About 280 million people around the world have depression and it not only affects all age groups, depression affects women more than men. Experts have, however, urged people around to be vigilant and watch out for symptoms such as anxiety, apathy, general discontent, guilt, hopelessness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities, among others. They stressed that affected persons need to be cared for and not left alone to manage the conditions, reports PRECIOUS YUSUF

In recent times, there has been an increase in deaths caused by depression in our society and medical experts have outlined the causes of depression and how relatives and friends around people who are suffering from depression can identify the symptoms of depressive disorders and help affected persons manage the condition. The death of popular actress Ada Ameh, who was popularly known for her role in award winning family show as Emu Johnson, is a clarion call for families and friends to be more attentive and vigilant as the cause of her death was narrowed down to mental issues and heart attack which she suffered while visiting with a friend in Warri, Delta State on July 17. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), about 280 million people around the world have depression and it affects all age groups. Similarly, depression affects women more than men.

As part of the drive to create awareness about depression, in 2017 the WHO encouraged people to talk about the condition more because it was believed that it was under-recognised in society. It is easy to identify the symptoms when people lose interest in things, stop finding joy in things they used to be happy and excited about and when they experience a sense of loss of energy. Depression is a leading cause of death all over the world; hence the need for it to be identified and treated on time. The main reason why people do not get treatment is because they have to pay out-ofpocket to get needed care.

Dr. Raphael Ogbolu, national coordinator/ President and Consultant Psychiatrist, Suicide Research and Prevention Initiative (SURPIN), Nigeria, said that the signs were there to see. He said that in a society like ours where spiritual meanings were read into everything, relatives and acquaintances ignore the signs more often than not, most times contributing inevitably to the deaths of people suffering from mental conditions. According to Ogbolu who is also an expert on issues of depression and mental health, “Depression is a real issue that needs to be addressed. The work cannot be left for only the persons suffering from the condition.

People around them need to be vigilant and start noticing the symptoms.” “When a person starts to lose interest in the things that he once used to be interested in, stops laughing and is always sad then the people around him need to pay close attention to his mental health and well-being,” he said. The late Ameh, 48, had a daughter, Aladi Godgift, at a young age and she lost her daughter in 2020, after an unsuccessful fibroid surgical operation in Abuja. After the death of her only child, Ameh had slid into depression, according to reports. She had been quoted as saying that life was no longer the same without her only child. Aside from the actress, even normal people go through a lot and people expect them to just get over it and continue living their everyday life. Ogbolu pointed out that people, most especially women, were going through a lot and they needed to be cared for.

“Globally it is known that depression is common amongst women. Howev- e r the suicide rates are higher amongst men. The fact that more women suffer from depression is a cause of concern. In a country where people are not encouraged to seek treatment and own up to their own emotional disorders, a woman in a low and medium income level will struggle more. She’s struggling to pull her weight alongside her male counterparts and for both male and female, the lack of someone to confide in becomes a problem,” Ogbolu drove the point home. He also pointed out that the stigma that was attached to mental health in our society was also another reason why people are usually quiet about their health issues and dying silently without opening up to those around them about what they are really going through.

“There’s still a lot of stigma surrounding mental health issues and emotional disorders. Consequently people are very reluctant to access and or receive treatment. They self-stigmatise and all of that compounds the problem. Also, there are a lot of myths and misunderstandings on depression and other mental disorders. Depression is a leading cause of disabilities across the world and it is a major contributor to the burden of disease globally. I say disability because when a person is depressed, they find it hard to function well. If it’s a student, he won’t want to go to school.

If it’s a worker, they won’t want to go to work and everything becomes a big burden. That person becomes less functional because of the burden that the disease poses in that person,” he said. Family members are supposed to be a support system and not people who just turn their backs on their loved ones and set impossibly high standards that are devoid of the help they should render to affected persons. To this end, experts have continued to advise that help should be offered from every quarter: family, friends, people in communities and the society at large.