He explained how difficult it is to live with depression, since his low spirits are often inexplicable to him. In fact, she said that such a situation can trigger misunderstandings.
What is and what is depression?
The Depression It is a silent disease that little by little is affecting our daily lives, increasingly becoming a mental health problem that must be treated by a specialist.
According to figures from the specialized web portal ‘Consultorsalud’, more than 300 million people in the world suffer or have suffered from depression and 800,000 of these cases end in suicide each year.
According to psychiatrist Laura Villamil “Before we believed that depression was a purely mental illness and that it did not cause death, unless the patient committed suicide, Nowadays we know that depression is a biological and systemic disease that has a great psychosocial repercussion.. It has anatomical, physiological and endocrine bases”, stated the expert.
This condition, in addition to affecting our behavior, also It can impair physical condition, causing cardiorespiratory arrest and the immune system.
There are two types of depression, recurrent depressive disorder and bipolar affective disorder. The first refers to repetitive episodes, which are manifested by a significant loss of interest in enjoying and happily interacting with other people in the environment. Tiredness, lack of sleep and appetite may also occur, symptoms that last for at least a week.
The second type corresponds to intermittent manic episodes, through which the patient can feel irritability, anger, hyperactivity, and sleep deficiency.
Villamil expressed that the stigma towards mental health is very strong and that it is not easy to break, but it can be done through assertive teaching and showing others the importance of expressing their emotions.
“It is necessary to validate them not only when they want to feel happy, but also when they feel sad. It is normal to feel sad or anxious. We shouldn’t always pretend to be happy,” he stated.
The specialist highlighted the relevance of social networks and the media in education to avoid stigma in the face of mental illness, since they are a great channel of information for people about responsibility for their emotions and how to manage them without giving them less. importance.