“If I help a single person to have hope, I will not have lived in vain.” Martin Luther King.
Depression is a silent pandemic. It is a common disease throughout the world, since an estimated 280 million people have depression. This is equivalent to almost six times the entire population of Spain. Depression is different from the usual mood swings and brief emotional responses to problems in everyday life.
It can become a serious health problem, especially when it is recurrent and of moderate to severe intensity. It can cause great suffering to the affected person and alter their work, school and family activities. At worst, it can lead to suicide. Every year more than 700,000 people commit suicide. Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death in the 15 to 29 age group.
On the World Day for the Fight against Depression we want to give visibility to this disease and give the following tips to prevent depression:
1) Practice exercise
2) Eat healthy and balanced
3) Have an active social life
4) Set realistic goals
5) Accept and forgive yourself
6) Learn to live with uncertainty
7) Get enough sleep
Specialists also conclude that promoting optimism protects mental health. Let us help to give encouragement, to accompany, let us embrace those most in need of our hugs and our affection. Mental health is everyone’s job. Let’s be aware. Let’s help make it visible. How has happened in some of the fabulous conversations that we had in TOTEM Live with great and admired professionals such as Federico Palacios, Marta García-Valenzuela and Juanjo fraile
