Breaking Depression is a mental health campaign which started in August 2020, for those in Europe (excluding the UK), The Middle East and Africa.
This organisation aims to raise more awareness of the challenges faced by those living with depression in a feature of eight works of kintsugi art, a Japanese art style of repairing broken objects with powdered gold. Have a look at the campaign’s website, where you can see the eight stories which inspired each individuals work of art. Let’s break the silence and start a new conversation about depression | Breaking Depression
Art is very expressive, and this style perfectly symbolises depression, repairing cracks with something bold to reveal something beautiful in the end. As quoted by the breaking depression website “These ceramic sculptures each tell a visual story, revealing that with time, care, patience, people with MDD (major depressive disorder) can begin the healing process.”
Although many people have heard of depression and what it is, not many fully understand what depression impacts and still some people don’t fully believe it’s a real problem.
It’s important that everyone can educate themselves on mental health problems, like depression. Which is why this campaign, and many others are important when it comes to raising awareness and educating large masses.
Even though this campaign excludes the UK, it’s still important to understand what symptoms depression can present and how it impacts the lives of millions of people and just how important campaigns like this one are.
What is depression?
Depression is a type of mood disorder, that includes consistent feelings of hopelessness and the loss of interest in activities that were once enjoyable.
What symptoms does depression present?
Some of the psychological symptoms include:
- Low mood
- Feeling anxious
- Feeling guilty
- Having little interest in things or no motivation
- Having low self-esteem
- Feeling hopeless
- Irritated easily
Some of the physical symptoms include:
- Aches and pains
- Lack of energy
- Moving or speaking slower than usual
- Change in appetite
- Weight increase or decrease
- Disturbed sleep
Ones not many are aware of are:
- Loss of memory
- Silence becomes uncomfortable
- Disconnected from reality, ‘out of body’ experiences
- Getting stuck in loops of thoughts
A full list of symptoms can be found HERE
What does it impact? How are lives made harder?
As well as daily struggles that come from having depression, society also adds to this by creating a culture of stigma. A lot of stereotypes surround mental health, including depression.
Some day-to-day struggles include:
- Ability to maintain relationships
- Ability to find and keep a job
- Ability to complete work and focus on individual tasks
- Exclusion from society
- Isolation
- Sometimes a lack of support networks
- Difficulty doing things throughout the day, sometimes not being able to get out of bed
How to get help:
Getting diagnosed
Symptoms must be present for at least two weeks to be diagnosed with depression. Where the symptoms must cause significant hardship to day-to-day life.
DSM-5 criteria of diagnosis:
- Feelings of worthlessness
- Recurrent thoughts of death, without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan
- Loss of energy nearly every day or fatigue
- Loss of ability to think or concentrate nearly every day
- Slowing down or thought and physical moving
- Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain or decrease or increase of appetite
- Loss of interest in activities
- Depressed mood most of day
Treatments:
Some treatment options include a combination of lifestyle changes, medication, and therapy.
How to help yourself:
- Talk to the people you trust
- Keep active
- Practice self-care
- Look after your physical health
- Spend time outside
- Practice self-love and mindfulness
- Write how about how you’re feeling
- Listen to music
- Practice doing things by yourself/being in your company
- Look for new activities you can start doing
Suicide warning signs:
- Talking about feeling hopeless
- Having extreme mood swings
- Withdrawing
- Talking about feeling like a burden
- Talking about wanting to die
- Giving away possessions
- Taking unnecessary risks
- Loss in interests
- Preparing for death
- Increases involvement in risky behaviours, e.g., alcohol consumption
If in need of urgent help:
International Suicide & Emergency Hotlines (opencounseling.com)
Dealing with the loss of someone to suicide:
Every 40 seconds someone dies from suicide, causing shock and grief to those left behind. It can become so overwhelming that you start to blame yourself, which is why talking to someone or people who have shared the same experiences is so important.
You can access emotional support from, friends and family, charities, counsellors, and therapy, to name a few. Allow people to look after you.
How to help someone who has lost someone to suicide:
Let people speak openly about what has happened and how they have been feeling, talking about it is powerful and should be encouraged. However, not everyone is ready to talk about it, which is why finding a solution that best fits them when talking and offering a space where they can talk, and you can listen is incredibly important within the healing process of grief. As well as offering them a way to stay in contact with you.
You don’t need to find an answer, don’t try and ‘fix’ them, listening is enough.
What It’s Like To Lose Someone To Suicide – YouTube
Supporting friends and family – Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide (uksobs.org)
Self-assessment quiz
Depression and anxiety self-assessment quiz – NHS (www.nhs.uk)
Key Dates surrounding depression and mental health
- March 1st – Self-injury awareness day
- September 10th – World suicide prevention day
- November 20th – International survivors of suicide loss day
Breaking Depression puts a spotlight on those who are unheard with something beautifully meaningful.
Have you enjoyed this article? why not check out our Anxiety and Stress Self Help Guide HERE
