DEPRESSION THE SILENT KILLER

Anil Ivory Jane Pana

Department of Business and Tourism

Master in Management
MGT506 - Leadership and Organizational Behavior
Instructor: Dr. Kep Bunly
 DEPRESSION THE SILENT KILLER

Introduction
Depression has been identified as a major factor leading to suicide. Suicides are considered as
secondary deaths due to their nature. This is because an individual who commits suicide has often lost the
will to live, which leads to the death of their inner strength and their ability to exist effectively in the
society. Depression is a significant factor when it comes to the psychological well-being of an individual.
It makes affects the mental, physical and emotional abilities of a person. When affected by depression an
individual tends to have fatigue affecting their ability to carry out their day to day activities, mood swings
affecting their association with others and absent mindedness that can lead to accidents. Depression is
considered to be one of the most common diseases in the world today. It is a disease that affects all people
irrespective of their social status, educational background gender or race. Although depression has no bias
it is clear that more women are treated for depression.

Abstract
Depression has been identified as a silent disease that affects all individual irrespective of his or
her physical and biological health. The condition openly affects more than 40% of the society. Depression
has become a worrying trend that does not only affect the psychological wellbeing of an individual but also
the physical wellbeing of a person. It has often been idealized as a mental illness Looking into
questionnaires analysed, the data collected it is quite clear that there is need to look into the methods in
which it can be prevented as well as treated within the university setup as well as the immediate society
that is affected. The data was analysed using thematic analysis that helped establish the specific view of the
respondents without the researchers point of view.

Literature Review

Depression is a word we often throw around without realising the depth of the disease. It is a
mental health condition that affects people of all ages in the form of one or recurrent major depressive
episodes (MDEs) that can be mild, moderate, or severe. There is no single cause of depression known it is
a disorder of the brain that occurs due to a combination of genetic and environmental factors working
together. It is a frequent mood disorder that is severely disabling and has a significant impact on everyday
life of an individual as well as society at large, including a substantial economic burden on society.
According to The Lancet, mental disorders are among the leading causes of non-fatal disease burden in
India; 197.3 million people had mental disorders in India in 2017, which includes 45.7 million people with
depressive disorders and 44.9 million people with anxiety disorders. It goes on to state that mental
disorders comprised 2.5 per cent of the total disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in India in 1990 that
increased to 4.7 per cent in 2017. Among non-communicable diseases (NCD), mental health is the largest
contributor to economic loss in India an estimated 20 percent of economic loss from NCDs between 2012
and 2030 worth $6.2 trillion will be caused by mental health issues.

What is depression? Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressive mood,
loss of appetite loss of interest or pleasure, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed
sleep, and poor concentration. More over depression often comes with symptoms of anxiety. These
problems can become chronic leading to substantial impairment of an individual’s ability to effectively
function in the society. At its worst, depression has been known to lead to suicide and suicidal behavior.

These three themes constitute the cognitive triad. Aaron Beck believed that the cognitive triad
could illustrate the manner in which depression developed. He noted that depressed individuals tend to pay
only selective emphasis some areas. These may lead to depression. On the other hand, it is noted that the
thought process can only develop as a result of social expectations and systems of belief. For instance, the
cognitive triad establishes that a depressed individual tends to believe that they are inadequate, failures as
well having a hopeless future. An individual may harbour these feelings as a result of activities that they
involve themselves in. If these activities are not effectively carried out an individual will in turn have
feelings of failure and inability. iv. Sociological theory of suicide. The second theory we will look at is the
sociological theory of suicide. The sociological theory of suicide was developed by Emile Durkheim in
1867. Durkheim believed that the social forces around an individual affect the overall suicide rate. The
sociological theory outlines that areas with high social forces have higher possibility of an individual
committing suicide. The sociological theory simply establishes that the main causes of suicide in the
society were a result of social pressure.

Aaron Beck believed that the cognitive triad could illustrate the manner in which depression
developed. He noted that depressed individuals tend to pay only selective emphasis some areas. These may
lead to depression. On the other hand, it is noted that the thought process can only develop as a result of
social expectations and systems of belief. For instance, the cognitive triad establishes that a depressed
individual tends to believe that they are inadequate, failures as well having a hopeless future. An individual
may harbour these feelings as a result of activities that they involve themselves in. if these activities are not
effectively carried out an individual will in turn have feelings of failure and inability. Durkheim believed
that the social forces around an individual affect the overall suicide rate. The sociological theory outlines
that areas with high social forces have higher possibility of an individual committing suicide.

According to Durkheim (1951), “the risks of suicide are higher when society’s influence over the
individual is either excessive or insufficient. This means that when an individual is highly integrated and
an expected outcome is not produced the individual may either feel alienated. These feelings of extreme
need to perform are often displayed along with the fear of failure. Clarke (2003) believed that urban
dwellers tend to be less religious compared to their rural counterparts. This same ideology claims that there
are more suicide cases in urban areas compared to rural areas. The belief is mainly based on the societal
concept of communities that we live in. for instance urban societies tend to isolate individuals in their own
space. This results from new environments that are created as well as the different individuals that come
from different cultures. It therefore becomes hard for individuals to associate easily, and most university
students belong to this group of urban dwellers. These students leave their homes to join a new community
that have set rules and expectations. The adjustment from their previous lives is not an easy journey and it
is often hindered by various factors such as culture shock, shyness, introvert personalities and fear. These
may lead to segregation as well as loneliness and eventually depression.

Conclusion & Recommendations

Depression has been identified as a major factor leading to suicide among university students in
Kenya. It has been outlined as a mental disorder that affects women more than men. Further, it is a
phenomenon that affects all people irrespective of their social class, education level, age, race or religion.
It is believed to affect more women than men due to the fact that women are more emotional. One of the
major challenges of treating depression is the fact that it is not considered an illness. It mainly affects the
youth due to their high expectations of themselves and the society. Due to the lack of recognition,
depression is categorised as a mental disorder or illness rather than a disease. This has therefore led to a
great deal of mis-diagnosis of suicide cases. Many blame suicide to mental illness since depression has
been classified as a mental health case. Depression has also been identified as common among youth who
have family history of depression, are anxious and those unable to establish positive social relationships,
have conduct disorder, misuse drugs and alcohol, have concerns about their sexuality, or who suffer
negative life experience such as bullying, domestic disharmony, or physical, sexual, or and emotional
abuse. Traumatic life events are factors that have been identified as leading factors of major depression ad
well as suicidal tendencies.

References:
Haltiwanger, J. (2014). A Silent Killer: 10 Reasons Why Depression Is Nothing At All Like You
Think It Is. Elite Daily. Retrieved 5 July 2022, from https://
www.elitedaily.com/life/culture/depression-mental-illness-help/706413.

Truschel, J. (2022). Depression Definition and DSM-5 Diagnostic Criteria. Psycom.net – Mental
Health Treatment Resource Since 1996. Retrieved 5 July 2022, from
https://www.psycom.net/depression/major-depressive-disorder/dsm-5- depression-criteria.
https://www.bartleby.com/essay/Depression-Is-A-Silent-Killer-FKNW8RKTGXYW

https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/health/depression-the-silent-killer-105633

https://willingness.com.mt/depression-the-silent-killer/