Dubai

Depression doesn’t discriminate – it doesn’t care whether you’re aged 30 or 13.

According to UK-based Mental Health Foundation, one in 10 children have mental health problems, but 70 per cent of them do not get appropriate intervention at a sufficiently early age.

A Sharjah-based healthcare administrator, who did not want to be identified, talked to Gulf News about her experience with depression when she was 12 years old.

She said: “I had a broken home, growing up. I started feeling depressed very early in life – I wouldn’t invite friends over, I ignored family issues and would try being outside the house most of the time so I wouldn’t have to deal with my family members. I used to think there was something wrong with me.”

Now, at 29, she feels lucky to have come out of her childhood relatively unscathed.

She said: “I realised at some point that I should talk about it. It’s important to have good friends – people who will listen to you and not judge you. It’s not good to keep your thoughts and emotions locked inside you – it acts like poison.”

Dr Rupal Merchant, a homeopath and yoga practitioner/blogger based in Dubai, also recommended the positive impact of a daily dose of good company.

She said: “People now have a fast-paced lifestyle, with no time for festivities. This is not how it used to be back home [India] or in earlier times. People would meet with each other often during religious and cultural festivals, giving them a nice break from the routine of life. Everyone suffers and has their own issues, but by being social, it brings you back from the edge, it gets you out of your head. You listen to other people’s stories and learn to have some fun.”

Another unassuming therapy for depression, according to Dr Merchant, is the sun.

Light therapy is a common way to treat seasonal affective disorder (SAD), a type of mood disorder that is triggered by the lack of sunlight in winter. People living in colder regions, where the sun appears only for a limited time, also experience lethargy and dullness from SAD.

Dr Merchant said: “The sun is a source of life and solar energy is a natural antidepressant.”

Mainstream medication for mental health disorders, like allopathic antidepressants, can often cause more harm than good. In 2004, US-based Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a public warning about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts or behaviour in children and adolescents treated with antidepressant medications.

Dr Merchant said there are alternative ways to not just manage, but cure mental disorders.

“A treatment called Bach flower remedies (BFRs), developed by Dr Edward Bach, is designed especially for issues dealing with the mind and is effective for people dealing with depression, suicidal tendencies, prolonged grief and so on. Depending on their ailment, the BFR can be administered. There are 12 remedies, and they are all made from flowers. Each is completely natural, with no side effects, and it can be taken for a long time, until the patient is cured.”

But until one is completely cured, the journey through the quagmire of anxiety and sorrow can be taxing. It’s why having a support system is so important, according to 26-year-old Emran Hayat.

When he first arrived in the UAE from Pakistan three years ago, and started his own trading company, Hayat was a completely different person – social, friendly and happy.

But with the blow of a huge financial loss, and the collapse of his business, he is now the sole breadwinner in a family of 14 – and is battling depression every day.

The Sharjah-based banker said: “When I was 17, I had a big group of friends and was really social. But after this incident, I have lost my confidence and my social life. I find it difficult to concentrate on anything. I went through two or three months of insomnia, followed by two or three months of an intense desire to sleep – so much so that I sometimes missed work, out of sheer exhaustion. In the worst of it, I had hallucinations. I also lost the ability to trust anyone. If someone would give me good or bad news, it would not affect me in any way – I’d respond with a poker face. I feel nothing… just empty.”

He could not afford to pay for a psychologist when he was in desperate need of help, and feels there should be alternative solutions available.

Hayat said: “I would definitely like to see more support groups or organisations that help people going through mental health issues in the UAE.”