Dave's ESL Cafe's Student Discussion Forums

[general_delta]

What are ur views on depression?

Are many people depressed?

What happens after depression?

[river1974]

My brother has suffered from depression for a few years, who has a university degree. In my point of view, he is not only lazy and passive but unrealistic. The doctor told us that it is normal for melanchonia patient to behave like that and he needs support from family, so we have to be patient with him. He hasn't had a stable job since graduation and this situation seems to remain the same. The funny part is that he is hard to get along with when he's under good condition, while he is friendly to families when his depression breaks out. I think one should be careful about what he says when being with melanchonia patients, because they are usually more sensitive than others. Therefore, I always try to avoid talking about some sensitive subjects (such as career, savings and so on) in front of him so as not to irritate his self-respect. How can I do? He is always my brother!

[liebe]

Actually, I'm just writing a paper about depression for my English class in college, so I've done some research on the topic. About 1 out of every 10 Americans suffers from depression in each given year. Women are twice as likely as men to suffer from it. Anyone interested in the facts on depression? Neither the cause nor the exact cure for depression is known, but there are some factors that might increase your chance of becoming depressed, such as family history, pessimistic personality, traumatic experiences and etc. It is known that chemical imbalance occurs in the brain, so brain cells (neurons) cannot communicate properly; some say this imbalance is due to depression, some say it is its cause (it's like the egg-chicken question, basically). Depression is usually dealt with by therapy, antidepressant medications, or a combination of the two; some people use herbs to treat it, but their effectiveness is not clear yet.

I sympathize with you, river1974. The only thing you can do to help your brother right now is just be there for him, don't get angry at him, try to understand him, and make sure he knows you care. You might want to search for good psychiatrists in your area, but I don't know if you have the money/option to do so.

What happens after depression? The depressed people move on with their lives, start to enjoy them more, but there is no guarantee that they will not become depressed again in the future.

[river1974]

Liebe, thanks for your advice about how to get along with my brother. I think you are right. My bother's condition is always unstable. When his condition gets worse, he might probably grumble many things in front of me and sometimes cry like a baby. But when his condition gets better, he acts just like a normal person. In Taiwan, going to the psychiatrist is rather cheap due to the general health insurance implemented here. Talking about the therapy for depressed patient, I think it will be ineffective if the patient do not well cooperate with the doctor and follow the doctor's instructions. Like my brother, he doesn't take antidepressant medications regularly. It seems like he wants to recover from depression by his willpower, but I really don't thnk this method would work. Anyway, I just wish that he could live his life as normal as possible.