About Unipolar Disorder: Information On Unipolar Disorder

Read about unipolar disorder and what it means to suffer from the disease, including depression. Depression not only affects the person who is going through it, but also everyone around them, including friends, family, loved ones, spouses, and children.

The social and cultural aspect

Major depression also known as Unipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder is a critical condition' where people suffer silently due to the various symptoms of this disorder. Generally' they will have a low-sad mood' negativity' lack of self-worth and self-esteem' inability to make decisions and lack of confidence' they will shun away from activities that they enjoyed participating before' a hopeless and helpless feeling to name a few. The disorder is known to be critical' due to the fact it can make a person give up on life and think of suicide as a form of escape from the life they find difficult to cope up with.

Depression has a stigma where people do not want to be diagnosed with this condition' due to the fact the opinion and thinking behind it that people suffering from depression are ‘crazy’ or ‘loony’. This has prevented them from seeking proper treatment' even when they find out they have this depressive disorder. Unlike other sickness' only 50% of those suffering from major depression will consult a physician' thereby leaving the rest of the 50% to handle this disorder on their own. According to research' people do not want to be diagnosed with major depression due to the social and cultural aspects of the world. Sadly' many have committed suicide' as they are left alone to manage their lives on their own.

The sociological and cultural aspects of depression are influenced by' and also can influence the psychological and biological aspects in the life of a person. Social' cultural and even ethnicity plays an important role in the area of a person’s health. According to beliefs in the past it was thought that only people from the western world suffered depression and non-euro Americans did not suffer from this disorder. Ethno-medical studies (where the focus is on perception' culture) reveal that this thinking is more to do with the cultural thinking' where the symptoms are labeled as a depressive condition on how depression is thought of in the particular culture. In India most of the distress moods are labeled as depressive disorders and in Japan depressive disorders are not accepted by the society and as such people do not admit the fact that they are suffering from major depression. As such' on estimations and percentages received regarding depressive disorders' people can come to a conclusion that India has more cases of depression than Japan. Likewise' even countries like the United States can be influenced by these aspects. Ethno-medical studies reveal that the cultural differences in the social hierarchy are connected to the prevalence of depression. In the western society the individuals are known to be more focused being independent and having a goal to achieve' and whereas some other cultures will focus on the family or the society being vital than an individual. As such personal happiness too is sacrificed for the sake of the family and society. Looking at the Asian culture' it is the norm for one member to work and bring home a paycheck in order to support the family' as such some authors suggest that since they are not looking at personal gratification' they can be comfortable with their own lives and as a result less worry means less reasons to get depressed.

With more and more people being made aware of the seriousness of this condition' though it may be hard to accept by the society' people are trying to seek help and overcome the social and cultural aspects of the society' in this modern world.