My understanding of depression has improved so much after reading your post. For example, I did not know that the size of the hippocampus is closely related to depression.
Actually this comes at a time when I was in a bit of a depression myself until about 2 days ago. One of my relatives passed away suddenly. Death in the family or among friends gets me into a low mood which I guess is a sort of mild depression since it takes a few days to come out of.
Fortunately I have never needed medicines to recover from a depression. When I was younger I used to go for an hour-long run if I had a depression for more than a day and I would feel much better!
Now I know that it could have been classified as a mild depression after reading about overcoming such a depression in the post.
I am also glad that I have always taken steps to move out of mild depression phases so that I don't progress to a form of severe depression. In fact. this is where I will always keep your post in mind since I have a habit of going into a mild depression after setbacks, which are inevitable in life and can't be avoided. Thank you so much for what I would term as a gold nugget for myself that I got from your content!
Thank you for putting out such an informative article, of a high value as is always the case with your posts. I will have to come back again soon to read all the amazing comments that others have left, as I have been able to read only a few of them.
That is another great thing about your posts - they are so engaging that I have to always come back for more!
Dear @maxabit, I am so very sorry to hear about the situation your family is going through at the moment.
The loss of a loved one is indeed a tough reality to face (particularly when unexpected). I really appreciate a point you highlighted here, which I think it is very important for all of us to be aware of :
I feel that nowadays, the line between sadness and mild depression is rather blurred, and one can easily morph into the other. This is precisely why bodies like NICE recommend caution when prescribing medication in cases deemed as mild-depression. In your situation, it is a most natural response! You are grieving, and you will go through different phases and overcome it at your own pace.
I am so pleased to hear this. Remember then brain-mind assumption! Brain-activity-patterns respond and change to mental events. So, there is a time (for some sooner and for some later) when we do need to move on. When we dwell for too long in that painful feeling our brain-activity patterns change in a way that leave us stuck there. So much so that we tend to forget the good things in life. This is a well-established notion in psychology, which has also to do with the hippocampus - an area of the brain that plays an important part on the functions of short-term and long term memory!
Exercise is indeed a great way to help you through this, among psychologists it is sometimes termed 'a natural anti-depressant'. Also, not long ago you posted a great, practical article about meditation. The hippocampus (and many other brain regions) also 'love' meditation :D
All the best to you my dear. I send my thoughts and love to your family.