Having worked as a social worker for the last 8 years in Birmingham, I have come across depression almost on a daily basis. With my experience and real life exposure to this illness, I write the following:
So what is depression?
The general definition of depression is a psychological disorder that affects a person's mood changes, physical functions and social interactions.
Those who know me often describe me as being loud, opinionated and feisty. “Nothing seems to get you down” they say. “I admire the fact that you're such a strong woman who doesn't give a damn about what people think.”
If only they knew.
Sometimes I feel like such a fraud because that is no longer who I am – at least that is no longer how I feel at the moment. I have been depressed for a good few months now. Part of the reason is due to the fact that I have not been working for six months and I have been finding it difficult to get another job. On top of that my savings are running out so I am struggling financially.
"Teeny weeny" that's what they call me
they laugh at me and say I'll break
I'm too fragile, I need a cake.
anorexic that's what I am
I can't help it, that's just the way I am........
"Fat!" that's what I'm labeled
I'm not the ideal weight
but I'm not too out of shape
yet "Mr Blobby" they call me
so I run home and starve myself to sleep
starvation diet and plenty of exercise is all I need........
"Migit" thats what I am
they stare at me and think I'm an abnormal man
Dwarf I am, dwarf I'll be
there's nothing I can do
thats just me!.............
"Ugly that's what they say
a few spots I have on my face
and a label is given to my name
"I don't care what they say but deep down im detoritaing away"
before you judge me just remember
"I am what you make me."
“I don’t know why you have to be immature about it.” I put my foot in it again. Opened my big mouth.
“Don’t you dare call me immature, you don’t understand it’s hard for me.” My sister erupts into a flood of tears and walks out of the room. I sit contemplating.
Anyone else would have probably shrugged off the comment or started a slanging match. Even if they felt angry, crying would probably not have been their first reaction. “Alhamdulillah,” I murmur under my breath. Accidentally throwing away the salt of my sister, a depressive anorexic sufferer, and consequently making such a comment was not the best idea, especially as it involved food.
I was just reading this article about teen suicides in India (well, Mumbai, where they are averaging one teen a day, or three people in total per day... with 100,000 people committing suicide in india per annum) and its quite... alarming? unnerving? high? surprising? take your pick.
Another quote from the article:
World Health Organisation Assistant Director-General Catherine Le Gals-Camus points out more people die from suicide around the world than from all homicides and wars combined.
oing to bed earlier protects teenagers against depression and suicidal thoughts, research suggests.
A US study of 12 to 18-year-olds found those with bedtimes after midnight were 24% more likely to have depression than those who went to bed before 2200.
And those who slept fewer than five hours a night had a 71% higher risk of depression than those who slept eight hours, the journal Sleep reports.
It is estimated 80,000 UK children and young people have depression.
The researchers from Columbia University Medical Center in New York looked at data from 15,500 teenagers collected in the 1990s.
One in 15 of those studied were found to have depression.
Depression's Evolutionary Roots
Depression seems to pose an evolutionary paradox. Research in the US and other countries estimates that between 30 to 50 percent of people have met current psychiatric diagnostic criteria for major depressive disorder sometime in their lives. But the brain plays crucial roles in promoting survival and reproduction, so the pressures of evolution should have left our brains resistant to such high rates of malfunction. Mental disorders should generally be rare — why isn’t depression?
...
Such an ugly girl!
This is a story where the main character is unfortunately not aesthetically pleasing. She has no high cheekbones or thick, long lashes or even a fair face. It's rather dark and her lips are a little too wide, her nose a little too long and it's not the perfect oval-shape. To be honest, she's not pretty.
Her father thinks she is, but father's think their daughters are the most beautiful, because a daughter IS the most beautiful child where as a the son is their pride. It just works that way.
Even with a hijab, a face is the first thing a person sees, and first impressions of this girl are not too good.
Well, on with the story.
We will all have moments in our life when we feel a bit down, miserable or in a bit of a mood. It is natural to feel some sort of sadness when we experience disappointments in our everyday life. However, The World Health Organisation estimates that 121 million people worldwide are suffering from ‘Depression’ – the illness. [1]
The difference between feeling a little low and suffering from a depressive illness is that these low feelings can last for weeks or months and seriously interfere with a persons life. There are different types of depressive illnesses; depression in its mildest form can make everything seem a struggle or pointless, but depression in its most severe form can be life-threatening as it can make a person simply give up the will to live.
