DEPRESSION

Hey guys ....this is what i have today.
Depression, a state of the mind that elicits the feeling of sadness, makes a person feel horrible. A whole lot of people suffer from depression. The most amazing thing about it is that one can suffer from depression without realizing it. It kind of creeps up on you when certain events occur, takes you by surprise. We see a lot of depressed people everyday but its their smile that deceives us, their laughter,they say "I'm just fine" but therein lies a cry for help. The question is how well do you listen, how often have you been there?
There are several causes of depression, family problems, bad experiences, I find that trauma is one of the major cause of depressions. Trauma is like a disease, the image of the event gets imprinted in the person's mind that they fall into depression. This trauma could be due to rape, accident, loss of a loved one and so on. Low self-esteem and the feeling of imperfection also leads people toward depression. Other causes could include drug abuse, excessive intake of alcohol-when you drown your sorrows in bottles and bottles of alcohol, depression is not far off, fear is also another major cause of depression, it has also been discovered that bad sleeping habits contribute to depression, some sicknesses also lead to it.
Different strokes for different folks, at least that is the way I see it, a lot of people have their own special way of handling depression, some choose to act out in violence, some party all night, some eat and eat all in a means to fill the hole in their heart created by depression, some become anorexic, excessive alcohol intake is also a route people take, they do not know that it worsens the situation, some spend time having sex with people they have no feelings whatsoever for. After all their activities, they find that they still feel depressed and so they repeat the cycle all over again. Some persons even go as far as committing suicide
Overtime, a whole lot of drugs have been invented to curb depression but I find that no drug can take away the role of the of friendship in curbing depression. Sometimes, all a depressed person needs is someone to talk to, it doesn't even have to be a friend, just someone to say 'I understand, its alright, it will get better, I got you'. Talking to these people doesn't immediately take the pain away, the people you talk to may not even have the answers you want, they probably may not even be able to solve the problems but what they can give to you is a listening ear. It helps to let it all out without holding back, cry if you want to, just do what feels right. A problem shared is a problem half solved.
Therapy also works, if you are depressed and it seems like no one is willing to give you a listening ear, then get a grip and visit a psychiatric. Its hard, I understand but its a step in the right path and if you follow your sessions consistently, you would soon be freed of depression. When people try to talk to us, we shouldn't always give excuses, we should listen and you never can tell, you may have just saved someone from committing suicide, you could just have made a person who hasn't had a good laugh in years laugh till their eyes were filled with tears.
A lot of people are depressed, they hide it with smiles but even in those smiles, you can still make out a hint of sadness and dejection. For me, I feel its all about being a good friend, a good listener and saying what that person so desperately wants to hear at that moment!!!