According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), 350 million people worldwide suffer from depression. Approximately 20 per cent of teens will experience depression before they reach adulthood. Between 10 to 15 per cent of teenagers have some symptoms of depression at any one time.
The American Psychological Association (APA) has defined depression (major depressive disorder) as a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Fortunately, it is also treatable. Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease a person’s ability to function at work and at home.
Depression results due to a number of causative factors and is due to a complex mechanism in the brain which is due to a depletion of the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine or dopamine in the central nervous system. Serotonin is the most extensively studied neurotransmitter in depression.
There are several biological, social, economic, cultural and environmental factors which play an important role in the development of depression in a person who is prone to it. It can either be a bereavement in the family or stress due to any reason either financial loss or a failure or a debilitating chronic disease. Depression is also said to be genetic in nature. Sometimes a strict critical parenting in childhood can lead to low self-esteem in the child which can manifest as depression later on. loneliness or loss of maternal care in childhood can also lead to depression.
Symptoms of depression are variable and can manifest in mild to severe forms and include:
·Feeling sad constantly.
· Not interested or enjoying the activities once enjoyed
·Appetite changes and weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting.
·Disturbed sleep, no sleep or sleeping too much
·loss of energy and easily fatigued
·Speaking and moving slowly or less
·Feeling worthless, guilty, hopeless and helpless
·Difficulty in thinking, concentrating or making decisions
·Talks of thoughts of death or suicide
·Views future as very gloomy.
Depression is a clinical diagnosis and symptoms must last at least two weeks for a diagnosis of depression. Young people experience major periods of transition in many phases of their life while they are growing up. They have to face many challenges in school, during puberty, due to peer pressure, in college, work, or family expectations. Many students leave home after school and go to different cities for higher education. They may face ‘adjustment problems’ due to the new environment, culture and independent life style. Many have ‘separation anxiety’ and feel lonely.
An NSPCC report revealed that in 2016-17, Childline counselled over 4000 young people about loneliness. Almost half of these said they felt lonely during their time in college. A recent survey of university students has suggested that loneliness predicts mental distress in the youth.
What is lonelinessIJ
It is a lack of close friends with whom one can share all problems, and less social contacts, which leads to emotional discomfort or distress. It begins with an awareness of a deficiency of relationships which makes us sad and we feel a hollowness inside us. We may be filled with a longing for contact and feel isolated, distanced from others physically and emotionally deprived. These feelings destroy our emotional well-being.
However loneliness is not always abnormal and everyone does feel lonely sometimes—after a break-up or when we move to a new place. When these issues are constantly persisting, it may lead us to chronic loneliness which is debilitating and needs immediate attention.
It predicts that there are some severe maladjustments in our which need remedy.
In children, it leads to different behavioural and emotional problems. Failure of the child to bond with his peers is an important reason for school dropouts. Such children may develop delinquency and adopt various antisocial behaviors. Teaching children the skill of sharing and caring and making friends is an important part of good parenting.
In adults, loneliness is a major precipitant of many medical and mental problems like depression and can lead to maladaptive coping like alcoholism.
It is very often seen in the old people who have their children living away. Many of them face problems in their physical health which makes them less confident about socialising as they used to. loneliness affects over a million older adults across the UK; over half of people aged 75 and over live alone, and one in ten people over 65 say they always or often feel lonely. Evidence shows that loneliness causes existing physical health problems to get worse.
A social solution
loneliness is not only a health issue, but a social issue too and should be considered as one of the greatest challenges facing our society today.
Doctors are now embracing “social prescribing” for those living alone. They do not prescribe medicines in this but tell what to do with their spare time. That can include learning how to bake, dance, draw do yoga, meet others like them and point them in the direction of something they are interested in and find a purpose to live.
Communities can help people not to feel lonely in times of change. Whether it be a physical community, such as a neighbourhood or campus communities or of people with similar interests or culture, can connect and share experiences, which is good for their health and well-being. Fostering community and bringing older and younger people together can also keep loneliness at bay, by identifying common interests or simply by sharing a cup of tea together can create friendships which bridge the age gap, and foster a sense of belonging.
Advice to students:
*Try to make good friends. Adjust with your room-mate so that both of you can help each other to study well.
*Enjoy your stay in the hostel. This will be the best period of your life and will teach you to be independent in life later on.
*Try to find rational solutions to your problems. Discuss them with your teachers and parents.
* Remember you have gone to study, so time management is a very important for you. Give time for studies and games.
*Do not miss classes. Be assertive and say no to wrong advice. Do not take any drugs or start to smoke. Be confident and stay healthy.
*Talk to your parents daily and discuss important issues with them. If anyone tries to bully you—speak out to your teachers and parents.
Advice to Parents:
*Be well connected with your child. Talk to him/her at least once every day and empower them to cope with their problems in an adaptive manner.
*Visit them at least once a month initially, and then gradually wean it off. Help them if they have issues of facing any bullying. Report it to the higher authorities.
*Be supportive and guide/help your child to resolve his issues. Do not be over protective or critical.
*listen to him and tell him solutions to his problems and encourage him to solve them himself.
*Do not encourage him to change rooms/room-mates frequently.Teach him the importance of acceptance and adjustments
*Be on the look out for any signs of depression in your child and take professional help for this.
*Do not be a desperate parent, telling your child stories of your feeling sad or lonely without him. Encourage him to feel happy.
*Do not phone him frequently or he will not be able to adjust to his new environment.
* Keep a check on who his friends are and his attendance and grades in school.
*Do not give him extra money or indulge him with expensive gifts to make him happy.
(The writer is a neuro-psychologist, founder of Pari Foundation and a CBSE counsellor)