LYRICFLUENT
LYRICFLUENTWhat Is Depression? Lyrics by Addison Anderson Addison Anderson
Below, you will find the lyrics for What Is Depression? by Addison Anderson.
Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world
In the United States
Close to 10% of adults struggle with depression
But because it's a mental illness
It can be a lot harder to understand than, say, high cholesterol
One major source of confusion is the difference
Between having depression
And just feeling depressed
Almost everyone feels down from time to time
Getting a bad grade
Losing a job
Having an argument
Even a rainy day can bring on feelings of sadness
Sometimes there's no trigger at all
It just pops up out of the blue
Then circumstances change
And those sad feelings disappear
Clinical depression is different
It's a medical disorder
And it won't go away just because you want it to
It lingers for at least two consecutive weeks
And significantly interferes with one's ability to work
Play
Or love
Depression can have a lot of different symptoms
A low mood
Loss of interest in things you'd normally enjoy
Changes in appetite
Feeling worthless or excessively guilty
Sleeping either too much or too little
Poor concentration
Restlessness or slowness
Loss of energy
Or recurrent thoughts of suicide
If you have at least five of those symptoms
According to psychiatric guidelines
You qualify for a diagnosis of depression
And it's not just behavioral symptoms
Depression has physical manifestations inside the brain
First of all
There are changes that could be seen with the naked eye
And X-ray vision
These include smaller frontal lobes and hippocampal volumes
On a more microscale
Depression is associated with a few things
The abnormal transmission or depletion of certain neurotransmitters
Especially serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine
Blunted circadian rhythms
Or specific changes in the REM
And slow-wave parts of your sleep cycle
And hormone abnormalities
Such as high cortisol and deregulation of thyroid hormones
But neuroscientists still don't have a complete picture
Of what causes depression
It seems to have to do with a complex interaction
Between genes and environment
But we don't have a diagnostic tool
That can accurately predict where or when it will show up
And because depression symptoms are intangible
It's hard to know who might look fine but is actually struggling
According to the National Institute of Mental Health
It takes the average person suffering with a mental illness
Over ten years to ask for help
But there are very effective treatments
Medications and therapy complement
Each other to boost brain chemicals
In extreme cases, electroconvulsive therapy
Which is like a controlled seizure in the patient's brain
Is also very helpful
Other promising treatments
Like transcranial magnetic stimulation
Are being investigated, too
So, if you know someone struggling with depression
Encourage them, gently, to seek out some of these options
You might even offer to help with specific tasks
Like looking up therapists in the area
Or making a list of questions to ask a doctor
To someone with depression
These first steps can seem insurmountable
If they feel guilty or ashamed
Point out that depression is a medical condition
Just like asthma or diabetes
It's not a weakness or a personality trait
And they shouldn't expect themselves to just get over it
Anymore than they could will themselves to get over a broken arm
If you haven't experienced depression yourself
Avoid comparing it to times you've felt down
Comparing what they're experiencing to normal
Temporary feelings of sadness
Can make them feel guilty for struggling
Even just talking about depression openly can help
For example, research shows that asking
Someone about suicidal thoughts
Actually reduces their suicide risk
Open conversations about mental illness help erode stigma
And make it easier for people to ask for help
And the more patients seek treatment
The more scientists will learn about depression
And the better the treatments will get
Did you like this lyrics translation?
Learn English with lessons based on this song!
Rated 4.9 ★ by 7000+ learners
Apple and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc.
Google Play and the Google Play logo are trademarks of Google LLC.