New Addiction: Depression

Depression is not a matter to be laughed at. It is a mental disorder that everybody should watch out for, especially as it can really mess things up. In fact, it has taken a lot of lives already. And this year, quite a lot of millennial couldn’t even make it to Christmas nor Halloween because depression has already claimed their lives.

It is quite a sad though, the millennial nowadays can be known to be the people who think it is best to die rather than continue battling with whatever they may be feeling because of this harmful thing as depression. Death by hanging, death by the slicing of wrists, death by jumping off a building’s window, numerous feet above the ground, and many other successful suicidal attempts. It is just way too amazing when you realize that there are just a lot of ways for ending up life. And they do it with courage too. So, why not use the same courage and the same resourcefulness to fight back at what life is throwing at them? Why succumb to death? They found out that ending their lives is far better than trying to survive. Of course, we can’t really judge them.

But, although we really cannot generalize, there are some people who love the idea of getting the attention of the many. Visit your Facebook account, Twitter, and even your Instagram. All over these popular social networking sites, thoughts about depression are present. Some are even as explicit as individuals may express it. Depression. Even when people do not really seek the medical expert for a proper diagnosis they claim to have it. Really, it is already known that depression and mere sadness are totally different matters. However, with all the awareness posts flooding over social media, one cannot just resist having his/her own self-diagnosis. And, this can be a fatal error because there is going to be no proper grounding and basis of such claim. Although posts about the possible symptoms of depression are widespread, those cannot be the only basis in order for anybody to conclude that he/she is having this illness.

What do people get out of diagnosing oneself to be depressed? Attention. Validation. Although the clinically diagnosed patients of depression do need these and more, some self-diagnosed people may just be looking for attention that they think and feel they are deprived of. Some of the awareness posts that have been mentioned earlier provide tips as to how people should respond and take care of the ones who seem to be suffering from depression. Two of those are attention and validation which most people seem to need nowadays. And thus, the seemingly never-ending claims of depression.

Is it possible then to have some kind of addiction over “depression”? That of the sense which is not as diagnosed by a medical expert. That of the sense which is only based on the symptoms provided by the awareness posts. Depression is not a matter to be ignored or downplayed. But it sure shouldn’t also be treated as a trend that needs to have the bandwagon personality of most people.

Research on this matter may give you the answer. Although, as of the moment, this is still debatable. The brain has its neurotransmitters which function as messengers that send messages from the receptors in the body towards the brain and sends the commands of the brain back to the receptors to have the reactions towards the stimuli. Apparently, one of the claims of experts is that depression is commonly linked to the imbalances of the chemicals in the brain that is related to the kind of neurotransmitters; serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. Serotonin is the one concerned with the regulation of physiological functions such as sleep, aggression, eating, sexual behavior, and the person’s mood. Serotonergic neurons are the ones responsible for the production of serotonin. As a result of the research done, the lack of production of serotonin can cause depression to some people. There were also findings that the lack of production of norepinephrine can cause depression as well. Since the matter has made quite an impact to the society because of the increasing number of suicide cases among teens, further research has been done for it. And, as what has been found out, the decrease in the production of serotonin leads to the drop in norepinephrine levels. Thus, as you can guess, the occurrence of depression.

But how is norepinephrine get tangled up in this? Well, apparently, it is the one which helps our bodies recognize and respond to stressful situations. As it turns out, not only are serotonin and norepinephrine are the ones involved. It also includes the neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is the one responsible for regulating our inner drive to seek for rewards and obtain a sense of pleasure. Just like serotonin and norepinephrine, lack of production of dopamine leads to the explanation why depressed people find it difficult to have the same sense of pleasure towards activities that they may once find worthwhile.

With this knowledge of depression, we can then figure out its connection with addiction. This is most commonly defined as an excessive dependence on chemical substances such as liquor and heroin. However, the definition can be extended to being obsessed with giving pleasure to the needs of the body. This is now where it can have its connection with depression.

With depression, a person can have the attention of the friends, relatives, and others who care. With this, the attention and validation that a person can get can somehow take its part in the lack of production of the chemicals in the brain; serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. And because it is in the nature of humans to crave for attention from time to time, it is most likely to be addicted to the feeling. And thus, the addiction to depression.

Again, this matter is not to be generalized as some might be really having the disorder and need help. However, it would be really great to see a medical expert for it because they might just be the ones who can treat it and free the depressed person from the darkness that this disorder causes. They can be the light that every depressed person could ever need. They are the ones who can possibly tell what a person needs and therefore provide such as well. Depression is a mental disorder that shouldn’t be ignored. If a person continues to get the attention and validation from their friends, there is a huge possibility that he/she might just be dependent on it. There is a huge possibility that they might just want to stay into the darkest and deepest pit because they know that this is the way to finally get the much-craved attention, in spite of the pure intentions of the friends and family to actually get the depressed person out of it.

Depression is not a trend and it should not be treated as such. But, from what is happening in reality, many have gone with the bandwagon personality and have a self-diagnosis of having depression. Most of the time, this is manifested in social networking sites where a lot of people are dwelling. This makes it a perfect place to get attention. Plus, with the awareness posts that have been posted in almost everywhere, more people would respond to the manifestations of the depressed. And thus, the early stages of addiction over depression.

Again, this matter should not be generalized. Research is still going on trying to prove whether it is really possible to get addicted on depression. It should not be ignored. Neither should it be taken as a trend as well where one feels privileged to have it when others don’t. The best possible thing that anyone of us can do though is to help the friend who might be suffering from depression get the help of an expert. Let them consult a medical expert before you continue on feeding them with words that would only make their situations worse.