And the question that immediately arises after this statement is...



Hoy have we reached this point?

The answer is that the civilization does not evolve equally in all its fields. Today we can find in our homes, things that where unbelievable only 100 years ago, but there are also great social inequities, with a level of information never reached before, and the fact that we can instantly know all the bad things that happen around the world (good news don't sell well), plus a constant publicity bombarding that tells us that there are people that live much better than we do, or that we lack of what it's necessary to be really happy...

Before these facts, some trend to migrate to other countries, to places where they will be foreigners forever, and where they will only reach (if they do it) a partial social adaptation, generally evolving among other groups of immigrants that have their same origin.

Others (in fact most of the people) will feel frustrated because they can't reach "that" that it's shown to us as so desirable and common for other people. Some will then opt to become a delinquent to get it any way, or for a frenetic fight to reach it (that many times ends up with their lives), or just will just become depressed.

So with all our technology the suffering has grown up and today's uneasiness produce a growth of the depressive situations.

Marriage has also become a victim of the changes of the era, and while for our grand fathers was an unspeakable word, and for our fathers a not so often problem, today people gets divorced not only in alarming proportions, but we can also easily find people that have gone through three of four important couple breaks.

And all this loses, although today's society doesn't condemn them, are to be assumed and processed through stress, suffering and depression.

What is the depression?

There isn't a general agreement about what the depression is. For some professionals is a reaction to a de-compensation, while others consider it a real sickness.

But there isn't an only kind of depression, because among this group we will find:

* The mourning for the lost of a dear one

* The melancholy

* The lack of hope

* The frustration

* The sadness

* The bipolar illnesses

* Some chemical organic malfunctions

* Etc.

It's obvious that we must distinguish between a chemical organic malfunction (as the lack of Lithium), from the depression produced by the lost of our job, the bipolar illnesses (where people go from depression to extreme exiting), or the sadness because we have being rejected for someone that we love.

There are some mourning processes that are not only normal but even desirable. We can't pretend to be immune before the painful life's circumstances, because the only logic thing is that they hurt us, and that we recover from them with a healthy psychic recovering process.

But the differences in the reactions come from two different causes:

First: There isn't an agreement (and it can't be) about what should produce depression and what shouldn't. Each individual has his own value scale, and what for some is an annoyance, for other is the cause of a great pain, and for a third one could be a drama.

Second: It's not the same when life strikes one that has a good relationship with his body, his family and his friends, that when it does it to someone that feels absolutely invaded by the situation, and doesn't know (or doesn't have) where to go to receive support.

How does it feel to be depressed?

Only one that has suffered it, can know what does it feel to be depressed, but in general the depression is a soul fall, a state of grief many times merged with frustration, self reproach, and a lack of will to meet people or do things.

It's a moment when people trend to close over their own selves, a moment where they build as a dark cocoon where the victim gets into, and feels that no one can help him or understand what he feels. It's a feeling that invites to stay alone in a dark room.

But all these are only generalities, only each person knows how he feels, and every person reacts as they can or as they know. Some overload themselves with activity, as a way of denying what they feel, some ask for help, and others know within themselves how to overcome that situation.

What is important is to know that being depressed is normal, that to some is more painful than to others, but it's only one of the normal reactions of the human being. It's not an incurable sickness, or something strange that only happens to us. It's only a problem, an obstacle on our way, and as such it can be overcome.

It is also important to say, that one thing is the person that goes through a mourning that takes a short time, and day by day is left behind, and other thing the person that sinks into a melancholy state where the mourning becomes eternal and begins to merge with their daily life because they are not able to recover from it..

Is the depression something serious?

Suffering is no doubt something serious, and most for the one that suffers. For that reason we mustn't think that who's depressed is pretending or doesn't' have why to be depressed or for so much time.

Each one lives his mourning as he knows or as he can, and it is not something that we choose, it's something that it's felt. Then, the first thing to consider is that no one makes a mistake with his feelings

When a person feels desolated, sad or depressed, we can agree or not if the reasons to be depressed are enough or if the time that it takes is too much, but we can't think that they are wrong, if they say that they are depressed we must believe that they are not feeling well, and see if we can help them to come out from that situation.

The depression is something that should be taken seriously, and it's something that we should tell to our doctor, because as I have said before, sometimes comes because of a lack of certain chemical products in our body, and sometimes lead to the suicide.

It should also be considered that the depression state it's something not so easy to identify oneself. The depressed person has a distorted vision of the reality. "Everything depends on the color of the glass through which you watch at", and who's depressed sees everything through a dark glass, and not always is able to be aware about what he needs to come out from there, and much less how to come out from there.