Depression

(For a dear friend and everyone who suffers from it)

Talking about depression is perhaps one of the toughest things; both for the ones suffering from it and for the people around them. It isn’t very glamorous to admit to that feeling of utter sadness and melancholia which persists. It can be like a sea of sorrow and a heavy feeling of drowning inside that sea which lingers. It lingers, and sometimes it fades to an extent, but never really disappears and relapses back again. And precisely because it is tough to talk about depression, it is necessary to talk about it.

Many factors or, sometimes, even a single reason can initiate the feelings of depression and the state of low dopamine level which accompanies it. The real struggle (and this would remain the single most important thing) is to identify the reason which first started causing it. It is important as the first thing one does is to try to make that feeling go away. It can be too tough to acknowledge depression and hiding or suppressing it might seem like a good idea. One might end up seeking anything that might alleviate it.

The usual self-destructive behaviour accompanied by a lack of any introspection might lead to some fascinating choices. Let’s start with some basic ones — Alcohol and smoking up seem like excellent candidates as they affect the release of dopamine and lift the mood, so to speak. Their effects…