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Depression in the Modern Age


Tackling depression in the age of smartphones and Facebook friends is almost a different beast to 20 years ago. A lot has been spoken of how people rely on their smartphone that gives them a dopamine fix, and non-clinical disorders like FOMO (fear of missing out) are making everyone, not just the youth, feeling the pinch of depression. It’s just that now it can take extreme forms of emotion, and when you're seeing all your friends live that “perfect life” online, it can cause havoc with your emotions. What is the key issue in tackling those feelings of jealousy, anxiety and other emotions then? Is it completely withdrawing from social media? While social media has a bad rap, it is certainly a tool to promote closeness, rather than increase feelings of being disconnected with your friends.

If you know someone who is dealing with depression in one way or another, it’s important to spot the signs. The obvious ones, like being withdrawn are things that could jump out, but a lot of people now are able to function despite feeling like this. And it can end up manifesting itself in extreme habits, or they may have an addictive personality, whether it is to alcohol or even to something as common as sugar. It’s important to remember that there are so many organizations out there to help people if addiction has become a massive part of their lives. Places like palmer lake recovery work on a personal level, rather than as part of that whole sterile doctor/patient dynamic, which is never really beneficial for getting to the root of any addictive personality.

This is an important lesson to take away if you know someone who is functioning with depression, and thankfully it is being discussed on much wider forums now (thanks to social media, the “cause” of it). But it still seems to be a thing where, although we know someone who is going a bad spell, but we don’t actively do anything to help. And it’s a difficult decision to make as their friend, or colleague, or partner, or parent, because to an extent you need to let them find a way out of the web themselves to an extent. Because resilience is a tool that can only help if you develop it from within, so if you are in a position to speak to them about their depression, all you can do is offer your support. So many people who are functioning with depression on a daily basis feel it coming from a place of isolation. Being withdrawn is something we all do, and it can actually do us some good from time to time, but you need to gauge whether that person is being too withdrawn.

Living with depression in the modern age is different because we can easily communicate ourselves now via our social media soapbox. And if a problem shared really is a problem halved, then going online is helping us all feel a little less disconnected. But take note if you are reading this and you suffer from a low mood, there is always someone out there to listen to you, and it’s never a burden, or you're never wasting someone’s time.


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