Depression: Symptoms and Treatment
In western Nigeria, an energetic Yoruba woman gradually withdraws from village life, ceases tending her garden, and – to the dismay of her family and neighbors – spends her days staring at the wall of her hut. In Osaka Japan, a conscientious college student suffers weeks of anxiety and shame, convinced he will fail an upcoming examination, and prepares to disembowel himself. In Southern California, a hard-driving sales manager repeatedly cancels important appointments, lets his paper work pile up and indulges in cocktails until past midnight.
These three individuals could hardly be more unlike in cultural experience, social background and way of life. Emotionally, however, the disconsolate African mother, the suicidal Japanese youth and the procrastinating American businessman resemble one another more closely than they do their own family.
Almost everyone suffers periods of depression, the reaction to some shattering event – the loss of a job, serious bodily injury, the death of a loved one - the despair can be so black that treatment is called for; however, in millions of people depression occurs for no apparent reason. …
