Hey there. If you’re reading this, you’ve landed on the Dear Sis page. Here, I listen to your problem and give you advice. We all need someone to talk to isn’t it? Dear Sis is here for you. I will listen and respond, and the cool thing is that you are completely anonymous. Let’s talk.
I received a question from anonymous who wrote:
‘I believe I am suffering from depression but at the clinic the nurse said I have it under control because I can see the signs. I was extremely disappointed because I believe I need to be put on medication.’
Depression can happen to anyone. It, unfortunately, ends up affecting all aspects of life the longer it stays with you. It consumes you and you find yourself in a hole that you cannot get out of.
You may want to dig deeper and find out what the root cause of your depression is. What caused it? What is depressing you? Once you have the answer to that, give yourself time to heal from what is causing you to be depressed. You deserve to be free from it.
You mentioned that you can see the signs. Let’s talk about them.
Signs of depression often include poor concentration, feelings of excessive guilt or low self-worth, hopelessness about the future, disrupted sleep or no sleep at all, changes in appetite or weight, feeling very tired or low in energy, depending on whether it’s clinical, bipolar, or postpartum depression.
If you have experienced any of these, it is advisable to visit your local clinic or healthcare professional for some additional help. Not the clinic you went to because they’ve already decided not to help you. Try another one where you will be treated better.
I understand that this may be very difficult for you to go through, but I admire your strength to acknowledge that you are having a hard time. I commend you on that.
What's your hot take on this story?
Sometimes you get so hopeless that you struggle to even express how we are feeling. You find yourself crying and you don’t know why. When you are asked what is wrong, you don’t have the words to say exactly what is wrong. Depression does that. It takes away your voice.
You might want to look into talking to someone that you trust, like a family member or a friend. I know that you may be having trust issues right now but keeping quiet about something like this can eat you up. So even if you don’t find a friend or family member to confide in, maybe start seeking professional help. Clinics have free therapy. But careful on the medication.
You need to have a prescription on the medication that you should be on and this means you have to get healthcare professionals involved. You cannot self-diagnose for depression and allocate medication that you think is needed. You need expert advice before you take the wrong medication that could make your condition to be far worse than it was supposed to be.
But not all hope is lost. Depression is treatable through methods such as therapy, supplements, and exercise. These are tools you can use to get yourself back to health. There are also place you can call like Lifeline South Africa. They provide 24/7 free and confidential support by phone so that you can get the help you need.
All the best and I hope you will be okay,
Sis
