Mental Health Matters: Navigating Depression

by Cristhina Reyes

Physical health and mental health are two different topics and are just as equally important to one another. Although mental health doesn't get the same attention as physical, it's an important topic to be discussed and educated on. According to SAMHSA, “Mental Health is our emotional, psychological, and social well being. It affects how we feel, think and act.. ” Some mental health conditions can be contributed by biological factors, life experiences, and family history. These conditions include Anxiety, Bipolar disorder, ADHD, Depression, etc. There are plenty of mental health conditions to talk about but the main one I'd like to focus on is the big topic of Depression. 

The impact depression can have:

Depression is a major mood disorder, it has symptoms of how a person feels and thinks throughout their lives. This condition can affect any person regardless of age, race, genders etc. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, women are diagnosed with depression more than but that doesn't mean men are not depressed but more because they are less likely to recognize or seek help for depression. Another group of people who are more likely to have depression is the LGBTQ+ community because of what stresses and struggles they have gone through. Not only can depression affect the individual, it can also affect families, friendships, relationships and communities. This condition can strain these relationships and cause conflicts, misunderstanding and stress towards one another. For example, if a person is depressed they are more likely not to want to do anything self isolated which can affect their relationships with friends, family, and significant others. They also may respond negatively and act a certain way toward other people increasing conflicts and disengagement. Depression has an overall negative impact towards yourself and the people around you.

Future Impact of Depression:

The impact of depression on a specific individual, can be in multiple different ways, such as your mental, physical health, social life, work and education. The way depression can affect your mental is because you can be suicidal, or get these thoughts or not feeling good enough or worthy of life etc. Another negative impact that depression has on people is that it affects people's physical health. According to Medical News Today, some documented ways that depression can take a toll on someone is by weight gain or loss, chronic pain can increase, sexual health problems, trouble sleeping etc. A lot of these factors can affect someone's physical health in a negative way and create problems in the long run. Next, depression can affect someone's social life or functioning because they are more likely to withdraw and isolate themselves from their friends and family especially for hang outs or group activities. Lastly, if someone is depressed it could interfere with their school or work performance. Examples of the interferences can be the absences during work or school , decreased productivity and lack of concentration and motivation to want to continue their work or education or even both. The impact that depression can have on a person can really negatively affect various aspects of their lives. 

When it comes to the future, it is always unknown as to what is coming. Depression is always going to be around for as long as we can imagine but there are ways that this could impact our futures. Some ways that depression could affect the future are also similar to what it can do in the present but with future consequences, these ways include the increased burden of healthcare systems, economic consequences, relationships/friendships, work/education, and generational impact. If the depression rate continues to rise, the demand for mental health services and resources increase and that's important because people will need to seek help and get the treatment to help out their mental health. If there is not enough help or resources to help treat depression then the healthcare system would be overwhelmed with those who need treatment. Next, some economic consequences include the increased healthcare costs for treatment, and disability payments that the government would have to pay if mental health conditions continue to increase and if that increases then taxes could increase to help fund other services as well.  The future impact on interpersonal relationships will increase just like how it would in the present day, except in the future it may be worse and lead to falling out of these relationships for as long the depression is there. Again, work and education will be negatively impacted just like mentioned in the present day but also in the long run work productivity and education can be lost because those with underlying depression will just quit when it gets too hard which overall can impact their future and how they move forward. Lastly, an important impact that depression can have is the future generational impact. Mental health can come from family history and the children of parents who had depression or still do are at a higher risk of developing depression or other mental health issues that will impact their lives negatively and it becomes an endless cycle of depression in society. Not all of these effects can be helped but the ones that can, such as making mental health services easier to access and getting treatment for people now and making sure people recognize their symptoms to get the help they need to get better are things that can be helped for the future to prevent some of these impacts.

Towards a Brighter Tomorrow:

In our world, mental health does not get the attention it deserves compared to physical health, although we know they are as equally as important. Mental Health comes in various different conditions ranging from anxiety, bipolar disorder, ADHD, to Depression and more. Specifically, depression is one of those conditions that is a disorder that affects someone's mood and can affect all ages, genders and from any background. Mental health plays an important role in someone's life that can negatively impact them in the present day and in the future. Depression is very overlooked in society and there are barriers for people to seek help because of the stigma surrounding it. However, by increasing awareness this can help those in need of treatment right now. It's also important to remember depression can affect a person's physical health, work and education and interpersonal relationships that will also potentially affect that individual's life. For the future potential impacts this includes the healthcare demands increasing and the need for more mental services. Next, the economic consequences that could increase the cost for healthcare and taxes. The next impactful future problems are with work, education and interpersonal relationships, that can affect someone's path and where they go because they could potentially quit work and school and even disassociate themselves from their relationships and responsibilities. Lastly, the future problem that could occur because of depression is generational impact that could be passed on further into the future. Despite all of these issues and challenges there is hope that with mental health awareness, we can fix potential future effects and get people the help they need to get better and live a nice healthy life, both mentally and physically.