Depression is often dismissed as being “in the head”. Often cast away as a notion that people tend to “think” it all up, depression is seldom given the attention it deserves when this happens. It is definitely true that emotional symptoms are associated with depression, but that is not all. There are several physical manifestations of depression, such as fatigue, insomnia, appetite changes, body pain, muscle aches and chest pains.
While there are several factors that do contribute to depression, some of these are extrinsic to the individual. Physiological factors can bring about depression, or augment the feelings of depression that may already exist. One of the common kinds are hormonal change-driven depression, such as post natal depression, low thyroid or hypothyroidism related depression and even low cortisol driven depression. These induced forms of depression can be detected medically and altered with appropriate medication. Besides endocrinal disorders, there are also conditions like diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, Alzheimer’s syndrome, Huntingdon’s syndrome, Multiple Sclerosis, head injuries and Cushing’s syndrome that cause depression. Sometimes, it is also possible that depression may stem from a state of treatment-driven issues, as in the case of patients undergoing chemotherapy.
On the other end of the spectrum, there is even depression that is induced by trauma. In all these situations, there are scores of factors that goad one to feel low and depressed, and in a state of disinterest for things they were earlier passionate about. To assert that it is all in the head is to cast doubt on a person’s choice. No one wants to be depressed. No one derives happiness out of depression. No one has anything to gain from being depressed. To this end, to claim that it is all in the head is unfounded and discourages an individual from seeking help.
By telling a person that it is all in the head, or that a person is imagining it, or that they have to snap out of “thinking it all up”, the person with depression is being given a message that they and their condition don’t count. It pushes them away from reaching out to seek help in the way that they ideally should, so that their troubles are tended to appropriately.
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