Depression is a silent killer

Depression – Your Personal Demantor

When I read the Harry Potter series, I came across the word “Demantor”. My understanding was that it was a dark formless creature that could suck the very soul out of you. I wondered what that felt like, you know the soul being sucked out of you. I put that thought away as quickly as it had come, telling myself that this is all fiction, until the day I faced a demantor in my life. The endless fatigue, especially in the mornings, the inability to do anything, the irritability, the constant sadness, all of which I put down to some sort of deficiency, until my doctor told me that I had Depression. Well not in so many words. He put it delicately “You don’t like what you are doing, and that is why you are feeling like this”. From firsthand experience, I can actually imagine what it feels like to have your very life sucked out of you.

What Causes Depression?

No specific cause for depression has been found to date.  However, the cause is said to be a combination of factors such as biological, environmental, genetic and psychological.

Other Causes of Depression

The other causes of depression that should also be addressed include:

-          Misuse of substances like alcohol, narcotics, cocaine, steroids etc)

-          Poisoning from carbon monoxide

-          Brain Tumor

-          Vitamin Deficiency

-          Parkinson’s Diseases

-          Hypothyroidism

Symptoms of Depression

If you are suffering from most of the symptoms below, it is safe to assume that your demantor has arrived.

-          Feeling tired and lethargic for the better part of the day

-          Significant weight loss

-          Loss of sleep and appetite

-          Overeating and sleeping more than usual

-          A constant feel of worthlessness and guilt

-          Recurrent thoughts of death and suicide

-          An attempt at suicide

-          Lack of ability to think and concentrate

-          Difficulty in remembering

 A depressed person usually portrays one or more of the following signs:

-          Miserable, tearful eyes and furrowed brows

-          Lack of eye contact, slumped posture, no facial expression

-          Minimal body movement and low speech. or one word answers

-          Gloomy, humorless, lethargic and always complaining

A Cry for Help

Depression is a disease where there are no physical symptoms so people usually ignore you. “Normal” people put you down as melodramatic when sometimes it is actually a cry for help. With proper counseling, support and medication, sufferers can overcome the disease. Do not ignore any symptom of depression. Get rid of your demeanor before it gets rid of you.