A susceptible illness for all ages

t’s unfortunate to learn that 15 per cent of people in the UAE are affected by mild depression, according to a Gulf News report published last week (‘Depression affects 4-5% of UAE’s population: Mental health expert’, Gulf News, April 29). According to the report, it is estimated that more than 300 million people are affected by depression worldwide. It’s a mood disorder which causes persistent feeling of sadness or lack of interest and it affects people of all age groups. Feeling low at times is not depression, but if this continues for weeks together then it means the person is heading for serious trouble.

Untreated depression drives people to commit suicide. It’s always better to treat the problem and rectify it in the initial stages. A lot of care and support is required from loved ones. They should be treated with care and patience. Once they are cured, the next hurdle they face is acceptance in society. The social stigma associated with people treated for psychological problems still prevails in some parts of the world.

Those who undergo or have undergone treatment for any sort of mental ailment are often ostracised or they refuse to be brought back to the mainstream for fear of a recurrence. This is one reason why I think many families fear seeking medical advice for people with depression. An idle mind is a devil’s workshop.

Every time you begin to feel low, it’s always best to divert your mind to pleasant thoughts, listen to songs or some good talk by eminent personalities. We should have control over our minds.

Organising get-togethers with family and friends should also help. If we can control our own thoughts and emotions, we would never fall into this dark pit called depression. Gulf News is not liable for any of the reader-delivered content on this page. It is a reflection of their individual opinion and not that of the newspaper. This page will always follow the principle of civil discourse.