Archive for the ‘Depression’ Category
Introduction to Depression and Its Treatment
It is one of the most upcoming troubles in the present world. We can refer this as ‘common cold’ of the mental disorders. This shows how common it is in mental disease. one can say that the depression is nothing but a set of feelings, which follows the perfect pattern of the event right from the desired happenings to the idea or project getting flopped. Depression is most common psychiatric problem nowadays. Depression can occur at any stage of the life, from childhood to the old age. This can result in plenty of different factors, which may lead to chemical changes in the brain. Inherited predisposition, chronic stress, biological changes, aging, trauma, isolation of social matters etc are most common trigger factors for the depression. In women, menstruation plays an important role in depression. Apart from this their heavy social responsibilities are also therefore well known for the same. Definition of depression This disorder is known as vishaada in Ayurveda. It can be defined as the illness that involves body, thoughts, mood that affects the dietary habit, behavior and sleep pattern. It is not a condition that can be avoided and it is a sign of personal weakness. The people with depression go vain and can’t merely pull themselves together and get better in their routine work schedule. If depression is left untreated, it can last long up to days, weeks, months or sometimes even years. Appropriate treatment can help many of the people. Types of depressionThere are many types of depression but broadly they can be classified as below.Psychotic depressionPeople who suffer from this type of depression start seeing and hearing those sounds, voices and things which are imaginary or don’t exist. One can refer this as hallucination. These symptoms are more common with a person having schizophrenia. Hallucinations are not positive and give bad impact on others. This type of depression brings imagination of negative and frightening images and sounds. Atypical depressionIn this, a person sometimes feels happiness and moments of elation. But it is never for a long period. Symptoms of atypical depression include overeating and sleeping, weight gain and fatigue. Person with this type of depression believes that outside events control his or her mood. These outside events can include praise, success and attention. The episodes of this type of depression can vary from a person to person. This can be up to several weeks, months or even a year. DysthymiaIt is quite common that many people who just walk around seem depressed. They are at sea all the time and remain sad, blue or melancholic. If you are as one of them, they have been in this critical situation since years. This is the condition in which, there are people who are not aware of this but they just live with the depression as daily routine. For them, it is a part of life. They generally go through whole life feeling dissatisfied and most unimportant, waste and dissatisfied way. It is quite tough for them to enjoy the life and never find life as in interesting mood.
Depression and Weight Loss
Depression and weight gain are closely related, because very often people want to relieve the stress and bad feeling by eating. Being on a weight loss program during a depression period can be very demanding, but if successful, can be a tremendous boost to self confidence and help with depression also. On the other hand, being over weighted can contribute to depression because we easily lose our self confidence and have a bad self image, which can trigger depressive and negative thoughts and feelings.
What is depression really?
The word depression stems from two words; “de” and “pressure”. We feel like we’re pressed down by a force bigger than our willpower, like a big cloud hanging over us. Eventually this depressed feeling takes over so much, it’s hard to get up from bed sometimes. We lose our zeal for life, nothing inspires us and our life force seems to be totally gone. Sometimes a person can suffer from depression without anybody noticing it. Nobody sees inside of you, not your family, your friends nor workmates. In these situations one feels helpless and alone.
These are the symptoms but what are the reasons? Why do people suffer from depression? Can and should depression be treated medically?
Depression occurs when our life force is weakened and this can have several causes. We all have different ability to handle difficult situations and when for a long period of time things seem to go wrong, this can be enough to trigger depression. Depression is emotional, but negative thoughts make it worse. Life force is what keeps our spirits up and gets us going. This life force is mostly in our spine, but we feel it in our body as vigor, strength and inspiration. Being depressed means we have somehow lost our natural life force and fallen into a psychological well.
Medication can help relieve some pain and remove some symptoms temporally, but it is never a long term solution. It is very important to understand that depression has its roots inside us, it is not coming from outside. Best treatment is positive thinking, different hobbies and support from friends and family.
As I said earlier, depression and weight loss are closely related. Many people feel that one reason they are depressed is because they are over weighted. If you feel this is so, you are most probably right. The weight problem is one reason that makes the life situation worse. But how can one lose weight when all the energy goes to just live from day to day?
Actually what is needed in these situations is action. If we just wait for depression to go away, it might take a much longer time. A healthy diet program that checks our condition frequently is very good and can help boost our confidence and generate a forward going feeling in life. This feeling will eventually remove the depressed emotions and our life force will be free to flow again.
Depression is enemy and we need to face our enemy and conquer it. It is done by taking action and losing weight is a good action to take, but we must not be too strict and hard to ourselves. Allow one feast meal per week, don’s skip meals and eat healthy foods. If it gets unbearable, call someone, talk about it, share it – take action. This will help you take the all important first step. Do things you like that in the past have given you enjoyment. Start something new and move yourself. Life is movement, death is motionless, and depression makes you feel you are dead inside, so the best treatment is to move on like there never was any depression – and soon your system will follow and you have won one very important battle.
3 Top Reasons Relationship Depression Starts And How To Overcome It
Did you know that depression in a relationship is quite common? It usually means that something is wrong in the relationship that one or both people acknowledge but do not know how to change the problem. When depression in a relationship happens, it’s essential that it gets fixed or the relationship may completely dissolve. Many bad relationships are the cause behind relationship depression.
How Does Relationship Depression Start?
What causes depression in a relationship to begin? Actually, there are three main causes as to why relationship depression begins. They include:
(1) Letdown Feelings - Many times relationship depression begins when one person has been let down by their significant other. Their dreams have not been fulfilled and they no longer feel hopeful staying in the relationship.
(2) Loss of Control - It can also occur when one person is too controlling over the relationship. The person becoming depressed in the relationship has to do things a certain way including selection of clothes, cooking, cleaning the house, etc. Too much power is given to one person and the other feels insignificant. Thus relationship depression begins because the dominated person has no control over his or her own life.
(3) Pretending - Sometimes, when a relationship begins, people don’t act like themselves. They tend to hide who they are for fear of rejection or opening up. If you are like this, it’s likely that you feel that revealing who you really are will make your partner leave you. When you aren’t yourself, you lead yourself into a relationship depression. After all, the relationship is based on a lie and no one can lie about who they really are without becoming depressed.
You Can Stave Off Relationship Depression
A person who is depressed in a relationship will need considerable help getting over it. There are ways this can be done and it will take patience. If you know someone who is in a relationship depression, here are some things you can do.
First, be around for them. It’s important to be a friend and listen to them whenever they are ready to talk. They need to feel like someone is on their side so do so for them.
Second, help them out physically around the house. They don’t feel like doing much when they are depressed and this goes for chores too. Lend them a hand until they feel up to doing things once more.
Third, make sure they get up out of bed. While this may seem easy to you, when a person is suffering depression in a relationship, they are going to need a little extra push.
Fourth, remember to love them unconditionally, with no strings attached. It’s normal to feel frustrated by the relationship depression but they have to know that you are not upset with them by the situation, only about the situation itself.
Fifth, find some outside help. Often times, just talking about the problem that’s causing the relationship depression can help. Other times, people will need medication to overcome their depression. Don’t be afraid to seek out help if you feel it goes beyond what you can do.
How Do You Treat Depression Naturally ?
Depression is one of the most common psychological and emotional problems American adults encounter. A study reports that about 13 to 20 percent of American adults have some form of depressive symptoms. Unfortunately, many severe cases of depression can ultimately lead to suicide.
Are there any solutions and treatments available to stem this unfortunate tide? Fortunately, the answer to this is yes. Unfortunately again, many of these treatments involves a soup of medicines that may have some form or side effect. As we discussed previously psychotherapy is another solution that is gaining popularity due to the favorable results they have exhibited.
For some people, the question that remains is if there are any natural depression treatments available that do not involve some cocktail of hard-to-spell medications that can be taken as a preventive and beneficial alternative to mainstream treatments. The answer is yes. Although it is recommended that any form of depression should be consulted with a doctor let’s take a look at a list of natural supplements that may help alleviate symptoms of depression.
It Starts with the Diet
Depression can be treated with better nutrition. Studies have shown that such treatment not only has a beneficial effect on the person’s physical health, but also a favorable effect on the person’s mental and emotional health. This nutritional treatment includes modification of diet, vitamins and minerals, and the addition of some amino acid supplements.
The amino acid supplements are essential elements that are precursors to neurotransmitters. The amino acids D, L-pheylalanine and L-tyrosine are a viable alternative to antidepressant drugs.
A deficiency in vitamins and minerals in the body can also cause depression. If this condition is corrected, depression owing to this cause can be alleviated. Even if you are not sure if you lack vitamins and minerals, supplementing your diet with them will often improve symptoms related to depression and will contribute to better overall health.
Some Very Useful Herbs
The herb St. John’s Wort (Hypericum perforatum) in an extracted standardized form is being used in Germany and other European countries to treat depression in its mild and moderate forms. It is also known to alleviate anxiety and sleep disorders.
This herb claims many benefits among them are its anti-depressive and antiviral properties.
The Ginkgo (Ginkgo Biloba) extract, while not a primary treatment for major cases of depression, is an excellent supplement to any depression-related syndrome. Studies are beginning to show that Ginkgo can be used to treat some forms of depression that are not responsive to antidepressant agents. In cases of resistant depression, Ginkgo Biloba is beginning to appear attractive to the medical world.
Cut Back on Those Soft Drinks
Many practitioners advocate a nutrition oriented approach to treating depression. They believe that the answer to the depression question can be found in the diet of a person. Studies show that a decrease in the intake of sugars and refined carbohydrates can produce relief from symptoms of depression.
This diet will entail cutting out sugary drinks, pasta, white bread, and other processed foods. For your carbohydrate needs, it would be better to stick to grains, whole wheat, and other natural plant based carbohydrates. Also, cutting down on these kinds of food can do wonders for one’s overall health.
This treatment is recommended for those who feel depressed and languid during the late hours of the morning and the afternoon. For these people, eating sugary foods will induce a temporary feeling of alleviation from depression. However, this is only for a few minutes, and the body automatically reverts to languid depression.
Depression is one serious disorder that should not be taken for granted. Some people will equate depression with other natural feelings such as anger, happiness, and sadness. However, depression is much more complicated than that. It is a disorder and an ailment that can be treated by natural or medical means. It would do well to consult your doctor for more information on dealing with depression.
Is Depression Hereditary?
“Depression runs in the Family” or “It’s in your genes” are commonly given as causes of depression. If you are suffering from depression, being told you are “bound to get it”, can be a very unhelpful statement to have tossed at you. After having looked at the information let’s try to answer the question,” Is Depression Hereditary?”
There is evidence that some forms of depression have a genetic basis, in particular manic depression, or bipolar disorder. However, with those two exceptions most depression is learned, not genetic. Because depression has to do with styles of thinking, behavior and interpersonal relationships, depressive styles can be passed down in families. So if you had a parent or close family member who suffered from depression you will have learned the basic behavior models from them.
Depression can occur, or be triggered by an existing medical condition as well. The physical effects of depression are real and often very debilitating, but only around 10-18% of depressions are set off by another medical condition. And as depressing as some diseases are, they don’t automatically cause depression. Pain, for example, can cause an inability to enjoy daily activities, disturb sleep patterns, make life less pleasant, and cause general feelings of hopelessness. Some food allergies, when undiagnosed cause low energy levels, interrupted sleep, and increased worry as the person tries to figure out what is wrong with them. But they do not cause depression.
To fully understand the link between physical causes of depression, and depression itself, a close examination of the thinking styles associated with depressive behavior must be made. It’s similar to the age old question, “What came first, the chicken or the egg?” In this case it’s, “What came first the depression or the pain?” Are you depressed because you are in pain, or are you in pain because you are depressed? A person with a family history of depression may answer that question totally differently then a person with no depression history.
So, to answer the question, “Is Depression Hereditary?” the answer is no. Someone may be predisposed towards depression if members of their family suffered with it, but this however does not guarantee they too will become depressed. Learned behavior does play a role, but learned behavior is a choice we as adults can alter.
Tips About Books on Depression
If you are looking for information on depression there are places that you can turn to in order to get help. You will see that there are many different depression books that are on the market today that will help you understand the problems that depression can cause and any other questions that you may have on the subject of depression.
There are ways to find out what you are looking for in a depression book. Many people like to read about depression and find out as much as they can so that they are educated with the knowledge that will provide them the strength to get through any form of depression. When you have something to turn to and use as a reference, you will feel better about the problems that you are going through.
There is nothing wrong with having a few different books on depression in your possession. You can buy or rent the books that you think will get you on your way to understanding what you need to about this subject and all that can happen if you do not get treatment and help for it. You can have a much worse ordeal happen if you leave your depression go and do not use your books on depression as a method of help.
If you do not want to read books on depression, you may want to go online and find out what you need to. You will see that there are different sites that you can visit that will help you get to where you want to be. You will be able to visit the depression sites anytime that you feel the need to. You can sit at home and read all that you want to online about the subject of depression. The more that you learn will mean that you will have a better chance at beating this terrible disorder and getting your life on track once again.
Sitting on your computer and talking to others that have to go through depression is going to be a great way to treat your problem. You will be able to discuss your depression and hear about other people’s issues and problems fighting depression. You can get more information and help from other people that have had a struggle with depression and all the bad that it can do to a person and their family.
If you are looking for help with your depression, you may want to check out the different books on depression that are out there. You can learn a lot about your options for help when you are willing to read about it. Finding out all that you can about the topic of depression is something that you will be doing for yourself and others that are around you as well. You will be helping yourself by reading books on depression will get your depression under control and getting your life together just as you want to.
The Facts of Depression and Other Illnesses
When it comes to depression, it is an chemical imbalance. This imbalance could end up having serious side effects on your health, thus depression and other illnesses. You will notice that those who are diagnosed with a serious disease (normally terminal) they will become affected by depression and this is typical. However, you will want to make sure that your depression or illness is not going to make your life harder. You want to make sure that your illness won’t cause you to have a serious depression and you will want to make sure that your depression doesn’t cause depression and other illnesses.
There are some illnesses that are associated with depression. These illnesses are things like bipolar and other mental disorders. There are a lot of people who lose themselves in their depression. There are also a lot of typical disorders that will cause depression like cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.
Many people will go into shock when they first learn about their depression and other illnesses, but then after it sinks in they end up becoming extremely depressed. Those who have a disease like AIDS, Cancer, Parkinson’s disease, and diabetes. With treatment, you can over come your depression by learning how to control the depression. Once you get your depression treated you will find that your health will improve greatly.
As for those with depression and other mental illnesses, you will find that there is long lists of disorders that will co exist with your depression and other illnesses. Those who are bipolar is most common. For those who have depression and bipolar disease, they are two times as likely to commit suicide. They will also become triggered by anything to go into a deep depression and will have violent mood swings.
For those with this combination it is important that they get treated immediately for their depression and for their bipolar. If someone was to go untreated they will be more likely to end their own life, and that is why it is so important that you seek help for your depression and bipolar disease. They are in a state of unreliable and unpredictable manners and can even be harmful to others.
If you know anyone is going through depression and other illnesses you will want to make sure that you get them the help and attention that they need to get over the disorder. You will also find that you will need to keep an eye on them even after getting medical attention because they still are in jeopardy of hurting themselves or others. Make sure that you consult a doctor about how to take care of a person with depression and other illnesses and ask them for any advice or signs to look out for so that they can always be safe from hurting themselves or others.
Depression Signs & Symptoms
Depression may be described as feeling sad, blue, unhappy, miserable, or down in the dumps. Sadness is a normal reaction to life’s struggles, setbacks, and disappointments. Most of us feel this way at one time or another for short periods. But true clinical depression is a mood disorder in which feelings of sadness, loss, anger, or frustration interfere with everyday life for an extended time. People with a depressive disease cannot merely “pull themselves together” and get better. Depression is melancholy, sadness or a mood of despair, lingering for a long time that limits a child’s ability to function normally. Sometimes a stressful life event triggers depression. Other times depression seems to occur spontaneously with no identifiable specific cause. Depression is much more than grieving or a bout of the blues. Depression may occur only once in a person’s life. Often, however, it occurs as repeated episodes over a lifetime, with periods free of depression in between. Or it may be a chronic condition, requiring ongoing treatment over a lifetime.
Depression is not grieving. Certain medical conditions or medications can cause depression or symptoms that look like depression. People suffering from depression often show distorted thinking. People of all ages and races suffer from depression. Depression is more common in adults than in children, but it does occur in children. When children are depressed, their symptoms might be different from adults. For example, rather than showing sadness or crying, some children behave badly or show a lot of anger. They may be more cranky than usual, become picky about food, or may show a lack of interest in their usual activities. Being reckless or taking unnecessary risks (eg. driving fast or dangerously). Increased irritability and frustration. More sensitivity to minor personal criticisms. Depression can cause or exacerbate many physical symptoms, including headaches, backaches, diarrhea or constipation, abdominal pain, and aching joints. Older adults tend to complain more about the physical rather than the emotional symptoms of depression, and so their mood disorder often goes unrecognized.
Depression may be indicated if an adolescent experiences an unusual degree of the symptoms. Most people will experience some of these symptoms from time to time, but in order for it to be considered major depression; you should be experiencing at least 5 of these symptoms, continuously, for at least 2 weeks. Inability to experience pleasure. Nothing seems to interest you anymore, including former hobbies, social activities. Sleeping too much or having problems sleeping can be a sign you’re depressed. Waking in the middle of the night or early in the morning and not being able to get back to sleep are typical. Changes in appetite (decreased appetite most common) often signaled by rapid weight gain or loss. “Keyed up,” unable to sit still, anxious, restless or sluggish, slow speech and body movements, lack of responsiveness. Low self esteem is common with depression. Depression can also cause a wide variety of physical complaints, such as gastrointestinal problems (indigestion, constipation or diarrhea), headache and backache. Many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety.
The Tell-tale Symptoms of Depression
People who may be suffering from depression or manic disorders actually exhibit or show each and every kind of symptom of depression that doctors will tell you that depressed people have. Sometimes it’s actually quite easy to overlook such symptoms and not be able to help one’s self or others who are suffering from depression for that matter.
There are actually a lot of symptoms of depression that depressed people may actually posses but they don’t have to suffer from each and every one of them before you actually help them get diagnosed and be treated for this illness. Also, since symptoms of depression actually vary, the time of their “attacks” varies as well.
Here are some common examples of symptoms of depression:
Prolonged period of sadness or not feeling “up to it,” people who are always feeling not in the mood, who’d rather mope around the house and feel sorry for one’s self is the best example for this symptom of depression.
Feels hopeless, perennial pessimist: speaking of feeling sorry for one’s self, another common symptom of depression is when a person actually feels like he/she has nothing to look forward to in his or her life. As for being the perennial pessimist, those who show this symptom of depression are usually very negative about things, again, the feeling of hopelessness comes in to mind.
Guilt-driven, loss of self-worth and helplessness: other symptoms of depression that can be easily seen on people who prefer to mope around all day long are these. Whenever a person feels so guilty over something, that actually makes one a very sad person who feels like he or she doesn’t deserve to be happy. Thus, the loss of self-worth, if that person feels like he or she isn’t worthy of being happy or enjoying one’s self then that’s clear tell-tale symptom of depression. Helplessness also contribute to being depressed, when assuming that things won’t simply go your way, it’s already a clear saying that you have absolutely no hope in your body at all.
Isn’t interested in finding or taking pleasure; just dropping the hobbies as well as the other things that one used to enjoy: this tell-tale symptom of depression just shows how depressed a person can be, if one is actually too sad to take pleasure even in the very things that one loves then that person is seriously lacking something, rather, that person might well have caught the depression bug.
Fatigue, always tired: people suffering from depression, since they’ve lost whatever interest in life that they may have had before are actually lacking of physical energy at all times, if one would prefer to just mope around, probably won’t even eat not get enough sleep, a depressed person may well be on their way to not just a mental illness but depression can actually be terrible for one’s physical health as well.
Having trouble concentrating, having bad memory and is indecisive: a person who is suffering from depression easily gives away this tell-tale symptom of depression. Wherein one’s lack of interest with regards to the outside world or for just about anything for that matter can lead to that person’s inability to lose track of things and actually not be able to remember things that happened or what other people said. Lack of interest actually makes depressed people very inattentive.
There are actually more symptoms of depression that can actually help you see if a person (or you) needs to be brought to the doctor to get some help when it comes to depression: lacking sleep, sleeping too much or waking up at wee hours of the morning are all symptoms of depression (if it happens on a daily basis), appetite loss as well as eating too much may show one’s lack of enthusiasm for life. Be weary of sudden weight loss or weight gain in those around you. Being suicidal, talking about death, about wanting to die is another clear indication that that person is depressed. Being restless and irritable and physical symptoms that are usually brought about by poor mental health such as headaches, digestive disorders and various body pains.
Health - Depression & Broken Heart
You don’t have to suffer in silence. In most cases of panic attack, it usually starts with depression. A female reporter in Hong Kong who successfully juggled the demands of writing for publications around the world suddenly suffered panic attack. She often had panic attacks as she was overwhelmed by feelings of isolation, hopelessness, inadequacy and failure. She would always excuse herself and pretended to have urgent private calls to make so that she could get out and calm down.
A cartoonist for a famous Japanese magazines; suddenly hit a dry spell in 1986 and she was afraid to get out of bed in the morning. She stopped eating and lost seven kilos within a few days. She was left without getting any assignments for a month and spent her time lying in bed, smoking and drinking and was overwhelmed with thoughts of dying. Both the female reporter and cartoonist were suffering from clinical depression.
There are millions of people like them and they kept the illness to themselves. In Japan alone there are more than six millions people suffering from depression according to Dr Takahashi Toru of the Toru Clinic in Tokyo. It is estimated that one in 13 people aged 24 to 64 suffered from depression according to a study done by Singapore National Mental Health survey.
We seldom hear about depression just thirty years ago but the world is different now. People were different then, but presently many human beings have lost their value of life. Many have lost their conscience and killing is everywhere. People live in fear from many kinds of threats and even in the comfort of their homes, danger is there. There is no peace even to just go marketing for fresh vegetables. A bomb may explode anytime, anyplace.
Financial security is one of the main causes for depression. Jobless people or those hardly can make end meet, are usually victims of depression which can after some time of suffering start to have panic attacks. Depressive disorders range from dysthymia – low grade, chronic depression – to bipolar disorder, or manic depression, which causes extreme swings between depressive lows and manic high. Depression remains widely misunderstood and sufferers lead a double life. One minute full of confidence and another minute worse than a little mouse when panic attack. Depression is a taboo among Chinese and if people know that you are depressed, they will avoid you.
I should say broken heart is the worst mental blues and almost everyone gets the blues once in a lifetime. Those who have not experience it are lucky or maybe they have never fallen in love before. They will not be able to grasp the anguish depression brings. It’s so emotionally intense that it paralyses you and says one sufferer, “You never know when it will end, the pain is so overwhelming that you want to end it all.”
People will sometimes give advice with the best intentions for broken heart but says Siti Mohammad, a young female accountant who has lived with depression for much of her life: “Sometimes my relatives will tell me to look at the positive side of things. They say, ‘You have to be strong and believe in God.’ They make it sound as if I could just snap out of it. If it was that simple, I wouldn’t be like this.”
Depression is often inadequately treated or not treated at all because the truth of broken heart may not be admitted by the sufferers. For instance, many Malays believe the emotions lie in the liver and will complain about stomach soreness rather than admit to depression. Among the Chinese, the heart is often seen as the source of emotions, so they complain about chest discomfort. Singapore National University’s Kua says these cultural factors lead to misdiagnosis or no diagnosis at all in as many as one-third of cases.
For the elderly, physical ailments can mask symptoms of depression (it is often confused with Alzheimer’s disease), and there is a belief, even in the medical community, that depression is simply a fact of an older person’s life. According to a study conducted in the 1980s by Dr Lee Aik Hoe, president of the Malaysian Mental Health Association, showed that three-quarters of people who had attempted suicide also suffered from depression.
Rose Lee’s depression nearly killed her. As a teenager, she tumbled into a black pit and said, “I was severely depressed – the pain was terrible. It seemed logical to kill myself.” Richard Ng of Kuala Lumpur said he lost his father to suicide. “He displayed signs of depression – being withdrawn and losing his appetite – signs that I recognized but did nothing about, but when he committed suicide, I was shattered.”
The road to recovery is a tough one but it can be treated. If it is not because of broken heart, then the chances of recovery is good with medication. If it is because of broken heart, then there is no medicine that can cure a broken heart. There are many drugs that physicians can prescribe and certain antidepressants really work effectively so as to allow the sufferers to get on with life. But drug may have side effects like insomnia and sexual dysfunction, professional help is advised in such a case to take the right type and also avoid the risk of taking an overdose.
One of the best rescues is interpersonal and cognitive counselling. Therapy can help to change a patient’s thinking and reappraise their external circumstances. Interpersonal therapy focuses on specific-related problems, while cognitive therapy tries to counter the feelings of worthlessness and hopelessness that plague those who are depressed. In Malaysia the “Befrienders” is doing an excellent voluntarily job to make life worth living. The 24-hour helpline, modelled on the Samaritans in the United Kingdom, is one of the oldest services in Asia. It has more than 200 volunteers and fielded 24,000 calls a year.
Suicide is a grave sin according to spiritual teachings in almost every religion. Certain religion says that if a person commits suicide, he will also commit suicide for his next seven future lives. I had a relative who committed suicide many years ago. She was one of the most beautiful women in my hometown and married to one of the richest men there. Very fortunate during her younger days because of her beauty, but when her husband passed away early in life, she was cheated of everything she possessed by a conman who only wanted her properties. Unable to take the pain of her broken heart and loss of all her possessions, she took her life.