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WHAT DOES DEPRESSION FEEL LIKE?

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October 6, 2023 – It’s common to feel turned upside down whenever something unexpected happens in our lives or because the state of the world is … well, not so great. When this occurs, we may often attribute our lingering sense of doom and dread to depression.

Diagnoses of depression have been on an upward trend, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, with nearly all populations experiencing increases in depression. In The Bahamas, many persons suffered post-traumatic stress, anxiety and depression following the double impacts of Hurricane Dorian and the Covid-19 pandemic. In 2020 alone, depression wascommon among nearly 1 in 10 Americans and almost 1 in 5 adolescents and young adults (ages 18 to 25).

COVID-19 not-withstanding, current numbers reflect 5% of Americans over the age of 18 self-report regularly having feelings of depression — but what does depression really feel like? And how do you know if you’re depressed or just temporarily weighed down by everything that’s happening around you?

Clinical Psychologist at Cleveland Clinic, Ohio Dawn Potter, PsyD, explains in detail what sets depression apart from common sadness and when it’s important to reach out for help.

How depression really feels 

Depression is often characterized as “deep sadness” — but it’s actually a complex condition that’s about more than just feeling sad.

Everybody feels sad and it’s normal to feel sad sometimes. But there are a couple of differences between depression and sadness,” clarifies Dr. Potter. “One thing that sets them apart is how often it is and how long it lasts. But another is that depression comes with a whole bunch of other symptoms that are beyond the feeling of sadness. We don’t diagnose depression based on just a subjective sense of feeling sad alone.”

To receive a diagnosis of clinical depression (major depressive disorder), you would typically experience a consistent and persistent depressed mood or loss of interest in things you enjoy and/or in your day-to-day activities along with at least three or more of thefollowing symptoms for a minimum of two weeks. If you do not have both depressed mood and loss of interest, you must have four of the other symptoms:

  • Sleep disturbances, like sleeping too much or too little.
  • Low energy or fatigue.
  • Excessive feelings of guilt, shame or self-blame when it’s not warranted.
  • Difficulty concentrating or focusing.
  • Psychomotor agitation (like observable fidgeting, restlessness, pacing or difficulty sitting still) or psychomotor slowing (like reduced cognitive thinking, decreased movement and slower speech than you’re used to).
  • An increase or decrease in your appetite that may result in weight gain or weight loss.
  • Thoughts of suicide or recurring thoughts of death.

“Depression is very physiological,” says Dr. Potter. “Depression is more than feeling sad, and a person doesn’t necessarily have to feel sad to be depressed. Depression can sometimes feel like the absence of something rather than the presence of sadness.”

It’s a whole-body experience that affects your physical, mental and emotional health. If you’ve ever heard the saying, “You see the world through rose-colored glasses,” depression, says Dr. Potter, is like viewing the world through gray- or blue-colored glasses.

“With depression, you really only see the negative side of things,” she says. “Depression can cause us to have disturbances in our evaluations of ourselves and other people and it can lead us to make persistent, negative attributions about our self-worth.”

For example, someone without depression may get a bad grade on a test and think to themselves, How did I get here and how can I do better next time? They might then take the necessary steps to study more or plan more efficiently for the next exam. But someone with depression may internalize their feelings and attribute the result of their exam to having been a failure.

“It’s persistent, it’s internal and it forces you to put blinders on,” explains Dr. Potter. “It’s thinking, I’m going to fail at everything, rather than being situational, and that’s what keeps people depressed — that negative thinking.”

But solving depression isn’t always as simple as getting out of the loop of negative self-talk. For some, depression can make everything feel more difficult. You can feel like things are out of control or that you can’t focus on anything meaningful. You might feel weighed down by ruminating thoughts or feel stuck in a fog.

“For someone who’s depressed, it can be hard to take back agency in your life and you can often lose sight of the ability to do things for yourself,” notes Dr. Potter. “That’s why we suggest therapy because it can help you can find a way to do things differently and manage your symptoms if you’re given enough support and information.”

Do symptoms vary by severity? 

Some people may experience depression for shorter periods of time that seem to come and go (as tends to be the case with seasonal depression or seasonal affective disorder). That’s not to say symptoms of seasonal depression are any less severe than other types. But some people can experience symptoms of depression for prolonged extended periods of time. And the longer depression goes undiagnosed, the more severe it can become.

Persistent depressive disorder (PDD) is a form of chronic depression in which you experience symptoms of depression for most of the day on most days for two or more years. Sometimes, a major depressive episode can also occur as a result of having other mental health conditions. People who are more susceptible to experiencing depression may be diagnosed with:

In the most severe cases of depression, people may also experience elements of psychosis, a collection of symptoms that include hallucinations or delusions.

“People often self-report having anxiety and depression and we know those can coexist,” says Dr. Potter. “People with generalized anxiety disorder can be vulnerable to depression because they get exhausted from being worried all the time. And people who have experienced traumatic events or losses can also become depressed.”

When to reach out for help 

If you’re checking at least five of the boxes on symptoms of depression, it may be time to talk to a healthcare provider about getting a diagnosis for depression. And if you experience any suicidal thoughts, it’s important that you seek help from a medical professional immediately who can offer relief and assistance.

But even if you only experience a handful of symptoms or you have a baseline concern for your mental health and/or physical well-being, seeing a healthcare provider about your concerns can be beneficial.

“Even if you’re having less than five of these symptoms but you’re really having trouble with your day-to-day activities and things are feeling a lot more difficult for you to do than they normally would, or what you’re feeling is really bothering you consistently, asking for help can be an important decision to make,” stresses Dr. Potter.

“Because a lot of the symptoms have physical components to them, a healthcare provider might want to rule out other health problems or mental health conditions that could be contributing to your symptoms.”

Other resources for depression 

For anyone in need of additional assistance, these resources can be helpful in answering any questions you have and/or help you find a therapist no matter where you are with your mental health:

  • Suicide Prevention Hotline: (242)322-2763 or (242) 422-2763 (also known as theNational Hotline for Crisis Intervention)
  • The Community Counselling and Assessment Centre at Sandilands at (242) 323-3293/5.
  • Domestic Violence Hotline – (242) 376-3538
  • Domestic Violence and Counselling and Tips Unit – (242) 604-4300

“If you’re demotivated, feeling flat, empty or meaningless, you might have depression,” reiterates Dr. Potter. “You don’t want to self-diagnose, but if you recognize having any of these feelings, it’s time to talk to somebody.”

Caribbean News

5.4 Million in Haiti are going hungry as Gangs recruit children, UN calls for Immediate Action

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Garfield Ekon

Staff Writer

 

 

Haiti, December 9, 2024 – The United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is warning that as Haiti grapples with escalating violence and systemic collapse, its children are bearing the brunt of a multipronged crisis that threatens their lives, safety, and future.

UN officials and humanitarian leaders used the ECOSOC meeting last Monday December 2 to highlight the direct conditions in Haiti, where violence has severely disrupted life in the  Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.

They have called for immediate action to support its youngest citizens.

The UN said 5.4 million people, half the population are facing acute food insecurity and 700,000 displaced, urgent international intervention is needed to address a crisis compounded by armed groups violence, economic instability, and insufficient humanitarian funding.

UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, who took up his post two weeks ago, spoke of the devastating impact of the crisis on children. “The children of Haiti are displaced. They are malnourished. They live in fear, their neighbourhoods controlled by armed groups.”

The Executive Director of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Catherine Russell said “we estimate that children account for 30 to 54 per cent of armed group members while the total number of children recruited by armed groups has jumped by 70 per cent over the past year.”

She also highlighted the collapse of essential services, with 1.5 million youngsters losing access to education and healthcare facilities shutting down due to violence and insecurity.

Despite the challenges, UN agencies and partners continue to deliver aid.  Facing a surge in displacement and food insecurity, the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) has announced an expanded response, targeting nearly two million people with emergency relief.

“We have been delivering record amounts of food assistance to Haitians in Port-au-Prince and across the country these past few months and will do even more in the coming weeks,” said the WFP’s Country Director, Wanja Kaaria.

The WFP also supports local economies by sourcing 70 per cent of school meal ingredients from Haitian farmers, fostering long-term resilience and development.

Yet, the scale of the response is dwarfed by the growing needs as speakers at the ECOSOC session stressed the need for immediate international action to close funding gaps, protect children from exploitation, and rebuild essential services.

UN Special Representative Maria Isabel Salvador, who also heads the UN Integrated Office in Haiti (BINUH), urged the global community to address root causes of the crisis.

“The challenges Haiti faces are immense, but one truth is undeniable: no progress can be made without addressing the pervasive insecurity caused by armed gangs.  UNICEF and other humanitarian leaders called on the UN Security Council -backed Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission and Haitian authorities to prioritise child protection during operations, ensuring safe reintegration for children recruited by armed groups.

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Caribbean News

Sargassum is the new Fuel, Barbados team powers car with RNG

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Garfield Ekon

Staff Writer

 

 

Barbados, December 9, 2024 – When large swathes of invasive seaweed started washing up on Caribbean beaches in 2011, local residents were perplexed.  Soon, mounds of unsightly sargassum, carried by currents from the Sargasso Sea and linked to Climate Change – were carpeting the region’s prized coastlines, repelling some holidaymakers with the pungent stench emitted as it rots.

Precisely how to tackle it was a dilemma of unprecedented proportions for the tiny cluster of tourism-reliant islands with limited resources.

In 2018, Barbados’ Prime Minister, Hon.  Mia Mottley declared the sargassum situation a national emergency.  Now, a pioneering group of Caribbean scientists and environmentalists hope to turn the tide on the problem by transforming the troublesome algae into a lucrative biofuel.

They recently launched one of the world’s first vehicles powered by bio-compressed natural gas.  The innovative fuel source created at the University of the West Indies (UWI) in Barbados also uses wastewater from local rum distilleries, and dung from the island’s indigenous blackbelly sheep which provides the vital anaerobic bacteria.

The team says any car can be converted to run on the gas via a simple and affordable four-hour installation process, using an easily available kit, at a total cost of around $2,500 or £1,940.

Researchers had initially looked into using sugarcane to reduce reliance on costly, imported fossil fuels and help steer the Caribbean towards its ultimate target of zero emissions.

However, despite Barbados being one of few islands still producing sugarcane, the quantity was deemed insufficient for the team’s ambitious goals, explains the project’s founder Dr. Legena Henry.

Dr. Legena Henry grimaces as she points out that while some natural resources are limited, when it comes to the unwelcomed seaweed, she says sargassum is something “we will never run out of”.

“Tourism has suffered a lot from the seaweed; hotels have been spending millions on tackling it.  It’s caused a crisis,” Dr. Henry, a renewable energy expert and UWI lecturer, continues.

The idea that it could have a valuable purpose was suggested by one of her students, Brittney McKenzie, who had observed the volume of trucks being deployed to transport sargassum from Barbados’ beaches.

“We’d just spent three weeks researching sugarcane.  But I looked at Brittney’s face and she was so excited, I could not break her heart,” Dr. Henry recalls.

“We already had rum distillery wastewater, so we decided to put that with sargassum and see what happened.”

Brittney was tasked with collecting seaweed from beaches and setting up small scale bioreactors to conduct preliminary research.”  Within just two weeks we got pretty good results.  It was turning into something even bigger than we initially thought.”

The team filed a patent on their formula and, in 2019, presented their project to potential investors during a side meeting at the UN General Assembly in New York.

Upon touchdown back in Barbados, Dr. Henry’s phone was “buzzing” with messages of congratulations – including one from US non-profit Blue-Chip Foundation offering $100,000 to get the work off the ground.

Dr. Legena Henry

Biologist Shamika Spencer was hired to experiment with differing amounts of sargassum and wastewater to figure out which combination produced the most biogas.

She says she leapt at the chance to take part.  “Sargassum has been plaguing the region for several years,” Ms. Spencer, who is from Antigua and Barbuda, explains.  “I had always wondered about this new seaweed ruining the beaches in Antigua, and when I came to Barbados to study, I noticed it here too.”

The algae does not just threaten tourism.  They also pose a threat to human health through the hydrogen sulphide they release as they decompose, along with native wildlife like critically endangered sea turtle hatchlings which get trapped in thick mats of beached seaweed.

Water pollution and warming seas are credited with the upsurge in sargassum, another cataclysmic result of climate change that the Caribbean has done little to contribute to but often bears the brunt of.

Calls for eco reparations from leaders including Barbados’ leader Mia Mottley and Antigua’s Prime Minister Gaston Browne have been clamorous in recent years as the region battles ever-rising sea levels and worsening storms.

While waiting for those to bear fruit, this project represents one example of the Caribbean taking its environmental future into its own hands.

This past September, Rum & Sargassum, the Barbados-based start-up founded by Dr. Henry introduced the world to its brand of  RNG, Renewable Natural Gas.  The unveiling featured a vehicle rigged to run on the innovative cocktail of rum distillery wastewater, Blackbelly sheep manure and yes, that no longer pesky but valuable Sargassum seaweed.

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Caribbean News

ENTITIES STRENGTHEN COLLABORATION TO FIGHT GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE

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Kingston, Jamaica, December 3, 2024 – The Women’s Resource and Outreach Centre (WROC) is strengthening its partnership with key stakeholders to prevent Gender-Based Violence (GBV), and support young women and girls in vulnerable communities.

Under an agreement, which was signed on Tuesday (November 19) during a Gender-Based Violence Prevention Network (GBVPN) event at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in Kingston, the stakeholders, which include public and private sector entities, will collaborate to carry out activities geared towards responding to and preventing gender-based violence in vulnerable communities.

One key aspect of the arrangement is the provision of assistance through the WROC’s GBVPN facility.

Community members will be able to engage with civil society organisations, as well as public and private institutions, to discuss the gender-based violence issues they face. They will also receive support in seeking remedies for their situations.

Executive Director of the WROC, Keisha Williams, explained that the GBVPN, which was launched in 2021, aims to create a people-centred approach and provide real-time support and advocacy for survivors of gender-based violence.

She said through the network, the WROC has secured partnerships with over 15 organisations and implemented case management and referral systems for survivors.

“We have provided trauma informed care counselling for many of our community members and implemented a robust case management system for survivors,” she added.

The Executive Director also lauded the partnership with the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), including a grant from the organisation, which “has helped WROC enhance its impact on communities by expanding advocacy efforts in the fight against GBV.”

 

She noted that the grant focused on three key components – institutional strengthening, creation of a gender-based violence prevention network and small business development.

Founded in 1983, the WROC works to improve collaboration among institutions that work to prevent gender and family violence, strengthen communities’ ability to reduce violence, and support survivors.

The organisation provides outreach programmes, with a focus on health and wellness, sustainable livelihoods, community capacity-building and advocacy.

Among its key stakeholders are: the Bureau of Gender Affairs (BGA), Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA),Women’s Empowerment Benevolent Society (WEBS), Social Development Commission (SDC), Fight for Peace, Trench Town Community Development Committee, Centre for Investigation of Sexual Offences and Child Abuse (CISOCA), Calvary Temple Church, Bethel New Testament Church, Jamaicans for Justice (JFJ) and the Rose Town Foundation.

 

CONTACT: E. HARTMAN RECKORD

RELEASE: JIS

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