HOW DEPRESSION IS LIKE A SCHOOL BULLY

A School Bully comes up to challenge you... you stand up against him and tell him you are strong. Depression can also occupy the space of a school bully.

First, what is school bullying?

It refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical or social power than their victim and act aggressively toward their victim by verbal or physical means. 

Just like bullying, depression is a mental illness that negatively affects how one feels, the way you think and how you act. Happily, it can be stood up to 

Being free from depression come with a lot of benefits

You get to be more effective when tasks are been assigned to you. You would be friendly with people. There would be high productivity in your workflow. 

Annually, 6.7% of the population is being affected by depressive signs. Its signs can be mild or severe. Among those that experienced high depressive symptoms, 90% have issues in their work, home, and even their social lives.

Depression can be a disadvantage just as a school bully can be to a student; This post would help you know how depression can be a drawback to your day-to-day life and how to cure and prevent it.

What is Depression?

Depression, according to Wikipedia, is a state of low mood and aversion to activity. Classified medically as a mental and behavioural disorder, the experience of depression affects a person’s thoughts, behaviour, meditation, feelings, and sense of well-being. We can identify depression as being sad. A depressed person prefers to be lonely, not showing interest in activities, having mood swings, having sleepless nights and not even having the appetite for food and fun events. We can link depression to insomnia, a common sleep disorder that can make it difficult to sleep, make you wake up early even when you sleep late.

Depression can have a significant effect on your life and act as a school bully. How?

A sleepless night (insomnia)

People going through depression have sleepless nights. Sleep and depression have a great connection. Causes of depression can make one sleep a little or not at all. You experience inadequate sleep when one is taking a long time to sleep, not feeling relief after sleep, have pain and aches when he/she wakes up, waking up at different intervals in the night. People living with depression may experience insomnia 

-Insomnia can drain your mental health, energy level, and even your performance at work

Adequate sleep can be a help in solving depression. Good sleep in the night keeps your mind at rest. Going to bed early and getting up at the same time daily helps your body to feel better. Plan your sleep time and know when you feel tired. Sleep I’m a comfortable place. A peaceful environment will to get to sleep, your bed space should be peaceful to sleep, noise, and other distracting factors should be controlled. Exercising daily can relieve stress in your body. 

Insomnia can be treated by your doctor. They will help in identifying and treating underlying causes by conducting therapies and counselling. Sleeping pills may also be used but should be monitored for side effects. Contact a medical expert for help with drugs and therapies.

Body pain and Discomfort

Just like having sleepless night body pain can act just like a school bully. When one is depressed he/she feels uncomfortable. You might feel okay and well but you get to work or school, you felt stressed and uncomfortable, this might be because of your physical position and also be a sign of depression. Psychologist believes emotional issues can cause pains, but it still been researched on how the connection between depression and the body’s inflammatory response.

Sleepless nights can cause discomfort. Our body is not logwood. Some activities can help to reduce discomfort and pain in your body. sleep adequately in a peaceful environment, do some exercise, make a friend and be close to people to avoid thinking, eat good food and drink enough water, you can see a doctor or counsellor for help.

Withdrawal from social activities

Social activities such as playing sport and games, going out, talking to people are significant activities. Depression can be a hindrance to those activities. A depressed person would prefer to be alone and it causes thinking, which is a high effect of being depressed. According to the Mental health Foundation, “People who are more socially connected to family, friends, or their community are happier, physically healthier and live longer, with fewer mental health problems than people who are less well connected”. depression can make socialising exhausting and not fun: depression causes people to feel like their family and friends don’t understand or care about them. 

Been depressed it is important to know your issues, go out with people, make new friends associate with people. If you have difficulties speaking to people and you prefer to be lonely, help speak to your doctor or counsellor about the issue 

It affects your health (Memory loss)

Depression has triggered short-term memory loss, might not affect other types of memory, like long term and procedural memory. Researchers in one 2013 study those depressed could not identify objects seen on the screen that is identical to object previously seen. The researchers suggest depression can affect critical memory loss. Depression may also slow down the creation of nerve cells. This could reduce the performance of declarative memory, which involves the loss of memory of just concluded events.

You can curb short time memory loss when you have enough sleep, exercise regularly, eat healthy food, including lots of fruits, vegetable and drink enough water, make friends with people, eliminate distractions that clutter around your house. In the aspect of eating healthy food: fish oil supplements can be good at helping one to recover his/her memories. Fish oil is rich in the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid(EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid(DHA). If you need any help, contact a therapist and your doctor for consultancy.

Getting over depression is not a one-step process, it is a step-by-step process. It can control and, with some daily activities, can be overcome.

If you think someone is at immediate risk of self-harm or hurting another person:

Call 911

or your local emergency number.

Stay with

the person until help arrives.

Remove any

guns, knives, medications, or other things that may cause harm.

Listen,

but don’t judge, argue, threaten, or yell.

If you think someone is considering suicide, get help from a crisis or suicide prevention hotline.

• Sources: Wikipedia || Healthline