Depression, a disorder that affects a person behind the scenes and eventually ends up affecting the individual. It can start from just an anxious thought and can also result in suicide.  Up to 15% of people with affective disorders, like depression, commit suicide. Depression is something which can affect a person in his/her everyday life. According to the World Health Organisation(WHO), depression is the second biggest reason for disability in the world. However, only 10% of them receive proper treatment. It is very important to be treated as if not treated and diagnosed, it is recorded that 40% who suffered from depression may again get depressed a year after. Everyone in their lifetime for some point of time feels helpless and hopeless, sad, anxious, lost and broke, but it all matters how soon they will able to cope up with their mental thoughts. It could be very hard for an individual to face his/her problem, but mentally it is more important to be positive and strong. Still, if someone is not able to recover from ill thoughts and feeling sad and anxious for 2 weeks, it is important not to ignore it and look forward to treatment or therapy. (Complete solutions at end of the blog)

Also, there is a difference between feeling depressed and being depressed. Everyone feels depressed at some point in life. If one did not score well in class test, he can feel depressed and that is completely normal. However, for some other 15 million, that is not the case. Others can get depression over themselves which can result in being depressed. When people frequently curse themselves for doing something which they must not have done or thought about past mistakes also leads to hyper-intensive thoughts.

Symptoms of depression-

1. Sadness and feeling empty
2. Daily headaches and loss of energy
3. Frustration and irresistible
4. Loss of interest in studies and hobbies
5. Absent mind and slowed thinking
6. Getting hyped
7. Anxiety and hopelessness
8. Change in sleep and eating behavior
9. Inability to make decisions
10. Feelings of worthlessness
11. Frequent thoughts of suicide

SOME OTHER CAUSES OF DEPRESSION IN TEENAGERS-

1.  Sexual or physical abuse and bullying
2.  If there is a mental illness in the family, children can be affected too
3.  Some parts of brain underdeveloped while other parts being overdeveloped
4.  Poor school performance
5.  Anxious about body image and body shaming

Stats of children experiencing depression-

• 0.9% in preschool-aged children.
• 1.9% in school-aged children.
• 4.7% in adolescents.

Depression is something very hard to be seen from naked eyes, maybe the happiest person whom you think can also be depressed. It is where social media dives in. Most of the teenagers are on social media and loves to share their pictures and moments on social media, like on Instagram. This results in a negative impact also, for example, a teenager after seeing random pictures of his friends going out for vacations, who may be unable to go due to family or other issues may feel dismal. He may start cursing his life. Also when he sees his mates hanging out with friends and dear ones, he may feel left out. It is a very moment when he feels that -no one loves him or cares for him. While he will continue scrolling his feed, he may find his long lost friend winning a random competition, which can affect his mindset and a feeling of worthlessness can crash his mind. He may forget at that time that on platforms like Instagram, one only post pics of his happy moments, the one who seems to be completely happy on pictures uploaded on social media may seem to be joyful, but only that person is aware of his life problems which he would not show on Instagram. It is also important to note that if someone won a random competition, he must have put handwork and faced failures in the past which he won’t show on Instagram. Similarly when a teenager expects likes and comments on his post and fails to get them may not feel good. It could be concluded that applications like Instagram are only to get happy, watching others getting happy, but things are turning out to be completely opposite. Smiling only for Instagram likes and faking your life, just for sake of likes is what turning out to be ugly.

Also, a study done by ‘The atlantic’, Teens Are Being Bullied ‘Constantly’ on Instagram.

It is also important to treat this disorder just like other disorders and not to feel ashamed if you have it, it’s alright. This disorder is just like other ones, like TB or high sugar level. Try to seek therapy, and be open about it, let the problem be out. Talk about it with a family member, a friend or someone who cares for you. Try Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Quit social media for a while. Also, try meditation. In every 1-2 hours, no matter what you are doing and how important it is, just take some deep breaths. It can help very much. Avoid those things which make you feel uneasy for a while, it is ok to say-no’ at this point of time as YOU matter the most. Try outdoor activities, instead of a solitude lifestyle. And at last, stop living a miserable life, things will change, and they will get better than ever!

(NOTE- I usually write about International relations and Modern history but lately I wanted to write on this topic also. Hope reader would like my content.)