Oh! Is he depressed? Common on! Let’s be off him! Is he under treatment with such and such doctor? This is what we generally
here if we find a person found to be depressed. Now, pro-patient questions are being asked in the communities whether there is anything called Depression- unless of course, there is a real organic basis and the behaviour is markedly abnormal in carrying out day to day activities. Depression is considered to be an over reaction to some of the life''''s situations which hamper the daily living for a person. Instead of solving such problems that lead to Depression and thereby assuring the person that it is a natural reaction to certain events and that there is not much wrong with him in the matter, we are forcing the person into complex world of
psychiatrists,
psychotherapy, behaviour therapy, medications and their side effects etc., and washing off the hands. Once a patient is tagged as Depressed, it is an unending saga of new suffering with medication, expensive treatment, social stigma, inferiority feelings compared to peers and the notion that taking medication is a lifelong activity. Rarely do we see people who used common anti-depressants and became normal again and stopped using drugs altogether. And every time a similar life situation arises, again we go for the medication instead of solving the root cause and non-medical remedies such as expressing empathy, listening out, chatting and doing that is necessary. Unless this is done, the root cause remains for ever. It is seen that more and more people are questioning if Depression is given over importance. In the name of keeping pace with modern life, globalization and other hi-fi jargon, we are falling prey to the illness and we are denying ourselves of the justification for natural living, solving problems and being happy. Now we are in the times, where being happy is forgotten and are trying to buy it through various artificial means outside of us instead of listening to our heart and through mutual communication. It is also the time to look into the basic issues in Depression and how a person is under- listened of his version and being made a victim of sorts thereby robbing of his opportunity to live naturally!