(1) LOW SELF-ESTEEM
Low self-esteem makes us feel bad about ourselves. However, over time it also can cause the development of severe mental conditions. People with low self-esteem try not to disprove but to verify their negative self-concept by seeking negative feedback from the people around them. They think about their inadequacies, focus on the negative feedback they receive from others, ponder on that feedback, and as a result become more depressed. Their negative mood also leads them to be seen more negatively by others, which leads them to feel hurt and rejected.
(2) FINANCIAL LOSS/UNEMPLOYMENT
Dealing with retrenchment or an unexpected loss of income can be challenging for many people, causing significant financial and emotional hardship. These events can take a severe toll on people’s health and well-being, their relationships, their families and how they see their future.
Job loss and the resulting financial strain can lead to depression and loss of personal control. However, even after a person gets another job,
it is not merely the loss of employment that keeps individuals in a prolonged state of depression or poor health, but rather the negative events that follow that financial loss.
(3) MARITAL DISPUTE
Problems in getting along as a married couple can play a significant role in the development of Depression. Husbands and wives in marriages with a lot of tension, disagreement or arguments are more likely to experience depression than people who are unmarried or in joint marriages. That is a lot!When people try to cope with marital problems by drinking to relax, distancing and avoiding each other, or by voicing their anger to “get it off their chest,” depression is more likely to set in.
CASE SCENARIO
When couples learn to engage together in effective joint problem-solving when they have differences instead of getting into arguments, depressive reactions disappear.
Shade and Jide, an attractive, bright, and likable couple, found that their marriage had become a source of ever-increasing unhappiness. After one especially upsetting evening, Shadecalled a marriage counselor to schedule an information session. “Maybe I should divorce him!” she told the marriage counselor. “I am fed up. I am not in love anymore. This man has changed…I do not know him anymore!”
How did Shade and Jide’s marriage, that started with high hopes,collapse? Shade and Jide seemed to be a perfectly matched pair. What had gone wrong?
Like all couples, Shade and Jide from time to time had faced difficult situations. Unfortunately, however, when they had tried to talk over these difficulties, their talking increased their suffering. One would bark,and the other would harass. Shade would explode, and Jide would back off, “I give up—Do it your way.” The price Jide paid for his attempt to end the fighting is Depression.
Unable to resolve their differences in a way that left them both feeling disatisfied, Shade and Jide talked less and less. Tension replaced affection, they turned away from each other, chose separate paths, and grew apart.
Fortunately, Shade decided to get help via a marriage counselor. Jide agreed to join her. Both genuinely wanted to find a solution to their marriage relationship skill deficits in hopes that they could talk through the hostile issues that had mounted over the years.\
Their hope was fulfilled. They studied, and as they gained better communication and conflict resolution skills, Shade and Jide regained their positive connection. Laughter and affection returned to their home. With the anger and depression gone from their household, a rekindled sexual relationship brought them pleasure and closeness.
Instead of evenings in separate rooms, now after dinner, they sat together on their parlor (Livingroom), sharing the day’s events.
Shade and Jide were happy to discover that all they had really needed was a how-to course. At the same time, Shade lamented, “All those years when I thought the problem was you, and you believed that the problem was me, the problem was really skill deficits. I just wish someone had given us this inforÂmation thirty years ago!”
“Better yet,” Jide added, “Why didn’t anyone teach us these tools in high school or college so by the time we met we would have known how to succeed as a couple?”
DEPRESSION AND SUICIDE RISK
Depression is a major risk factor for Suicide. The deep despair and hopelessness that goes along with depression can make suicide feel like the only way to escape the pain. The act of suicide is often a desperate attempt to control the symptoms of depression. During a severe depression, a person has little or no control over painful and disturbing thoughts and feelings. These are symptoms of the illness, not a part of a person’s true self.
DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS VARY IN MEN AND WOMEN
Depressed men are less likely to acknowledge feelings of self-loathing and hopelessness. Instead, they tend to complain about fatigue, irritability, sleep problems, and loss of interest in work and hobbies. They are also more likely to experience symptoms such as anger, aggression, reckless behavior, and substance abuse.
Women are nearly twice as likely as men to be diagnosed with depression. Depression can occur at any age.Some mood changes and depressed feelings occur with regular hormonal changes. However, hormonal changes alone do not cause depression. Other biological factors, inherited traits, and personal life circumstances and experiences are associated with a higher risk of depression.
The higher rate of depression in women is not due to biology alone. Life circumstances and cultural stressors can play a role, too. Although these stressors also occur in men, it is usually at a lower rate. Women are much more likely to live in poverty than men, causing concerns such as uncertainty about the future and less access to community and healthcare resources. Some women face added stress from racial discrimination. These issues can cause feelings of negativity, low self-esteem and lack of control over life.
HOW TO MANAGE DEPRESSION
(1) REACH OUT TO OTHER PEOPLE
Isolation fuels depression, so reach out to friends and loved ones, even if you feel like being alone or do not want to be a burden to others. The simple act of talking to someone face-to-face about how you feel can be a big help. The person you talk to does not have to be able to fix you. He or she just needs to be a good listener—someone who will listen attentively without being distracted or judging you.
(2) GET MOVING
When you are depressed, just getting out of bed can seemdiscouraging, let alone exercising. However, regular exercise can be as effective as antidepressant medication in countering the symptoms of depression. Take a short walk or put some music on and dance around. Start with small activities and build up from there.
(3) EAT A MOOD-BOOSTING DIET
Reduce the intake of foods that can negatively affect your moods, such as caffeine, alcohol, trans fats, sugar and refined carbs. Also, increase mood-enhancing nutrients such as Omega-3 fatty acids like Salmon fish, Mackerel fish, Banana, chicken breast, Broccoli, and Spinach.
WHEN TO SEEK PROFESSIONAL HELP
If support from family and friends and positive lifestyle changes are not enough, it may be time to seek help from a mental health professional. There are many useful treatments for depression such as seeing a therapist. It is essential to consult a therapist who can provide tools to treat depression from a variety of angles and motivate you to take action where necessary. Therapy can also offer the skills and insight to prevent depression from coming back.
MEDICATION
Medication may be crucialif you are feeling suicidal or violent. However, while it can help relieve symptoms of depression in some people, it is not a cure and is not usually a long-term solution. It also comes with side effects and other draw backs, so it is essential to learn all the facts to make an informed decision.
Overall, it is crucial for the government to try and eradicate symptoms of depression in students at an early age because they are the future. It is highly essential for the government to invest in the educational system at all level. In doing this,it will ensure that students receive that best quality education possible which will enrich their mind and mental state of well-being. Furthermore, the government must equip the schools with standardized research tools for the science students to carry out their experiment which will provide them with hands-on experience, upgrade the free education schools and universities, equipped them with computers, projector system, internet and up-to-date library.
In doing this, it will create a competition between the private and the public school whereby many parents will prefer to send their child or children to the public school and knowing that they will receive the best education in the public school. Moreover, it will also reduce the fear and the anxiety of the high school fees for their child or children. Physical elements in the school environment have a positive effect on learners which include concentration, mood, well-being and attendance (Higgins et al., 2005, p. 36).
Also, it will lessen the parents worry about the excessive payment of private school fees. Imagine a parent with two or more children in a private primary school who pays between 100,000 thousand Naira to 150,000 Naira per term. It will be tough for the parent to educate those children thoroughly. A situation like this will result in poor parenting, causing many children to be uneducated and hawkers at a tender age. In this instance, a child is already experiencing depression because he or she was unable to go to school putting shame on the family. Slowly, the family becomes broken and eventually breakdown due to the failure of the educational system.
In the early 70s, there was free education, and the schools were well equipped. Many of us went to school during this era. We had books and equipment to use in the school, and many of us were opportuned to travel to abroad and gain more knowledge, then come back to Nigeria to use that knowledge to better our country. Nigeria produced the best-educated student in the world at the time.
We must be reminded that those Nigerian diaspora doctors, nurses, social workers, and scientistsfall into the 70s era category because the government invested in them and their future. However, due to the depressive situation in Nigeria, we lost so many well-educated people to the western world, and as such, they are benefiting from our citizens who feel that Nigeria has deteriorated to the downward spiral.Although depression might seem overwhelming, there is an effective treatment. Even severe depression often can be successfully treated.
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