Currently, more than 300 million people are suffering from a single cruel disease in the world: depression. These data, published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018, show a worrying picture. In Spain, according to the entity, at least 12 million Spaniards (6% of the population) are affected by this disease.
Because of these numbers, discussing this disease is essential, so that we have more knowledge about it and can help or seek help if we meet someone or if we ourselves are experiencing a clinical condition of depression.
the midday demon
In 1998, the American writer Andrew Solomon, then 35 years old, was suffering from severe and disabling depression. He recounted his experience with the disease and his quest to cure it in an article in the New Yorker magazine.
After the article's good repercussion, and surprised by the amount of responses to his report on what it was like to have depression, he decided to investigate the matter in depth. After three years of research and conversations with people who suffer from the disease, he published the book “The Midday Demon: an Anatomy of Depression” (Cia. Das Letras, 2014).
In this book, in addition to explaining what depression is and making a historical and cultural presentation of this disease, he exposes conversations with people who present this condition and how their lives are affected by it.
To present you with some reflections from the book, which today is considered one of the most complete on depression, we prepared this article with some ideas and lessons presented by Solomon. Check out!
depression versus love
At various points in the book, Solomon demonstrates with stories of people struggling with depression that it is much easier to overcome the illness if love is involved. Of course, self-love is important, but a support network is fundamental and essential to overcome the problem.
The book itself is dedicated to Solomon's father, who, he says, was primarily responsible for lifting him out of depression.
Present and future
“In depression, all that is happening in the present is the anticipation of pain in the future, and the present as the present no longer exists.”
When we talk to someone who suffers from this disease, it is common for us to encourage them to do activities or take actions in the present. But the truth is that it is very difficult for these people to see the present, because depression is an eternal view of the future as something dark and, in this way, to be paralyzed.
Treating depression, therefore, is about improving prospects for the future, not just dealing with symptoms that affect the present.
disabling disease
“Becoming depressed is like going blind, the darkness at first gradually becomes all-encompassing; it is like going deaf, hearing less and less until a terrible silence envelops you, until you yourself cannot make any sound to penetrate the silence. It is like feeling your clothes slowly turning to wood, a stiffness in your elbows and knees progressing to a terrible heaviness and an insulating immobility that will atrophy you and, in time, destroy you.”
When we say that depression is a disabling illness, that's what we're talking about. It sets in gradually, so that many times the person does not even realize that he is “losing his sight” until he realizes that he is “completely blind”.
Whenever you notice someone with symptoms of depression, therefore, talk to that person, reach out and do your best to help them, because they may not even know they are going through a serious problem.
notion of time
“[The days feel like] terrible years, based on some artificial sense of time.”
Chronological time, as we understand it, loses meaning for a person suffering from depression, because every second and every minute is so painful and distressing that it seems to last an infinity.
It's important, therefore, to go easy on someone who is experiencing this illness, because they are already carrying too much of a burden. So instead of demanding and rushing, she needs help and calm.
Hopelessness
“When you are depressed, the past and the future are absorbed entirely in the present moment, like in the world of a 3-year-old. He can't remember a time when he felt better; at least not clearly; and you certainly can't imagine a future in which you feel better.”
You may also like
- 9 things you need to know about depression
- Find out what are the possible causes of depression
- Check out some attitudes of those who have depression and don't show it
One of the worst things about depression is this: not being able to see yourself getting better or being able to remember what it was like before it arrived and took up residence, which can leave a person completely hopeless and at risk of life.
When reaching out to someone with this problem or yourself experiencing it, it's important to stress that everything has an end. Nothing is eternal and immutable. It is a disease, it will be cured and it will pass. The future will be better, yes. Say it. Show this to yourself or the person.
Vitality
Many associate depression with the opposite of happiness. In several moments of his work, however, Solomon argues that depression is not unhappiness, that is, the opposite of joy. Depression is the absence of vitality, according to him.
The one who has vitality overcomes his difficulties, has the energy to live another day and go in search of his dreams, and that's what depression takes away from us. For him, then, it is necessary to rescue the will and vitality, not something as uncontrollable as happiness, which can be an unattainable ideal.
Depression is a serious issue, and anything that helps us to deal with it and be more prepared to relate to people who suffer from it is very important, like this book by Andrew Solomon. Is that you? What do you think about what he shares in “The Noonday Demon”?
