Sushant Singh Rajput’s tragic suicide came as a rude shock to all the fans that he had managed to earn through his brilliant acting. But it was not the first instance of a celebrity ending his or her life due to clinical depression; there are numerous other examples, such as Chester Bennington (lead singer of the rock band ‘Linkin Park’) and Robery Enke (German football goalkeeper), while some such as Deepika Padukone, Amitabh Bachchan, Anushka Sharma, etc. have been able to successfully overcome it. People wondered why such successful people, who most would describe as having ‘arrived in life’, could fall prey to something that is associated with sadness. But that is just part of the ignorance surrounding the problem, something that this article would hope to dispel to some extent. Let’s have a look at signs of depression.
Signs of Depression
Different people manifest their suffering through different ways, however, there are certainly obvious and not-so-obvious signs of depression that are common. Following are some of them:
Obvious Signs of Depression
- Addiction to alcohol, smoking, drugs, gambling, on-screen entertainment, computer games, or food as the person tries to seek an escape from reality
- Irritability of mood, sudden anger, and occurrences of lashing out at close persons for sometimes no reason and at times for a valid reason, to a disproportionately high degree
- Loss of sleep or disturbed sleep, often waking up due to nightmares
- Frequent emotional breakdowns resulting in inconsolable weeping
- Anxiety attacks resulting in heart palpitations
Not-so Obvious Signs of Depression
- Avoiding social contact due to perfectionism (such people have their self-esteem tied to the attainment of a certain perfect standard in life which is what they believe will be the necessary criterion for social acceptance)
- Extreme feelings of guilt, resulting in a person feeling regretful of past behavior with different people and in different situations
- Toggling between moods (a person might be laughing heartily and then their faces suddenly become serious)
- Inability to concentrate on studies or work, resulting in a lowering of performance
- Loss of appetite/Over-eating
- Unexplained weight loss or gain
- Loss of interest in hobbies, sexual activity, etc.
- Pessimism and hopelessness
- Thinking and talking too much about death (especially own death, such as will people miss me, what would I be remembered as, etc.)
Having seen what are the signs of depression, let us look at what are typically the causes of depression in people:
- Genetics could play a small role in making people prone to depression (such as a family history of depression)
- History of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse, especially in childhood.
- Conflicts within the family
- Relationship failures
- Financial difficulties
- Difficulties in meeting career expectations
- Serious illnesses
- Certain medications that are used for treating various other diseases or conditions
- Death of a loved one
- Substance abuse (although it is a sign of depression, it could also be a cause of it)
Alpha Healing Center, which is one of the best rehab centers in India, has been a ray of hope for several patients of clinical depression over the several years of its operation.
Our team of certified counselors and doctors specialize in treating early signs of depression or depression treatment by employing a variety of methods such as oral medication, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), Integrated Dual Diagnosis Treatment, and Family Behaviour Therapy (FBT).
