Depression: Awareness and Action

    

    I am a huge advocate for mental health awareness, so it would make sense for me to want this to be a significant part of my classroom when I become a teacher. Prior to my journey to become an art teacher, I graduated from Oneonta with a bachelor's in Psychology. While I am no expert, I am knowledgeable about mental health and its effects on people. On top of my schooling, I am also one of many who suffer from depression. The image above has a brief overview of Depression but does not explain what needs to be said. I want to break it down into a digestible concept and help people better understand how to deal with depression. 

    Depression can have many causes. It may originate from one or a combination of sources. Depression may be caused by abnormal brain chemical levels (Clevland Clinic, 2020). This includes chemicals that are produced by the gut. Levels of serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine, and cortisol all have an effect on the mood of the body and can lead to symptoms of depression. Genetics may also lead to depression, though it is not guaranteed that if your parents have depression, you would also have depression (Cleveland clinic, 2020 + Therapist Aid, 2014). There are individuals that are predisposed to the likelihood of getting depression. Your environment and life experiences may also cause depression (Clevland Clinic, 2020). Tragic events and an individual's upbringing, including living in poverty, may cause depression. Medication side effects often include depression (Clevland Clinic, 2020). Drugs like birth control, Xanax, and Adderal may cause depression. None of these causes are a guarantee a person will get depression, but rather a list of risk factors that should be noted. 

    Depression looks different for everyone. Depression cannot always be obviously seen like a broken arm or a bleeding cut. Depression manifests in thoughts, emotions, and some actions (Therapist Aid, 2014). The list of possible symptoms is lengthy and may overlap with other mental health disorders. Symptoms may include irritability, lack of motivation, sadness, emptiness, changing sleep patterns, poor self-esteem, lack of hygiene, changing appetite, social withdrawal, losing hope, pessimism, fatigue, memory loss, headaches, difficulty making decisions, thoughts of death or suicide, and many more (Therapist Aid, 2014 +Depression, 2022). It's important to understand the way depression manifests so you can see warning signs. Depression symptoms may also manifest in a cyclical pattern (Therapist Aid, 2014). Some individuals may have more obvious symptoms, while others do not seem to show many at all. Your happiest students can still be the ones going through their hardest times.

    I want to take some time to give some suggestions in dealing with students who you may suspect have depression. My advice comes from a background in psychology and my own personal experiences.  Approach cautiously. This is an extremely vulnerable subject for anyone and comes with a lot of emotion. If you do not feel equipped to deal with it, the most responsible thing is to find someone who is, but try to keep it as private as possible. Talk with your student first before you create your plan of action. Come with patience and an open mind. There are so many possibilities of conversation topics that can occur. Your goal is to help without doing more damage, so try and leave any judgments or opinions out. Listen to what your student has to say and talk to them about how they are feeling. If possible, work with your student to come up with a plan of action. Utilize your school resources, like the school social worker or school psychologist. It's typical that students may just need an ear to talk to. 

    One of the biggest takeaways I hope you get from this is that people with depression do not need to be fixed. People who suffer from depression are not broken or less of a person because of their symptoms. Treatment options are there to help life feel more bearable. There are steps that an individual can take to deal with symptoms like exercising, getting appropriate rest, balancing their diet, and meditating, but this is not always enough. Treatment options to alleviate symptoms include psychotherapy, medication, and brain stimulation (Clevland Clinic, 2020). I am a huge advocate for therapy. It becomes a personalized experience for individuals to talk with an outside person and create a toolkit to manage symptoms. I am in therapy, and probably will be for a long time. I know that that's okay and it has made me a better and more understanding person because of it. Medication is a great option if therapy is not enough. Medication may come with side effects but has been shown to help lessen the symptoms of depression. It is important to get treatment as soon as possible for those suffering. When depression becomes overbearing and the symptoms take over the end result may be death, suicide attempts, or self-harm. Everyone wishes to avoid these tragedies, which is why detection and intervention are so important. 

References:

Cleveland Clinic. (2020, December) Depression: Types, Symptoms, Causes & Treatment. (n.d.). Cleveland Clinic. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/9290-depression

(2022, September) Depression. (n.d.). National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/depression

Therapist Aid. (2014, October 14). What is Depression? [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWFuQR_Wt4M