My Personal Declaration with Depression

Isolation has become a place of comfort. Not getting involved with meaningless activities by staying under the radar of life’s troubles, trials, and tragedies. My lifestyle had become safe, or so I thought, curled up with a cup of tea and my many books with the sign on the door, DO NOT DISTURB!

In the past, individuals always wanted things from me. I couldn’t breathe, from finance to fame. They were choking the life out me. If they could they would have taken my very existence.

I was meditating on God’s scripture, I Samuel 18:10-16(NIV): 10 The next day an evil[a] spirit from God came forcefully on Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand 11 and he hurled it, saying to himself, “I’ll pin David to the wall.” But David eluded him twice.

12 Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with David but had departed from Saul. 13 So he sent David away from him and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led the troops in their campaigns.

14 In everything he did he had great success, because the LORD was with him. 15 When Saul saw how successful he was, he was afraid of him. 16 But all Israel and Judah loved David, because he led them in their campaigns.

I was trying to fit in, be a part of something or

Dr. Calvinia Williams,D.D

being accepted. I was pretty good at covering up my pain. Being lonely and depressed is dangerous. There are many of us in this world facing darkness alone. I remember falling on my knees when my twin died this past year. My world stopped! We both understood each other. As I am writing this now, it hurts! As I look around my surroundings, I can hear his voice “its ok, you can do it”. In that moment, I wanted to tell my twin “You did me wrong; you left me. WHY?”

Growing up with brothers is totally different than raising your child. Siblings keep secrets, play hide-n-seek and stayed in trouble, all the same time. Once I became an adult with my own child, my twin and baby brother became my built in baby-sitters. Losing so many key family members to death results in loneliness, isolation, depression, loss of appetite, moodswings and many other behavioral problems, basically your major lifelines of support are gone.

Depression is a mental illness according to The World Health Organization (WHO).

“Depression is a common mental disorder. In low and middle–income countries, treatment and support services for depression are often absent. It is also an estimated 75% of people suffering from mental disorders in these countries do not receive treatment”. Prevention strategies need to be put in place to reduce the rates of depression that lead to suicide i.e., counseling, wellness checks, or assign family members to contact their loved ones daily.

According to the website article on the World Health Organization (WHO) March 31, 2023:

Contributing Factors and Prevention

Depression results from a complex interaction of social, psychological, and biological factors. People who have gone through adverse life events (unemployment, bereavement, traumatic events) are more likely to develop depression. Depression can, in turn, lead to more stress and dysfunction and worsen the affected person’s life situation and the depression itself.

Depression is closely related to and affected by physical health. Many of the factors that influence depression (such as physical inactivity or harmful use of alcohol) are also known risk factors for diseases such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and respiratory diseases. In turn, people with these diseases may also find themselves experiencing depression due to the difficulties associated with managing their condition.

Prevention programs have been shown to reduce depression. Effective community approaches to prevent depression include school-based programs to enhance a pattern of positive coping in children and adolescents. Interventions for parents of children with behavioral problems may reduce parental depressive symptoms and improve outcomes for their children. Exercise programs for older persons can also be effective in depression prevention.

Self-care

Self-care can play an important role in managing symptoms of depression and promoting overall well-being.

What you can do:

Try to keep doing activities you used to enjoy; Stay connected to friends and family;

Exercise regularly, even if it’s just a short walk;

Stick to regular eating and sleeping habits as much as possible;

Avoid or cut down on alcohol and don’t use illicit drugs, which can make depression worse;

Talk to someone you trust about your feelings; Seek help from a healthcare provider.

If you have thoughts of suicide:

Remember, you are not alone, and that many people have gone through what you’re experiencing and found help;

Talk to someone you trust about how you feel;

Talk to a health worker, such as a doctor or counsellor;

Join a support group.

If you think you are in immediate danger of harming yourself, contact any available emergency services or a crisis line.

WHO response

WHO’s Mental Health Action Plan 2013–2030, highlights the steps required to provide appropriate interventions for people with mental disorders including depression.

Depression and self-harm/suicide are among the priority conditions covered by WHO’s Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP). The Programme aims to help countries increase services for people with mental, neurological and substance use disorders through care provided by health workers who are not specialists in mental health.

WHO has developed brief psychological intervention manuals for depression that may be delivered by lay therapists to individuals and groups. An example is the Problem Management Plus (PM+) Manual, which describes the use of behavioural activation, stress management, problem solving treatment and strengthening social support. Moreover, the Group Interpersonal Therapy for Depression Manual describes group treatment of depression. Finally, the Thinking Healthy Manual covers the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy for perinatal depression.

References

Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation. Global Health Data Exchange (GHDx). https://vizhub.healthdata.org/gbd-results/ (Accessed 4 March 2023).

Woody CA, Ferrari AJ, Siskind DJ, Whiteford HA, Harris MG. A systematic review and meta-regression of the prevalence and incidence of perinatal depression. J Affect Disord. 2017;219:86–92.

Evans-Lacko S, Aguilar-Gaxiola S, AlHamzawi A, et al. Socio-economic variations in the mental health treatment gap for people with anxiety, mood, and substance use disorders: results from the WHO World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Psychol Med. 2018;48(9):1560-1571.

On a personal note; this is a challenging disease, as I suffer with Lupus, Fibromyalgia, and COPD. I seek my help from Jesus Christ and professionals that were given the skills, through the great I AM, to help me. Don’t wait before it’s too late!

God Bless You,

Dr. Calvinia Williams,D.D

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