Why is Depression Always With Me?
We all suffer from depression at some time or another. The death of a loved one. Some people become depressed over the Christmas period or other holidays. Perhaps business isn’t going too well, despite your best efforts. But these are usually passing phases when there are definite reasons for depression.
The question, ‘why is depression always with me?’ is easily answered. You have what’s known as clinical depression. Easily answered, but the underlying reason for it is unknown. There are many drugs on the market today that will keep depression at bay, but it’s like alcoholism, in that the sufferer is never really cured.
Someone who’s taking a course of medication may feel that the depression has lifted and that they’re able to lead a full and normal life. If this is the case, then the drug is doing its work in proving highly effective. The trouble is that if no-one knows for sure how depression affects the mind, then even if a certain pill alleviates the problem, what else is this pill doing to you?
Panic attacks and anxiety are of the same breed. No-one knows what causes them, but drugs can help. There are no absolute medical cures, though. If you decide to come off the pills you’re taking for depression, then it’s almost certain the depression will return. So medicine can only go part of the way. Provided you keep taking the pills, you’re fine. But come off them, and you’re right back in that awful dark pit again.
If you do find yourself suffering depression, it’s vital you seek help. One of the symptoms are feelings of worthlessness, and this isn’t too short a step to suicide. But you’re certainly not alone. About 35 million people suffer depression in the United States alone, with women being twice as likely to contract the disease.
As I’ve said, while no-one knows for certain what causes depression, it’s believed that two chemicals, serotonin and norepinephrine, found naturally in the brain and which are both neurotransmitters, somehow become out of balance. The real answer won’t come until it’s learned exactly what causes depression.
Panic attacks and anxiety are the same in this respect. Somewhere there’s an answer, but for the moment it’s hidden from the eyes of science.
Alcoholism, interestingly enough, is rather the opposite, in that no pill or drug on earth can stop someone drinking. There is something called Antabuse, which if taken, makes a person violently sick should he or she drink on top of it. All that can be said about this is that it’s a rather violent deterrent. However, being in a situation where you’re unable to lay hands on a bottle of whiskey, for instance, for a protracted period, can certainly lead to the urge leaving you. When you first enter an alcoholic unit, you’re given drugs to take away the withdrawals, but that’s all they can do, save give you shots of vitamin B12 to make up for a depleted food intake. The rest is, in truth, ‘all in the mind.’
But the terrible threesome; panic attacks, anxiety and depression cannot be treated like that. Yes, they can be treated without medication, but there has to be a reversal of the thought process. Doctors are very slowly coming around to this way of treatment, but until the root cause is discovered, it’s an uphill battle. So why is depression always with you? Sorry, but we just don’t know – yet.
Although not a doctor nor a psychiatrist, Mike Bond’s personal knowledge of these afflictions is quite extensive. He’s only too pleased to help and advise anyone still suffering. His main advice, though, is to seek professional help. There are some excellent websites out there that help people, especially those suffering from panic attacks and anxiety, without recourse to medication. He’d like to thank Know My Depression for some of the facts and information contained in his article. It’s worth going to his website to read his personal stories.