How can depression kill you?

Do people ever think of jumping off the bridge or just taking up a weapon and decimating all – more often than you think, if psychologists are to be believed.

And, it is not an act of ‘running away from it all’ or ‘ending it all’, but a ‘sickness’.

“Suicide is not an act of cowardice, but a result of depression or other mental illnesses,” says Linda Sakr, a licensed Counselling Psychologist.

“Robin Williams’s recent death is a tragedy, but if it can help start a national conversation about depression and mental illness then something positive can come from an untimely death,” she adds.

Dr. Raymond H. Hamden, Clinical & Forensic Psychologist, Human Relations Institute & Clinics, says suicidal behaviour is an outcome of complex interaction between long-term risk factors, immediate triggers and a lack of protection, support system and treatment.

During acute spells of depression, patients may feel that suicide is an opportunity to escape from the emptiness and pain of the current situation. Due to the distortions in cognition depressed individuals refuse to accept that the emptiness and pain will eventually end and see suicide as the only way out,” he adds.

Mental illness encompasses many forms and can be as blatant as someone with agitated, incoherent behaviour. It also can have very subtle signs, which makes a person appear to have nothing wrong with them. It is a hard condition to understand because it affects emotions. This makes it difficult for those unfamiliar with the disease to comprehend it as a real illness.

“It is just as real as diabetes, cancer, hypertension or any other disease that hides beneath the surface. It requires treatment just the same as diabetics require medication to keep their condition stable,” Linda told Emirates 24|7.

She explains that depression is as old as recorded history. Years ago people thought of it as melancholia.

The prevailing notion would be “he just needs to pull himself up by his bootstraps”. It was an uneducated thought that if you were sad, you would just get glad again.

The more the condition was studied and as medical advances were made, clinicians realised that there are many factors and conditions involved with the illness. “Depression has many causes and can stem from genetic predisposition, life events, faulty mood regulation by the brain, and medical problems.”

Chemical Brain

Whatever the specific cause for depression, there are always chemicals in the brain involved. There are many drugs available for treatment, but each person can react differently due to internal chemical reactions to the medications, Linda said.

The complexity of the illness is daunting for practitioners. They can’t simply review similar symptoms and think that the treatment will be the same for each patient. It appears that anxiety and depression go hand in hand in most cases and clients are considered “anxiously depressed.” It can be hard to separate one from the other when the disease takes hold.

Help needy

“Most people can have a day where they feel down, and there is nothing wrong with being sad. Grief can certainly bring emotions to an all-time low, but most people recover, and don’t get stuck in a spiral that can become all-consuming.

“The inability to control those feelings of helplessness and despair are what individuals with depression experience. Suicide and thinking of death are serious symptoms of depression. Talking about suicide is a cry for help – don’t ignore it.,” Linda cautions.

Be aware of the signs of depression so that you can help yourself or a friend.

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