Depression- a Rising Pandemic

Depression as Swamiji says is not a disorder or and illness. It is a state of mind and a very bad state to be in. Understand it as the antonym of bliss, a state where all zest and zeal for life diminishes, a state of mind where nothing interests to a person anymore, a state of mind where he becomes suicidal and very sad. That is what is depression and that is what depression does to a person.

I have personally suffered from depression for many years. I have visited doctors and taken anti-depressant pills to sustain myself and I still take them. During this lockdown I heard many more people were getting into this vile trap of depression because they were locked up in their homes in the lockdown and the minimum interaction with people caused some to become too negative.

Depression is a growing pandemic and day-by-day the stats are showing an increasing number of people suffering from depression. According to one survey by the World Health Organization, India is one of the most depressed countries in the world with a huge thirty-six percent of its population having the likelihood to suffer from major depression at some point in their lives.

And, depression is not a casual term as people tend to use it. It is very grave mental state and requires immediate medical help and counselling. But India still does not have enough medical experts in the field of psychology and psychiatry who can cater to the large population in the country which suffers from depression.