Home » Mental Disorder » Depression Mental disorder is a psychological condition that occurs in an individual and is generally associated with distress or a mental disability. Mental disorders results in a number of associated illnesses that can affect an individual to a large extent. Depression is one of the most common cases of mental which arises out of a number of factors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) depression is the third most widespread mental illness in the world. It is not just a state of mind or a bad mood that one can snap out of at any time. It is more than a passing mental condition but the good news is that depression as an illness can be treated. Almost anybody any suffer from depression at some point of time or another. In fact depression is more common than Common Cold and almost all of us are at a risk of getting into this mental condition.

The several factors causing depression could be anything from social, biological as well as psychological factors. Some of the common symptoms of depression include low appetite, loss of sleep or oversleeping, high tendency to binge, low energy levels, and seclusion from friends and family, intense feeling of despair and unhappiness, suicidal tendencies and a number of other signs. However it must be kept in mind that “feeling depressed” and suffering from clinical depression are two distinct conditions which are very different from each other. The feeling of misery in clinical depression is inexorable and overwhelming. It is sometime described as “living in a black hole” with no hope of escape for the person affected. Clinically depressed people often get feeling of impending doom.

The signs of depression may vary from individual to individual with difference in behavioral patterns. While some people with depression lose their ability to feel sad and instead they get a feeling of lifelessness and apathy. In such a state these people are unable to experience happiness and pleasure. Every activity is undertaken in a mechanical way without feeling any kind of emotion in the situation. In today’s fast moving world the number of people suffering from depression have increased to a great extent. The pressure to stay in competition with peers, loss of a loved one, increasing loneliness as well as wayward relationships have become the main causes of depression in the present times.

In spite of the graveness of the situation, depression is a curable illness unless it is a critical condition. You may come across many friends and colleagues who often seclude themselves from the crowd or may appear in state of hopelessness. Always take time out to reach across to such people who might need your help. You don’t need to be a doctor or a specialist to help depressed people. A friendly gesture or simply being there to listen to what they have to say helps to a great degree.

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