This week’s Health section of the Dispatch and Times had a very comprehensive and useful article on depression. It shed some light on a problem that affects a lot more people than we know. Who would’ve thought comedic actor Owen Wilson would attempt suicide?
Depression runs in my family, but I didn’t discover this until I was 41 years old and I had finally confided in my mother about symptoms I’d experienced at different times in my life since I was 15. Because of the misunderstanding and stigma surrounding this disease, I’ve found no one talks about this unless they really have to.
My mother fessed up to experiencing depression in the ’60s for which she was prescribed “mother’s little helper” – valium. My grandmother would take to her bed for days in the ’40s, leaving my grandfather to feed the hands, clean the house and tend to his daughters, in addition to doing all it takes to run a large dairy. My great-grandmother raised 13 children virtually by herself and in poverty with an alcoholic ne’er do well husband. I’ve only heard she was a saint, but it’s likely she, too, experienced depression.
The article mentioned that in families with histories, it’s likely that the same medication can be successful in treatment. Likewise, the causes or “triggers” can be similar. So, if your relatives seemed to fall flat from extended periods of overwork and insomnia, these are clues that those can be triggers for you, too.
What’s happening in the brain as a result of the triggers is this (overly simplified): two important hormones working in the brain are cortisol and serotonin. Cortisol is a stress hormone; it’s needed every day. What makes you wake up in the morning is a burst of cortisol. Serotonin is a “feel-good” hormone, used to “mop up” the cortisol. However, a constant supply of too much cortisol from lack of sleep, or uninterrupted emotional pain or physical stress, can overwhelm the brain’s ability to produce the needed serotonin, thereby affecting the brain’s proper function.
Exercise can help, but sometimes it doesn’t when you’re so deep in the hole. That’s where medication is useful. Comedian Doug Stanhope, in his hilarious show on Showtime, rants about the prevalence of anti-depressants as a way we make ourselves numb to the things that actually make us interesting. That carnival going on in our head is actually fun! (e.g., the competing and rapidly changing thoughts, the repetitive song, the obsessive review of the day, etc.) Like him, I used to think meds were just for people looking for a quick fix for dissatisfaction, but I was so far off the mark.
Depression has physical and mental symptoms that are truly debilitating. While medication can take some of the “authenticity” from your laughter, when it comes down to choosing between unsuccessfully muscling through increasing impulses to end it all by jumping into traffic and finding a way to stay alive, there’s no shame in trying the meds, even when it’s not severe as that.
There are a variety of local help lines staffed 24/7 with people trained to listen well and give referrals, and, very importantly, to whom you can speak what seems unspeakable. The general contact line is (408) 850-6125. A line specifically for youth is (408) 247-7717. The county’s Suicide Prevention and Crisis number is (408) 279-3312, listed in the front page of your phone book.
Other physical conditions can cause depression, so ask for a thorough blood test that includes the complete test for thyroid function, certain hormones, including testosterone in women, and glucose levels.
Talk therapy is also recommended. Depression can recur, so it needs to be managed. Depressive episodes are indications that something needs to change. It’s useful to identify the triggers and make the changes necessary to keep healthy. That’s where talk therapy comes in. It’s not just helpful in recovery, but also in preventing recurrence.
People suffering from depression are not lazy; depression is not a character flaw. The brain is not working as it should. Unfortunately, the depression is often made worse when people suffering beat themselves up for “giving in” to taking medication and when others expect them to just snap out of it. It’s exhausting enough just trying to avoid detection and seem normal to everyone else while you’re in a fog, unable to understand what they say or are trying to cover up the sixth inexplicable crying jag of the day.
If you are suffering and don’t have someone to talk to, start your road to regaining your health by calling the numbers listed above.
Columnist Dina Campeau is a wife, mother of two teens and a resident of Morgan Hill. Her work for the last seven years has focused on affordable housing and homeless issues in Santa Clara County. Her column is published every Friday. Reach her at dc******@*****er.net.
