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Depression can't be treated by doing yoga or going for a walk! The recent Ministry of Health poster on depression includes many myths about depression that a lot of us believe.
Depression can’t be treated by doing yoga or going for a walk! The recent Ministry of Health poster on depression includes many myths about depression that a lot of us believe.
It was on 25 June 2018 while I was scrolling through my Twitter news feed that a particular tweet caught my eye. It was tweeted by the Ministry of Health and claimed that there are ten possible ways to combat depression. Surprisingly, there was no mention of either a psychiatrist or a professional counselor on that post. The post angered me to such an extent that I decided to pen down this essay. It shows the ignorance of the Ministry (and most people) on how fatal depression can be, that they can suggest ten ways to a patient on how to cope with it without considering any professional intervention.
Before I go into details, here are the ten things that our ministry has advised people of depression to follow so that they can be completely cured of this malady: Follow a routine, Travel, Be creative, Take multi-vitamins, Think positive, Practice Yoga, Stay clean, Sleep for minimum 8 hours, Eat fruits and Go for walks. In one word, I would sum it up as “RIDICULOUS”.
#Depression is a state of low mood that affects a person’s thought, behaviour, feeling & sense of well-being. One must take up activities that keep him or her boosted in order to cope with depression. #SwasthaBharat #MentalHealth #LetsTalk pic.twitter.com/UJR3X7GwL2
— Ministry of Health (@MoHFW_INDIA) 26 June 2018
Depression, the term itself, indicates the feeling of sadness, grief, lack of interest in daily chores. We do have our share of blues but when the problem persists just know the truth – it is depression and the person needs help; it is not the same as occasional blues or feeling low.
Medical news today provides us with World Health Organization statistics, revealing the grim truth that depression is a major illness worldwide and is one of the main reasons for disability. 350 million people globally, suffer from this ailment. Depression is not a mere irregularity like flu but can bring long term side effects if left untreated. The saddest part is that women are more prone to depression than men.
I would like to highlight certain signs and symptoms of depression to counter the facts suggested by our ministry as a coping mechanism.
Other symptoms which will in no way be addressed by these ten guidelines are feelings of guilt and suicidal thoughts and attempts of suicide.
I guess I have provided enough facts to counter the utterly foolish statement released by the ministry.
As I said earlier, women are more prone to depression then men; I would also like to state certain facts on depression in women before closing this essay. Says the NCBI that women experience specific forms of depression-related illnesses, “including premenstrual dysphoric disorder, postpartum depression and postmenopausal depression and anxiety that are associated with changes in ovarian hormones and could contribute to the increased prevalence in women…The fact that increased prevalence of depression correlates with hormonal changes in women, particularly during puberty, prior to menstruation, following pregnancy and at perimenopause, suggests that female hormonal fluctuations may be a trigger for depression…Nevertheless, primate and rodent studies consistently implicate a role for female hormones, such as estrogen, in depression.”
There had been a severe outcry on such an inane tweet where depression has been totally misinterpreted. Clinical Depression is a mental ailment with potentially grave consequences which needs immediate medical help. The government should take initiatives where the victim can spell out his/her problem rather than pushing it under the carpet. Dear Government Mandarins, you need a lasting reminder: When you advocate/preach something on depression do not forget that it is not just about feeling low, but it is a “real illness” and one which needs support in the form of medication, psychiatrist help and a counselor.
Rimli Bhattacharya is a First class gold medalist in Mechanical Engineering from National Institute of Technology, an MBA in supply chain management and is engaged with a corporate sector. Her essay in the anthology “Book read more...
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UP Boards Topper Prachi Nigam was trolled on social media for her facial hair; our obsession with appearance is harsh on young minds.
Prachi Nigam’s photo has been doing the rounds on social media for the right reasons. Well, scratch that- I wish the above statement were true. This 15-year-old girl should ideally be revelling in her spectacular achievement of scoring a whopping 98.05% and topping her tenth-grade boards. But oddly enough, along with her marks, it’s something else that garners more attention – her facial hair.
While the trolls are driving themselves giddy by mocking this girl who hasn’t even completed her school yet, the ones who are taking her side are going one step ahead – they are sharing her photoshopped pictures, sans the facial hair, looking nothing less than a celebrity with captions saying – “Prachi Nigam, ten years later”.
Doctors have already diagnosed her with PCOD in their comments, based on photographic evidence. While we have names for people shamed for their weight – body shaming, for their skin colour- racism, for their age- age shaming, for being a female- sexism, this category of shaming where one faces criticism for their appearance has no name. With that, it also has zero shame attached to it.
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