It is sad that people do not take depression seriously. It is a legitimate medical concern backed up by studies, and yet it seems every time we hear someone claim that they are depressed, we roll our eyes and shrug.
There are reasons for this. It is hard for someone who has not had any experience with the disease to possibly comprehend what it is and what it feels like.
In a similar fashion, mental health and mental illnesses have carried a stigma for hundreds of years, and it is still as misunderstood today as it was in the middle ages.
Most people mistake depression as mere sadness, and that with time it will simply go away. And sadly, most those who suffer depression, afraid of being maligned, go about their daily life with a fake smile on their faces, valiantly pretending everything is all right when it is not.
Diagnosed with depression
The importance of depression is highlighted in the case of 21-year-old mother Hollie Turner when she died of a rare brain disease after doctors mistakenly diagnosed her with depression.
After giving birth to her daughter, she began experiencing fatigue and unquenchable thirst. After the results of her tests for diabetes and thyroid problems proved inconclusive, general practitioners in Essex diagnosed her with depression.
this young mother wasn’t depressed; she was suffering from a rare rain disease; Photo courtesy: Cascade News
She was later found to have a rare cancer-like disease of the blood cells called Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis (LCH), which causes a type of white blood cell to over produce.
The cells began to spread to other parts of the body, including the brain’s pituitary gland, where they formed tumors and permanently damaged her organs. Hollie had undergone chemotherapy, but the disease had already become too severe.
Trust your gut
Mommies, if you feel like what you might have is more than depression, Russell Hyken, PhD, EdS, a therapist in St. Louis, suggests that you “rely on your gut feeling. Depression is having the ‘blues’ for an extended period of time. If you think it is something else…then it may be.”
If you’re suffering from depression, following these tips might help: Take a time-out, eat well-balanced meals, limit alcohol and caffeine, get enough sleep, exercise daily to help you feel good and maintain your health, and don’t forget to take deep breaths.
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