Poem Analysis

“Explaining my depression to my mother” by Sabrina Benaim speaks about depression and the stigma associated with speaking about depression especially to friends and loved ones. The persona in the poem tries to tell her mother about her depression and her mother does not fully understand why she is depressed. Depression is a common illness that impacts the psychosocial functioning of a person and undermines the quality of life. Its detection, diagnosis and management are often challenging because of its varied presentation of symptoms and unpredictable causes (American Psychiatric Association n.p.).

Feelings of depressions are expressed by different cultures across the world and in different ways. For example, in the majority of Chinese society, depression is experienced in the physical rather than the psychological with many expressing symptoms of fatigue, pain, dizziness and fatigue. This is different from the way depression is experienced in the United States of America. Culture also plays a very big role in an individual’s approach to depression including its symptoms and diagnosis (Kleinman 951).

The signs and symptoms associated with depression include loss of interest in activities once enjoyed, trouble sleeping and feelings of sadness (American Psychiatric Association n.p.). The persona says that although she should want to go to parties, she does not want to go, showing that she wants to enjoy the parties but she doesn’t. Diseases like vitamin deficiency and thyroid problems may present symptoms similar to depression, making it even more important to rule them out before deciding on depression as a diagnosis (American Psychiatric Association n.p.). Depression can affect anyone, regardless of status and gender. Even those who appear to be in perfect circumstances might suffer from depression. Depression is caused by a variety of reasons. Biochemistry, personality, environmental circumstances, and genetics are some of these influences.

Depression is treated after diagnosis to determine whether it is truly depression and to eliminate other diseases that mimic similar symptoms. Depression can be treated in several ways. One of the ways is the use of medication such as antidepressants to aid the patient. Another way is psychotherapy, where the practitioner talks to the patient in an attempt to figure out the root cause of their depression. In severe cases, psychotherapy is done along with medication while in mild cases, only psychotherapy is applied. Electroconvulsive therapy is used as a last option for individuals who have not responded to previous therapies. It entails electrical stimulation of the brain while the patient is sedated. This therapy has been in use since the 1940s and has become more successful over time. (American Psychiatric Association n.p.).

There is a stigma associated with depression. Though the general cause of the stigma is not fully understood, the stigma has a lot of bad consequences that impact help-seekers and their quality of life (Lynch et al. 746). This is evidenced in the fact that the persona cannot tell her mother that she is lonely, instead preferring to tell her that she is busy. This is because she does not want to show her depression to her mother in fear of her response to it, otherwise known as perceived stigma.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Annotated Bibliography

American Psychiatric Association. “What Is Depression?” Web Starter Kit, 2021, www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression.

This paper discusses depression and all the various aspects that involve depression. This includes the symptoms and the causes of depression. This article also gives the assertion that depression is treatable. It also gives the statistics of those affected by depression. This source was important to the study because it gave me the information I needed to write about depression, especially concerning the symptoms.  The paper also explains the difference between bereavement, sadness and depression. It also explains the risk factors associated with depression and how these risk factors affect an individual's suffering from depression. The paper also discusses the various treatments that are used to treat depression. The author is the American Psychiatric Association, which is the main association for psychiatrists in the world. Psychiatrists mainly deal with the treatment of mental health issues. This is a source that is highly useful due to its simple language and useful information.

 

Kleinman, Arthur. “Culture and Depression.” New England Journal of Medicine, vol. 351, no. 10, 2004, pp. 951–53. Crossref, doi:10.1056/nejmp048078.

This paper discusses the relationship between culture and depression. It specifically looks at the Chinese society and how depression affects them in comparison to how depression those living in America. Its consensus is that though depression is experienced by individuals across the world due to its prevalence in the world, depression is experienced differently by different people. Culture also affects how diagnosis and treatment are done in society. The paper also discusses how culture influences the approach to treatment by those it affects, with some areas being open to treatment while others having stigma associated with depression. The author, Arthur Kleinman, is an American psychiatrist and anthropologist who has used his expertise in these fields to compile the paper. This paper helped me understand how depression affects people around the world and it helped me get a different perspective on depression. It helped me understand that my understanding of depression may be different from another person's understanding and that doesn't undermine his or my understanding, but only broadens the scope through which we use to look at depression.

 

Lynch, Hannah, et al. “Social Anxiety and Depression Stigma Among Adolescents.” Journal of Affective Disorders, vol. 281, 2021, pp. 744–50. Crossref, doi:10.1016/j.jad.2020.11.073.

            This paper looks at the stigma associated with mental disorders and their negative impact on help-seeking behaviors in adolescents. The study sought to understand social anxiety and depression stigma in adolescence. The study found that males had higher measures of personal stigma (how they would treat others who sought treatment) while females had high measures of perceived stigma (how others would treat them if they sought treatment). It also determined that depression was more stigmatized than social anxiety. The persona in the poem in her conversation with her mother tries to explain that she is lonely, to which her mom expresses indifference by saying that she needs to go to parties. She stigmatizes her daughter by undermining her depression, showing aspects of personal stigma. On the other hand, the persona expresses perceived stigma, as she is afraid that her mom does not understand her depression to the point that she tells her she is extra busy while in the real sense she is just lonely.