DEPRESSION IS REAL

STRESS and depression in these tough economic times have led a lot of people into trauma or even suicide.

Deaths by suicide have increased of late, not only in Zimbabwe but the world over.

A lot of issues that are causing suicides are also associated with drug abuse.

But how does one know that suicide can take them to a certain place that can give them peace?

The truth is suicide does not give anyone peace.

Death, by whatever means, is the climax of agony.

So many people have mental problems and hear different sounds which can push them to commit suicide.

So people should be open enough to each other, they need counselling and must believe in talking.

Another expert pointed to the source of mental problems,

“Life is hard, no jobs, people are living a hard life in this current time, it can be a father failing to fend for their family, some have lost jobs, it can be a girl or boy involved in pregnancy yet the family members were looking up to them, and they will be realising they made a mistake.

“The first thing that the spirit of suicide tells them is, no one will understand you, you have sinned on earth and in heaven, this is the end of the world, with that in mind, they sink into depression, happiness disappears, feeling useless, and the spirit of hopelessness comes.

“With that spirit, and sometimes some people try to seek help but people are always busy . . . So the mind keeps coming to say, you are unforgivable, pain can also drive someone to an extent to say better to die . . .”

We need to realise and accept that depression is one of the major causes of mental illness in Zimbabwe and world over. So instead of trying to deal with mental illness, it is much better for Zimbabwe as a country to deal with the causes of mental illness as a means of curbing the illness.

The causes of depression have been cited and they all generally point in one direction.

A person whose welfare is not well taken care of is always at risk of slumping into a depression and eventually be mentally ill to the point of committing suicide.

The economic meltdown, wars and natural disasters have been cited as some of the major causes of depression in the world which could lead to permanent mental illness if not properly managed.

And because all these things exist, we must be wary of depression and always look over our shoulders to see if our friends or neighbours are not victims.

We need to be our brother’s keepers to limit the number of suicide cases in the country because depression is real.