By Tayo Ogunbiyi
Recent research
reveals that about 480 million people across the world experience depression
during their lifetime. According to a WHO data, by 2020, major depressive
illness will be the leading cause of disability in the world for women and
children. The economic cost of untreated mental illness is more than 150
billion dollars each year in the United States
The Medilexicon’s
medical dictionary depicts depression as medical conditions that disrupt a
person’s thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily
functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, depression is a
medical condition that often results in a diminished capacity for coping with
the ordinary demands of life. Depression is more than just a feeling of being
sad or moody for a few days. Symptoms of depression include feeling sad or
empty, loss of interest in favourite activities, over eating, or not wanting to
eat at all, not being able to sleep or sleeping too much, fatigue, feeling of
hopelessness, irritation, anxiety, guilt, aches, pains, thought of death or
suicide, erratic or changed behaviour, loneliness, desperation among others.
Medically, depression
is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of
interest in things that the victim is ordinarily usually passionate about. It
is also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression and it affects
how the victim feels, thinks and behaves. It can lead to a variety of emotional
and physical problems which include finding it difficult to embark on daily
activities. It can also lead to marital troubles as depression victims find it
very hard adjusting to family values and ethics. Indeed, coping with the stress
of family life causes more difficulties for victims of depression.
