Depression
may be more of a
problem than most of us believe that it is.
The
World Health
Organization (WHO) has issued a report stating that the number of
people who
experience depression is doubling every ten years and that by 2020 it
will be
the most pervasive illness in the world and the second leading cause of
death.
WHO also states that depression currently ranks second only to heart
disease as
the leading cause of disabilities associated with illness.
What
does this have to do with you?
If
you suffer from depression (or know someone who does) you know all too
well that it is a challenging condition which interferes with the
enjoyment of life and leaves you feeling as if there is no hope that
the pain will ever end. But, you may not have recognized the enormity
of the problem.
Unfortunately,
depression
will touch almost every single person during their lifetime. They will either experience it themselves or
know someone who has. Those who do experience depression may suffer its
hideous
effects for decades or even for a lifetime.
Why
is depression currently
so pervasive? Furthermore, why is the number of people who will
experience it
projected to increase at such a rapid rate? And,
most importantly, what can we do about it?
Doctors
can’t agree on the
cause of depression. Some say it is a
chemical imbalance, while others claim it is a genetic problem. There
are
others who believe that depression is a “learned behavior.”
The
most common treatment
for depression today is therapy coupled with antidepressant medication. This can become costly and time consuming
without much success. The question remains… Is it working?
Some
people do experience an
improved mood when they are prescribed antidepressants.
But, think about this... any mind-altering
drug, including antidepressants, has the potential to produce a
positive
improvement in mood. Is the improved mood that one experiences while
taking
antidepressants proof that they had a chemical imbalance to begin with. Not in light of the previous statement.
What
this information means
is that if therapy and antidepressants were the answers to alleviating
depression, the numbers of people suffering its debilitating effects
would be
decreasing or, at the least, the numbers would remain the same.
However, as
we’ve already discovered, that is not the case. So, in a nut shell,
current
methods are not the answer for most depressed people. But, I’m not
saying that
there is anything wrong with either of these two treatments, but simply
that, in most
cases, they aren’t necessary nor do they provide the total relief a
depressed
person
is seeking.
It
is time for us to open our eyes and, most importantly, our minds to the
possibility that since the medical establishment hasn't found the
cure for depression, that they don't understand what causes it.
It is my belief that only when we understand the root cause of an
illness can we find the answer to healing it.
Author:
Gwynne Curry
© Gwynne Curry - All Rights Reserved
Gwynne suffered with depression for
30+ years and has been depression
free for more than 5 years.
http://www.BeatDepressionFast.com
http://www.DepressionInfoGuide.com
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