‘Depression remains a misunderstood disease’

Depression remains a misunderstood disease that is why it is no longer surprising when someone makes fun of it or gives insensitive comments about it.

This was noted by Dr. Tomas Bautista, psychiatrist from ManilaMed, saying that depression “is still a widely misunderstood and even stigmatized disease.”

Understanding depression Bautista clarified that the word “depression” means two things.

The first type of depression is the one that “passes away”.

“Usually, many people think depression refers to the low, bad feeling we get when we go through loss, defeat, or feel frustration; the pain of separation, or loneliness. In that sense, every person can get depression. This type of depression can get really intense for example, when a loved one dies and a person grieves,” Bautista said.

“’Pag nonpathological na depression, yes. Kasi ang depression is like you become depressed because you didn’t get what you want. Something happened that you didn’t expect. You lost somebody. Grieving has stages, right? End part of grieving is depression and then acceptance,” Bautista added.

No matter how intense or painful, it eventually passes. It goes away, the person goes back to normal and moves on with his or her life, he further stated.

The pathological depression, on the other hand, “is not simply a bad feeling but an illness in the brain.”

“It can last weeks, months, years, or even a lifetime. If untreated, there is an increased likelihood that the depressed person may commit suicide,” he noted. (Charina Clarisse L. Echaluce)