— battling depression can be an uphill task

DEPRESSION is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects the way a person feels, thinks and acts.
According to the American Psychiatric Association, symptoms of depression include feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, despair, sadness, social withdrawal, suicidal thoughts, anxiety, and insomnia, among others.

Some of these have been experienced by Tina (not real name) 18, who recently finished high and is currently a student at the University of Guyana.
She opens up to Guyana Chronicle but requested anonymity.
The young lady related that for the past five years, life has been devastating for her, having to deal with her “inner demons”.

Her worries started when she was 13; the pressures of high school took a toll on her and even got worst after her parents saw her speaking with a male classmate.
The young lady told this publication that she was abused and called the most derogatory names. And being poor, she would also at times be subjected to bulling by her peers.
“I didn’t want to go to school anymore, I did not want to be at home and did not have real friends, and I saw no purpose to live. I had no motivation to anything,” said the young student who turned to alcohol and attempted suicide.

I just wanted a way out of my problems and feel good about myself, I felt worthless and disgraceful to my parents,” Tina said as she still battles to take control of herself.
Her story is not uncommon, and in fact, more than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression which makes it a very common mental health disorder which at its worst can lead to suicide, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
Suicide is among the leading cause of death in Guyana.

According to Dr. Mayda Grajales, a psychiatrist stationed in Berbice, Black Bush Polder and Port Mourant are two areas most affected by suicide in East Berbice, Corentyne and depression is a common cause.
She said the symptoms varies and in most cases, families and friends have no idea that their loved ones are depressed since in the presence of others, teenagers do not often display sad faces or have obvious tell-tale signs until its usually too late.

MUCH TOUGHER
She noted that teens face a much tougher time than adults in coping with depression which is why many often attempt to commit suicide.
“Most of the times teenagers have a restless behaviour or they isolate themselves from their peers; it is very difficult for teenagers to open up about it ,as oppose to elderly people in the late years, in most cases the signs in older people manifest themselves.”

The good news though is if people are aware that they are suffering from a mental illness, such as depression, they can receive treatment, said Dr. Mayda.

One of those lucky persons is Mohabir Persaud, now a philanthropist. As he sat down with this publication and recalled the dreadful memories, he broke down as the wounds were re-opened. He is of different sexual orientation and growing up was no easy experience, having to deal with the traditional forces of society. Despite embracing who he is, society shunned him, his family disowned him and he was looked upon with scorn and rejected at every corner.

According to Persaud, his break in life came after he migrated to the US and got professional help, but it was not an easy recovery since he was diagnosed with Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
He is urging persons who are going through trying circumstances to speak up since this is the only way they can get help.

STIGMA
Depression and other mental health issues, especially in Berbice, are still viewed as a stigma.
According to Dr. Mayda, from the moment someone is referred to a psychiatrist, people automatically start to think the person is “crazy” because they visit the “mad people doctors”.
Because of this stigma, WHO reports that seven out of 10 people in the Americas do not get the treatment needed.

This, according to the WHO, which calculated treatment costs and health outcomes in 36 low-, middle- and high-income countries for 15 years, low levels of recognition and access to care for depression and another common mental disorder, anxiety, result in a  global economic loss of a trillion US dollars every year.

The study showed that losses are incurred by households, employers and governments.
Households lose out financially when people cannot work.  Employers suffer when employees become less productive and are unable to work.

The Mental Health Unit of the New Amsterdam Hospital has been working closely with patients and social workers attached to the hospitals are being trained to detect symptoms, since it was recognised that many person would not directly want to consult a psychiatrist.
Because of education, Dr. Mayda said more and more people recognise depression and other mental health issues as a medical condition and not teenagers simply acting out.

LOOK FOR THE SIGNS
To this end, she is calling on everyone to play their roles to help those in need get treatment, especially parents.
“Look at your children, see the signs, the changes, if you see they withdraw suddenly from family and friends it means they are suffering silently, they feel it’s a way of finding relief from anxiety and the pain that they are going through, eating habits change. Today I feel family is little fragile, parents are into their work making the money, technology has taken over, everyone is occupied with their gadgets forgetting about the outside world, sometimes children want to talk to their parents and vice versa but they can’t because of their obsession with their phones and social media. I encourage you parents put it away, focus on your children – find the time to sit down and pay attention, show you care and listen, it’s the only way to we can bring together the family because we cannot expect the teacher or neighbour to recognise the problems of your kids”.

Jevaughn Stephens, director of Regional Health Services, Region Six, said his office will continue to raise awareness on every level about depression.
“Only recently a Mental Health Unit was launched dealing with depression, suicide, self-harm and abuse because we do believe and understand this is getting out of hand and everyone needs to get involve, not only persons in health, we need the churches, schools, community leaders.”

The unit, he said will be working closely with the Department of Education, non-governmental organisations, civil society and health-care providers to raise awareness of depression and how to deal with it throughout Berbice.