A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
A Brief Colonial History Of Ceylon(SriLanka)
Sri Lanka: One Island Two Nations
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Thiranjala Weerasinghe sj.- One Island Two Nations
?????????????????????????????????????????????????Monday, May 8, 2017
Deconstructing Depression
By Annahl Anbini Hoole –May 4, 2017
Sadness is a normal emotion we all feel reacting to difficult events in
our lives. Sadness usually passes with time. Clinical depression,
however, is a mood disorder. It is harder to deal with and can interfere
with your everyday life. An often taboo subject in our country, it was
recently brought into the limelight at WHO Sri Lanka’s and the Ministry
of Health, Nutrition, & Indigenous Medicine’s Depression: Let’s Talk – an
advocacy campaign commemorating World Health Day 2017. Depression is an
illness, stigmatized by fear and ignorance; our cultural stoicism
encourages us to either hide these symptoms or socially exclude those
who cannot. Understanding depression is important to finding its cure.
WHO
says 300 million worldwide suffer from depression with over 800,000
from Sri Lanka – compared to 400,000 in 2006. Although 1 in 8 Sri
Lankans suffers from a mental illness, only 40% receive treatment. In
2014 WHO reported Sri Lanka as having the 4thhighest suicide rate among 172 countries.
Like
many Sri Lankans, Americans, and millennials, I grew up thinking
“depression” was a fancy term for ingratitude or self-pity. The stigma
surrounding mental health disorders leads people to hide their symptoms
and refuse treatment. Mental wellness is not only important to each
individual but to the whole country. Depression is associated with lower
workplace productivity, increased mortality from suicide and other
illnesses, and a higher risk for other mental disorders and substance
abuse.
Presentation:
Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is defined as experiencing 5 or more of these symptoms continuously for at least 2 weeks:
- Feeling sad or anxious or hopeless;
- Sleep changes –sleeping too much or too little;
- Losing interest or pleasure in hobbies/daily activities ;
- Change in activity –more or less active than usual;
- Feeling guilty or worthless;
- Decreased energy or fatigue;
- Trouble concentrating or remembering, inability to complete activities;
- Appetite or weight changes;
- Thoughts of death or suicide.
If
you are experiencing any of the symptoms above, please visit your
doctor – diagnosis is best made by a mental health professional.
Symptoms may present differently in different people. In women more
typical symptoms might be sadness-anxiety with decreased energy; whereas
men are more likely to be easily irritable, have difficulty
concentrating, and more likely to turn to alcohol/cigarettes/drugs.
Females are affected more than males. Elders are less likely to complain
of being sad but more likely to feel worthless and complain of body
aches/pains. Depression is common in older people, who are at higher
risk for suicide. It is most common among25-44 year-olds; incidence
decreases with age.
There
are different types of depression: MDD, dysthymia (symptoms of
depression that last 2 years with episodes of major depression and
periods in-between of less severity), perinatal/post-partum-depression
(depression associated with child-birth), etc..
Post-partum
(meaning after-childbirth) depression affects 1-in-6 women. Along with
symptoms above, you may experience feeling overwhelmed/unprepared,
inability to bond with your baby, guilt, or feeling
irritated/angry/resentful towards your baby or others.
Causes:
Depression
is caused by chemical imbalance, but also a combination of genetic,
biological, psychological, and environmental factors. Physical/emotional
abuse, certain medications, death of a loved one, family history of
depression, major life changes/stress (e.g. divorce, moving, losing a
job), social isolation, medical conditions, seasonal changes, or
substance abuse. Chronic conditions like heart disease, obesity, AIDs,
dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and cancer contribute.