Depression is a condition that effects so many people this day in age. Whether it be yourself, a family member, or even a friend, depression seems to always leave a mark on someone’s life. Personally, two of my sisters have battled with depression so I have a strong understanding of how negatively it effects someone’s life. It really isn’t as easy as “just get over it”, like some people think.
I find it quite shocking that depression is not consider a disease. The definition of a disease is, “A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury” (Oxford Dictionary, 2017). Depression causes symptoms that effect the function in a human in many ways.
Depression produces specific symptoms that effects the function in a human in many negative ways. It can result in the person having difficulty falling asleep, sleeping too much, daytime fatigue, irritability, difficulty concentrating, loss of appetite, muscle aches, and headaches. Depression causes the person to experience feelings of sadness, worthlessness, emptiness, and hopelessness. It may result in the person to have angry outbursts, even over small matters. Lastly, depression causes the person to lose interest and pleasure in the normal activities they used to enjoy (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2016). The side effects of depression put a huge toll on a human’s daily function, making a strong case as to why it should be considered a disease.
The severity of depression greatly varies from person to person, but in all cases, it still affects a human’s function. Depression is a major problem today, so if it was recognized as a disease maybe it would get the much-needed increased attention. A lot of times depression is not just a phase that someone can grow out of, which is why I am a strong believer that it should be considered disease.
References
Mayo Clinic Staff. (2016, July 7). Depression (major depression) Symptoms. Retrieved March 11, 2017, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/basics/symptoms/con-20032977
Oxford Dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved March 11, 2017, from https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/disease
Matthew, you have offered some excellent reasons for classifying depression as a disease and thank you for sharing you own family’s experience (I am very sorry for your sisters’ struggles). I think you are absolutely right that there are many symptoms, that these can vary from person to person and that without “labelling” these in the right way people suffer.
To further strengthen your position, you might want to give some thought to how both the disease triangle and the elements of a disease that we explored in the module would apply to depression. I am hoping to sharing a blog post where this was done in some detail with the whole class so do watch for it (this will give you a better idea of what I mean).