MissMeiya:

Not true. I can tell you have no experience with depression.

Onegai:

I know so many people like you! Most times, however, this advice rarely ends well. One depressed case committed suicide at 70 and his wife kept declaring it was "juju from the village". The other case attempted suicide (whilst her family was busy carrying her from church to church), luckily she was taken abroad and her aunt (a very educated woman who doesn't believe in superstitious crap) took her to the hospital. She's doing great now.

Depression can be cured. And no, it is NOT about inner strength. Please stop passing misinformation.

bieagole: There is another type of depression. We call it postnatal (or postpartum) depression: it affects woman after baby birth. But i know in africa, everythin is witchcraft.

See on this link:
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Postnataldepression/Pages/Introduction.aspx

Excelboi: I used Flouxetine (prozac) 20mg per day. I will strongly advise you to seek an expert, doctor preferably to direct you and there are many anti-depressants drugs you can use, you just have to find the one which work best for you. Please be very careful with this prozac as it has many side effects (even though I'm yet to see any, only increase appetite) and it can increase the risk of suicide if misused.
Other side effects include:
Low libido
Headache
Numbness
Dizziness
Loss or increase in appetite etc
It will take about 2 weeks before you start noticing the changes, as it will balance your serontin level (a chemical involved In mood balancing). Goodluck

DollyParton1:
People tend to confuse depressive mood with clinical depression.
Depressed mood may be a normal reaction to life events, or a symptom of certain medical conditions or a side effect some drugs or medical treatments. AND it is also a primary or associated feature of clinical depression.
Once the underlying cause is treated or addressed, the depressive moods goes normally.

benELOHIM7: nobody was there for me, nobody has been there for me. my parents r not much learned, my siblings dont knw i struggle to live....even if i disclose my situation they still wont understand. i resorted to religion but it seems the standard is just too high for me. i know i have a bright future but a voice keeps telling me i dont fit in in that future. i grew up a sanguine but now am worse than a melancholic. atimes i feel the best favour anyone could do me is help me press delete. i don tire

justi4jesu:

No one noticed

bluelover: I advise you please read the post!! Stop spreading your ignorance around!

eleojo23: In order not to further lengthen the original post, I did not go into full details on the signs and symptoms of depression. There are good online articles on the subject that you can read.

But for the sake of this thread, let me share a little on the subject.

The Federal Government Source for Women's Health Information defines "depression as an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts. It affects the way you eat and sleep, the way you feel about yourself, and the way you think about things." It's more than "feeling blue" or "trying to pull yourself together" and you can't wish it away.
There is no single cause of depression. It runs in some families but people with no family history also become depressed. Other causes include stressful life changes, like divorce, losing a job, the loss of a loved one, or a serious illness.

What are some of the symptoms?
-Always feeling sad or empty
-Lack of interest in favorite activities
-Feeling irritable
-Crying a lot
-Feeling guilty, worthless, or hopeless
-Sleeping too much or not at all
-Eating too much or not at all
-Problems making decisions or
concentrating
-Thoughts of suicide and death
-Drinking and using drugs

If you're feeling any of these symptoms for more than 2 weeks, you should get professional help.

mecussey:

Are you indirectly saying that Mynd44 is also suffering from depression?

CoCoLav: The thing about depression is nobody knows you are going through it unless you tell them. Had it for like a year before I got over it and even now when I feel myself slipping back I just talk to God. Sometimes all we need is support and for someone to be there. When it got too much at a point and I went for counselling, I wasn't comfortable with the way the doctor was taking it. She kept asking questions on if I had just broken up with my boyfriend so I just played along and left after enough moral advice.

Jemimahsummers: You are so right. Sometimes I don't understand our doctors. A lot of illnesses and disorders exist. But it's almost like there's a set of illnesses that one as a nigerian is supposed to suffer from. So most times, people end up returning for treatments frequently or going from one doctor to the other because treatment isn't working. Misdiagnosis is something I think nigerians face a lot today. I had a problem with depression too a few years back and it got so serious I decided to see a doctor. I was in my early teens then, and contemplated suicide too many times to count. After about thirty minutes, the doctor gave me his diagnosis: Obsessive/Compulsive disorder. I still think about it today and wonder what I said to give him that impression. I never agreed with the diagnosis and never went back. I can manage the occasional black periods myself now. And I don't think just one session is enough to diagnose any disorder accurately.

softsparkyy: Nice topic @op

Depression is very deadly. it can affect someone's mood,thoughts,feelings and total sense of well being.I have been there once and thank God I am ok now. And to make matters worse nobody seems to have an idea of what you are going through. They will just tell you to drink panadol and sleep well
It can make one feel sad, worthless, forgetful, alone, guilty, hurt and restless.
You end up losing intrest in things that used to make you happy. And the last resort is contemplating or committing sucide.

eleojo23: This is a true life story about what happened to my friend. Yes, the events in this story happened right before my eyes.

Gabriel and I have been friends since primary school. We went to school together everyday while in secondary school. Gabriel was much better than me in terms of grades because his average scores were always higher than mine. He is naturally quiet but when we are together, he does most of the talking. He is someone who always comes up with unique ideas and views on how things should be done. He is a very confident person who can convince people to do things.

At some point in secondary school, he began having recurrent typhoid and malaria such that he treated it more than thrice a year. He missed school because of it sometimes. It became a regular thing for him to always treat malaria once in a while.
But things took a turn for the worst when he started to feel unsure of himself. There was a time he told me while we were reading together
''I don't even know what/who I am anymore''
Being naive then, I just brushed it off as one of his 'tantrums' because he could get really angry at things and blurt out words sometimes.

But his condition deteriorated. He began to have difficulty concentrating on his studies, lost interest in singing his usual songs (he has a good voice), he started skipping meals, slept little and became generally gloomy. As I would find out later, he even thought much about suicide (nobody including me knew about it)
'How could Gab possibly be thinking of suicide?'
That would have been our reaction then if he had ever told us about it.

A few years past and we were already in the university. The symptoms I stated above came back. He began to have a hard time in the university and he was already contemplating quitting school entirely.

At one time, he came down with his usual malaria and typhoid and went to the hospital. Usually when he goes to the hospital, the doctors would already conclude that he was having his usual bouts of the Plasmodium and Salmonella infection. But this time, the doctor who examined him decided to probe further and ask him some few questions. He sensed that he had a more serious problem than just malaria. The doctor called his mum and told her
'This boy looks depressed'
When I heard it, I could not bring myself to agree with the empirical diagnosis.
I said to myself 'No way, Gabriel doesn't have depression. He's just having recurrent malaria. Maybe the doctor mistook his quiet nature for depression'
But I was going to be proved wrong a month later. I guess his parents hesitated a bit before deciding to let him see the doctor again. And so after his visit to the doctor, he came back and told me the diagnosis -depression.

I asked myself 'how?!' I was shocked. I had never come across anyone who had it and if anyone should have it, why did it have to be Gabriel?
It was then it dawned on me that there are a lot of persons who may appear fine on the outside but on the inside, they are suffering from depression. And that explains the downward turn of things in the life of some of them.

My friend was placed on medication and I saw the old Gabriel come alive again.

Just like most Nigerians, I was caught up in the error of thinking that we can't have people who suffer depression.
There are many causes of depression. In the case of my friend it wasn't suffering (harsh conditions of life) or the loss of a loved one.
It was due to a chemical imbalance in his brain and maybe stress if I may say. The pathology of depression is rather complex and a lot of factors come into play. One thing however that should be clear to all is that depression is not madness as some people regard it.

While my friend was struggling with it, I could not tell anyone that he had depression.
There are many persons who are suffering from depression but cannot admit it because people around (family and friends) would not understand it and probably make them feel even worse. They tell them
'Just get over whatever it is that is disturbing you!'
There is a huge stigma attached to being depressed and it is not recognised as a valid condition that someone can suffer from. Even when it is acknowledged, it is regarded as one of those things that only 'oyinbo' people suffer. People around here are quick to demonize everything that is out of the ordinary. There are persons who become alcoholics because of depression and their lives take a turn for the worst but rather than seek for the real cause of the problem, people attribute it to witchcraft influence. What has alcoholism got to do with witchcraft? I am a christian and I know how spiritual everything is- but there is surely a place for psychology, medicine and psychiatry. Not every thing is the devil's doing. There are challenges that are not induced by the devil.
We have to accept the reality that Nigerians also suffer depression and those affected should not be left to suffer alone. We must try to help them when we come across them.

If you know anyone affected, recommend the person for professional help so that his condition can be properly handled.

Extend a helping and supporting hand to the depressed today and the very first thing they need from you is your understanding

Got a story to share? Feel free.

Katier00: where and how can we seek help

glitest:




Depression does not pertain to just a certain race.....Alot of people(Nigerian's), do suffer from depression, but are afraid to open up to their loved one's about it, out of fear of been viewed as either weak or crazy.

Jemimahsummers: 'forgetful' and 'restless' is on point. I remember even losing my sense of self and awareness of my surroundings frequently. It's a serious thing. I got lucky a few times. How many of you have had phases? Like you get a reprieve for a while and generally feel on cloud nine right before it hits again? I wondered for a while if it had something to do with being a developing teen.

Excelboi: Depression is real and I have suffered from it twice. I just got over the second episode about a week ago. I'm currently on medication and everything is totally normal now. If you are feeling depressed, you need to see a psychiatrist and you maybe put on meds. Pity and hope doesn't work with depression, sometimes you can't fight it alone, you have to seek a professional help.
If you sense that you don't like doing what you like doing before, getting sad over a particular incident for a long period of time, sleeping too little or sleeping a lot, crying without helping it, then there is a possibility you are suffering from depression. The illness doesn't look face, it can affect infant, adolescent and adults and no matter how rich you are, it can attack you. An example is a case of an American celebrity who died some few weeks back. Depression led him to suicide. So try not to get shy and seek for help. And most importantly, it's not everyone you should tell that you have depression. They may make it worse.
Some people get over it through therapy, while some others are put on prozac (one of the best drug for fighting depression, though very powerful) and cognitive therapy to fight it. Sometimes exercise help. If you need advise and help on how to combat it, you can speak up here or contact your nearest psychiatrist.

Kanwulia:

Hello sir! How are you doing?

LushGreenz:

I'm very well,thanks ma'am.
#looks left and right on this Nairaland corridor, and whispers# : Can I get acquainted with you, Kanwulia.