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Anesia Shaffer
Ms. Mounts and Ms. Ryan
Modern Literature
November 2nd, 2015
Suffering in Silence
From the words of the singer Rihanna: Its like youre screaming and no one can hear.
Depression affects ones thoughts and or actions. A person with depression is depressed for two
or more weeks, before the doctors can name their illness as depression. It can cause people to
constantly think about death which coincides with suicide. Doctors can give people
antidepressants and or have them go to a therapist about their depression. Depression is a mental
illness, which leaves a person depressed, but there are treatments available.
Depression causes one to be severely sad for two or more weeks, and the appearance of
the disorder includes several factors. Some of these include avoiding eye contact, moving more
slowly than average, speaking really slow or really fast. There are more indicators, but these
movements are most common with those suffering from the disorder. In order to discover
depression a person normally goes to a doctor, because they have been really depressed and their
habits are different than normal for a long period of time. One with depression tends to be
depressed for two or more weeks, which can lead to more severe episodes.
Major depressive disorder is a moderate to severe episode of depression lasting
two or more weeks. Individuals experiencing this major depressive episode may have
trouble sleeping, lose interest in activities they once took pleasure in, experience a change

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in weight, have difficulty concentrating, feel worthless and hopeless, or have a

preoccupation with death or suicide. (Ford-Martin et. al)
It is clear from the experts that a major depressive episode can lead to severe symptoms,
which can affect a persons daily life.
Depression includes three main symptoms, which are: thoughts of death and or
suicide (which do tend to coincide with each other), fatigue (lack of energy), and social
isolation. People with depression tend to to think about death which can lead to thoughts
of suicide. It is common that people diagnosed with this disease will ...Have repeated
thoughts of death and suicide, [and]experience hallucinations or delusions (Morgane).
Other symptoms a person can experience are directly connected to bodily functions.
Biological symptoms include: experiencing a change in appetite and significant increase
or decrease in weight, having difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep at night or
sleeping too much (Morgane). Based on Morganes statement, it is clear that one with
this disorder tends to not move around as much as a person and are less active. In other
words, these people find it very hard to move and complete the most simplest tasks,
because they are fatigued. They also tend to isolate themselves from other people and can
most likely be seen in modern days on an electronic device like a phone or a tablet and or
reading.
Although depression causes several harmful symptoms it can be managed with
treatments antidepressants, cognitive behavioral therapy, and interpersonal therapy.
Therapists can send one to a doctor to get them an antidepressant prescribed to help them.
These antidepressants work, because they impact parts of the brain. Recent studies

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suggest that the beneficial effect of antidepressant drugs is mediated, at least in part, via
stimulation of adult hippocampal neurogenesis and subsequent increase in hippocampal
plasticity (Obesity, Fitness & Wellness Week). Antidepressants work with factors in the
brain like the hippocampus to help ease a persons thoughts. Cognitive behavioral
therapy helps a person with depression see behaviors. This provides them with examples
of the ways they think, which plays a role in their depression. Then their therapist can
help them change those unhealthy habits. Interpersonal therapy focuses on relationships
with other people and how they affect the person and then their therapist helps them
pinpoint and change unhealthy habits. A person who experiences this disorder does have
hope as provided through these various therapies.
Depression is known for causing one to be depressed or severely sad for two or
more weeks, thoughts about death, but treatments are available through the form of
antidepressants and therapists. One can have a depressive episode which lasts two or
more weeks if they have depression. They also tend to think about death a lot and their
eating habits tend to change same with their weight. Most people with depression end up
taking antidepressants instead of going to a therapist for help. If you think someone you
know is struggling with depression, make sure to help them.

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Works cited.
"Depressive disorders." Paula Anne Ford-Martin and Teresa G. Odle The Gale Encyclopedia of
Medicine. Ed. Jacqueline L. Longe. 5th ed. Detroit: Gale, 2015. 9 vols.
Moragne, Wendy. Depression. Brookfield, Conn.: Twenty-First Century, 2001. 34. Print.
Web. 26 Oct. 2015.