Does Depression have a definition?

PAHO/WHO [Pan American Health Organization / World Health Organization] defined depression as,

an illness characterized by persistent sadness and a loss of interest in activities that you normally enjoy, accompanied by an inability to carry out daily activities, for at least two weeks”. My question is, since the world has evolved so much, as has humans, can we really call depression what it is anymore?

Image by Irasonja on Pixabay

Many articles, even experts, have all pointed to the fact that depression may be as a result of so things such as hormonal imbalance, trauma, etc. There hasn’t been a precise reason as to why even kids lose themselves to this illness at very early ages. To the best of my knowledge, depression is always the fore-runner of something much bigger. In regards to my question [because that is what this about], can depression be recognized? From the world we know to so much more, humans have changed a lot and so has our approach to problems. What we think we know now might not be all there is to it.

I came to find out that some people still think that depression can’t be hidden. Unless you have real world problems, you can’t be depressed. That is not true. And I think this is the reason some of the young ones suffer now. The older generation they grew up with have a certain ideology as to what it means to be depressed. This causes a break in the communication bridge and instead of actively listening, they are aggressive with passing judgements. I think it is a gift and a curse that we [and the ones coming after us] have to experience a world like this. Where we have been taught subconsciously by the acts of people we admire to be liars, even to ourselves. We should not accept our pain for what it is and rather find a cover-up.

Be strong always

If humans can come to a point where they can build things like A.I, who says we can’t 'learn' to become a shell of ourselves? And we teach it to the little ones. Unfortunately, some of my country folks have totally forgotten what the word Love stands for. In fact, the whole world. Despite the whole expert jargon thrown on paper on this topic, I still can’t let this thought go. With the economy, the situation, the whole circumstances surrounding my country, why would it be so hard to believe that these ones grow into depression overnight? Young kids who already have the weight of responsibilities on their shoulders. Expectations uprising like the price of fuel daily. So much weight and we have to teach ourselves to bear this load. Then comes the self-doubt, fear, uncertainty, self-disgust and even desperation…

Desperation to be noticed, loved, accepted…the need to be accepted has to be a crisis eating into our society today. Why? Daily, we set new standards, new trends and take the bars higher. Then we are expected to meet up with them and we are blamed when we fall. I no longer believe in the expert definitions of depression because if so, many of the young ones who passed on would not have been called bright and full of life. They wouldn’t be remembered for their wit, their positive outlook on life, their will…no, they would not. A blessing and a curse is what it is. We have come so far [beings like us] and now we know just well to lie, even to ourselves.

Ultimately, this post wasn’t to look into depression. Rather, it is one full of questions. I wonder, do our parents even believe us when we say we are depressed? Can we outrightly admit anything anymore and not be ridiculed for it? Be labeled attention seekers. Do we know within us how much we fight to stay sane? How we hold on to the thin thread of hope? Do we admit the truth anymore? Can I be myself [not okay] and be accepted? So many questions with very scarce answers. I guess we would have to find them ourselves…