Challenge 5: Is depression really a sign of weakness?

Write about some issue of local, national, or international concern and its significance to you. (Hope College)

Is depression really a sign of weakness? Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. However, clinical depression is an emotional disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life.

Human mind is a complex puzzle. Psychological theories, diagnoses and treatments are constantly changing and may never be fully understood. Furthermore, a depressed person has unclear measurable symptoms like lethargy, emotional polarity or apathy, whereas someone with the flu will show clear symptoms like fever, nausea, and congestion. Unfortunately, people tend to dismiss answers that don’t provide simple answers. Depression, however, is an illness just like influenza or cancer. 

The reason I am bringing up this issue is because emotional disorders are a remarkably sad facet of life. Depression alters one’s life at least as dramatically as more “accepted” illnesses do, especially in a world that denies one’s suffering. They need others to understand the limitations depression imposes. They need to be allowed to heal.

The key to resolving this problem is education. People of all ages need to understand how prevalent depression is and that it is not a cause for embarrassment. Hopefully, we will one day live in a world where emotional disorders will be treated with the same tolerance and compassion as “accepted” illnesses.