Okay! Let’s get serious for a minute people. Depression is most definitely real, and I’ve been feeling the need to talk about because it never gets talked about enough, and whenever people do discuss the topic, they do nothing but beat around the bush instead of addressing certain things that need to be said. For starters, let’s define what depression is. According to The American Psychiatric Association, “Depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, think, and act.” With that being said, it is an illness so after years of research treatments for the various types of depression have been found to help others get through it. Now that I’ve had your attention for awhile, I wanted to bring up three different types of depression that multiple people deal with throughout their lifetime.
1. Situational Depression
Situational Depression occurs after a traumatic event or a series of negative events. Some examples being, a death in family, car accidents, a period of time during school. Anything along those lines can bring about situational depression. Throughout their lifetime, 30% of adolescents and 10% of adults will experience situational depression.
2. Postpartum Depression
I’m pretty sure everyone has heard of Postpartum Depression. It is commonly associated with women after they have given birth to their child. What most people don’t know about postpartum depression, is that there are some chemical reactions within the body that contribute to a woman having postpartum depression. The hormone level within a woman’s body begins to drop, but eventually return after 3 or 4 days. However, for some women, there are some emotional and psychological reasons as to why the mother still gets postpartum depression.
3. Seasonal Depression
Seasonal Depression is quite is easy to understand. This type of depression is when depression occurs during the same time of the year for a period of time during a person’s lifetime. Some symptoms of Seasonal Depression are drastic, such as an increase or decrease in weight, sleeping for long periods of time, as well as social withdrawal. Not many are fully aware that there are people who really suffer from this type of depression. According to Mental Health America, Every year, 5% of the US population experience seasonal depression.
Depression is very serious and very real during this time in the world. So although all of us aren’t licensed doctors or psychologists, there are little things we can do just to give someone who has depression an ounce of hope and happiness to get them through this dark period. Always make sure you check on everyone within your life because someone with depression does not always come forward to say anything. So a simple text can reassure them that someone cares about them. Also, go to them in person and talk to them. If you see any signs of them being emotionally withdrawn or fatigued, go to a psychologist or doctor with your concern and take it from there. Depression is hard to deal with alone, and being that one person that is able to help them can really make a difference. With all of that being said, if no one else has told you that they love you today, I love you.