Bhubaneswar: With increased peer pressure and the weight of higher expectations from parents, the youths are now becoming more vulnerable to depression, a form of mental issue triggering sadness and other associated health hazards.
Experts who work in the psychiatric sector claim that now more youths are susceptible to early onset of such psychological ailments and many youths end up abusing drugs.
“Depression is a condition where the patient thinks he is useless and is not good enough for the society. They tend to suffer from low self-esteem and often believe that life is not worth living. When a patient develops depression, he starts thinking on this line,” said Suvendu Mishra, a psychiatrist from the city.
He also added, “Later, other ailments affect the patient like lack of energy. In extreme cases, suicidal tendencies also develop among them which could be dangerous. They tend to shun social activities and like to keep to themselves.”
According to experts, such symptoms manifest slowly bringing large scale changes in the patient’s lifestyle. The patient is likely to show drastic changes in their behavioral patterns and starts disassociating themselves from others.
Mishra said that medical interventions along with counseling can help the patients cope with the mental ailment and come out of the clutches of depression. “Help from the psychologist, pharma therapies and other assistive interventions are necessary to combat depression. In severe cases strict medications are needed. Admission in hospitals is necessary in extreme cases.”
Experts claim that sometimes a combination of many helpful interventions is needed. A combination of counseling, pharmacology services and electro convulsive treatment could also be given to fight the menace.
Other experts claim that restoring social contacts, regular socialisation are some of the natural ways to fight depression. Being involved in a social cause and mixing with groups of like-minded people can also help, say experts working in the sector of mental health.