THE MOST EFFECTIVE ANTIDEPRESSANT PILL




















“It’s not always the tears that measure the pain.
Sometimes, it’s the smile we fake.”
- Anonymous


“Think: one of the most important ways to be cured from anxiety and depression is overcoming whatever you're addicted to, and I am not just talking about alcohol and drugs. There are many other things a person can be addicted to.”

I came across this comment from a viewer while watching a powerful video on overcoming depression. The video was put together by using powerful messages from many famous people, including some well-known psychologists, authors and motivational speakers. 





Though the intention of this video was to help overcome depression, I felt, that the video itself, at places, was dark and depressing. Maybe I am wrong, here. I would prefer to watch some funny videos of little babies, cats and dogs. Such videos lift me up from my depression... They make me feel so relaxed and make my heart smile. To me, they are the best antidepressants.  





To do away my blues, I prefer disassociating myself with what is depressing and dark. For example: I find the 9-pm news on TV and their loud debates depressing… The fake-news videos are depressing… Political and religious propaganda is depressing… The rape-lynching-corruption stories are depressing… The anti-national narrative is depressing… The obsession to look for only bad things about people, who we despise, is depressing… The madness of forwarding images and texts incessantly – to left, right and centre – is depressing…

Sitting at one place, particularly on computer or mobiles, hooked on to useless or useful things, is depressing… We do not need such an overdose of the so-called ‘useful’ things; and, the useless things, anyway, make us sick…

So, people who go out and breathe fresh air… Who do any kind of physical exercise – Trek, Walk, Jog, Run, Yoga, Tai Chi, Gym, Zumba, Aerobics, Swimming, whatever… People who play any indoor or outdoor games… People who sing, dance, act, write, read for leisure… People who attend Social functions, satsangs, attend community activities, visit orphanages and hospitals… People who write down their feelings… who talk to others, seek their help… Above all, people who pray and eat together… laugh together. Yes, these people effectively beat their blues...

A few good family members and friends to talk to… A few good relationships to lean on… And, a very sincere heart that says, ‘I am strong’ but, ‘I need help and support when I feel weak and depressed’… These are a few things we all need, for dealing with out blues, time to time…

All of us, on this planet, feel weak and depressed every now and then. To me, that’s being perfectly normal, perfectly human. As wise people say, Life should never be a single square; rather, it should be many squares making it a big square. Our professional work, community work, social work, the commitments to our children, spouses, parents, causes, ideologies – yes, all these are small squares which, collectively, form the ‘big square’ - our Life. When we let any one of them consume us, we let in depression, big time!


Last evening, I spent a lot of time talking to a 30-year-old young man and his parents. I knew his parents. The young man has been going through a prolonged phase of depression, the epicentre of which being his workplace at a bank. He was put on antidepression medicines for quite some time. Though, now, he was off those medicines, he was not completely off the depression. His parents did not want him to be dependent on pills for his recovery. They were willing to support him, all the way, through his recovery journey, and that was wonderful to note. They had persuaded him to take a long break (without pay) from his bank job and go on treks to lovely locations with one of his uncles. It was, also, heartening to see the willingness of the parents to seek whatever help was needed to bring their young son out of the dark space. The young man, seemed a lot open now to talk and say, “I need help”.
“I need help”. Yes, this is the most effective antidepressant pill! It can bring about self-healing… Else, they drug us when we go through our dark times… They tell us to do this and do that… And, that’s, as someone said, like “asking us to paint the sky”!

Incidentally, this morning, another parent had shared with me this beautiful video about depression…







Let’s, therefore, learn to say, “I am not feeling okay… I need help.”


GERALD D’CUNHA

Pic.: Pixels/Internet

Videos: YouTube



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