their own terms.
Depression can also be found in individuals who abuse alcohol and/or drugs. One
of the reasons for this is escapism. Those who find no hope in their lives are
also trying to escape from their perceived darkness. Smoking also falls into
this same category of abusing chemicals. Those who are depressed turn to many
addictive behaviors to keep them from feeling anything and smoking, to the
depressed individual, is a form of release from their stressful environment.
There are those who have studied the life span among men and women who are
depressed and suggest that men who have this disease have a shorter life span
than do women. This could be attributed to the fact that when someone is
experiencing depression the desire for any social involvement or physical
activity becomes severely diminished. Without physical and social stimulation
the body will begin to deteriorate. Some physical symptoms that can be
associated with depression are stroke and heart attacks, which can lead to
death.
Another very important health issue is that of obesity and that is quite common
in those experiencing depression. Logically, you could conclude if there is no
desire to will to live that same individual begin losing the desire to
accomplish anything in their life and that includes exercise and the depressed
individual begins eating and if they increase the caloric intake and decrease
their exercise obesity will pose health risks. The increase in weight in turn
leads to feelings of low self-esteem and reinforces to that individual that
there is no reason to live because now they are overweight and the cycle
continues.
Depression and chronic pain often are seen together in many patients. The
depressed individual is trying to hard to escape from their pain that the body
actually becomes more sensitive to painful stimuli thus those suffering from
this disease will often have arthritis or even fibromyalgia.
Children of depressed parents have a very difficult time. The age of the child
determines how they will react to their parent’s condition. If the child is
between the ages of a toddler and an adolescent that child may exhibit behaviors
of excessive crying or becoming excessively clingy which to the depressed parent
magnifies the feeling that their life is out of control. The older child may
actually begin to resent the parent for the inability to take care of them and
they will seek solace in behavior that they know is wrong because they are
trying desperately to bring their parents back to reality. The child growing up
in this environment is very likely to develop symptoms of depression and abusive
tendencies as well.
Looking at the disease of depression and the effect it can have on a marriage is
interesting. To have a successful marriage communication is very important. If
one of the partners is depressed it is a safe to say they will not be
communicating very well, if at all. The other partner will soon tire of the
gloominess and will leave. On the other hand, if the depressed partner seeks
help and begins healing and does not include their partner who has been taking
care of them through the very long period of depression a divorce may still be
looming because the dynamics in the marriage have shifted again and the partner
who taking care of their depressed spouse now feels that they are not needed and
may actually come to resent that their partner is now healthy.
To say the very least, depression and work do not go well together and it is
obvious that if a person who is experiencing depression loses their job this
will add to their already fragile state of mind and they will usually become
physically ill and the cycle continues to decline.
About the Author
Ainuddin Mohamad is the Webmaster of
http://InsaneMind.com
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