By Judd Leonard Okafor
It has taken recent spate of suicides – some successful, others failed – to bring depression firmly into the public glare.
A doctor plunged into the Lagoon in Lagos recently, ending his life. Days later, two women were stopped and fished out of the Lagoon. The trio are the start of the watch-your-neighbour messages making the rounds on social media.
Abubakar Saminu, a civil servant, said most people are depressed, broke and suffering in silence, which he added are responsible for the suicide attempts by some. “This recession has worsened matters.”
However, messages making the rounds on social media are calling for “watching your neighbour” – tapping into nuanced changes that may signal the start or process of something more critical.
“We really need to start watching out for each other,” says Rotimi Akinsehinwa, a teacher, who resides in Lagos reading out the message he received.
“We need to call each other more; we need to visit each one other more; we have to smile more, put up encouraging posture in spite of whatever we are dealing with. Believe me someone is having it worse.
“Not just someone, most people are suffering. A lot more – at least 300 million around the world, and more women than men, according to the World Health Organisation.”
Since October, the WHO began a year-long campaign to raise awareness about depression. More than 300 million people now live with it. That’s an increase of 18 per cent between 2005 and 2015.
This year alone, depression has become the leading cause of ill health and disability-far more than infections and contagious diseases.
The WHO campaign, “Let’s Talk”, is to ensure people with depression, everywhere in the world, seek and get help.
Lack of support for people with mental disorders, coupled with fear of stigma, prevent many people from accessing the treatment they need to live healthy, productive lives, the WHO says.
“These new figures are a huge wake-up call for all countries to rethink their approach to mental health and to treat it with the urgency it deserves,” said Dr Margaret Chan, Director General of WHO.
Depression is one among a range of mental disorders, and everyone may have gone through what they might call depression. But it isn’t your regular mood fluctuation and short lived emotional response to challenges in everyday life.
When one’s mood is constantly down, long lasting and the intensity is anywhere between moderate and severe, depression could become a serious health condition.
Affected people suffer greatly, their work functionality drops at school and in the family. At its worst, depression can lead to suicide.
Some 800,000 people commit suicide every year, making it the leading cause of death among people aged 15 to 29.
It isn’t hopeless. Depression is treatable, and effective treatments exist. But fewer than half the people who need treatment ever get it.
Barriers to effective care include a lack of resources, trained health-care providers, and social stigma associated with mental disorders, said the WHO.
“There is a wide human resource gap between services delivered and that which is expected,” said Dr Mike Ogirima, president of the Nigerian Medical Association.
Helen John who said she suffered some sort of depression after child birth added that God saved her from it. “I told the doctor I was not moved to do anything at all, she told me to give it time and that the feeling will pass, and that women go through that phase sometimes. Although it passed I was not given any medical counselling or treatment.”
Another barrier to effective care is inaccurate assessment. WHO says in countries of all income levels, people who are depressed are often not correctly diagnosed, and others who do not have the disorder are too often misdiagnosed and prescribed antidepressants.
An episode of depression may be mild, moderate or severe, depending on how severe the symptoms get. But a difference is made when someone might or may not have had manic episode.
Both depression and mania can last over long periods, and relapse if there is no treatment.
In another type, depression comes in repeated episodes during which the person experiences “depressed mood, loss of interest and enjoyment, and reduced energy leading to diminished activity for at least two weeks.
Many people with depression also suffer from anxiety symptoms, disturbed sleep and appetite and may have feelings of guilt or low self-esteem, poor concentration and even medically unexplained symptoms.
An individual with a mild depressive episode will have some difficulty in continuing with ordinary work and social activities, but will probably not cease to function completely. During a severe depressive episode, it is very unlikely that the sufferer will be able to continue with social, work, or domestic activities, except to a very limited extent.
In another type, called bipolar affective disorder, manic and depressive episodes are separated by periods of normal moods.
Manic episodes involve elevated or irritable mood, over-activity, pressure of speech, inflated self-esteem and a decreased need for sleep.
Many factors contribute to depression, which are social, psychological and biological in nature. Those factors determine the mode of treatment.
Prevention programmes have been shown to reduce depression. Effective community approaches to prevent depression include school-based programmes to enhance a pattern of positive thinking in children and adolescents.
Interventions for parents of children with behavioural problems may reduce parental depressive symptoms and improve outcomes for their children. Exercise programmes for the elderly can also be effective in depression prevention.
“We never know who needs just a listening ear, a shoulder to lean on or just someone to cry with and tell them ‘everything is going to be all right’,” says Akinsehinwa, recalling the message.
