A depressed person is often socially deprived due to certain misconceptions prevalent in society. Society considers a depressed person as a threat to it and avoids being victimized by the errant behavior of the patient. Even the family members and peer groups show a tendency of avoidance. They usually keep a fair distance from the patient and don’t really bother about the complexity of the situation.
This sort of social deprivation leads to the construction of an animistic mindset of the patient. This negligence further adds to the unpleasant and unrewarding behavior of the patient. The person develops self-rejection due to profound unhappiness. In the course of protecting themselves from the patient, people undermine the needs of him. They usually don’t realize their duties towards a dejected person. Perhaps some people do provide monetary support to them but monetary support alone won’t make a mark. Positive Interaction and proper caring is also required in the same proportion.
A depressed person has a series of traumatic events that leads to the logical distortion of his thought pattern. The cognitive processes get adversely affected. The person loses his self-perception and his personality turns out to be gloomy. He stops enjoying normal pleasures and feels uncomfortable in normal social setting. The society and his surroundings have a specific role to play in this critical situation. They should understand the demands of a depressed person. Society must help the individual in realization of his strengths and reformation of self should take place under a close monitoring of social agencies. Precaution must be taken in order to avoid fallacious development. A proper guidance and counseling is needed from each and every individual associated with the depressed person. The inter role conflicts rooted in the patient should get discarded through appropriation of self. This requires processing at various levels. These levels are:
1) Cultural Level: Society should facilitate the individual in achieving culturally defined goals through institutionalized means. Moreover the patient must get exempted from several strict cultural obligations. Internalization of certain cultural values and norms should take place gradually.
2) Social Level: At the social level various social agencies play a crucial role in navigating an individual from a depressed emotional state. Society must show its willingness to accept the individual who is nonplussed by thought.
3) Psychological Level: Society should make efforts to rejuvenate the moribund cognitive processes of the patient. Society should look after the various psychological longings of the patient.
4) Miscellaneous Factors: The three broad categories discussed above form the bulk societal role in treating depression. There are few other factors like physical, emotional and monetary requirements that need to be fulfilled appropriately. Society should avoid the recurrence of depressive episodes and formulate “motivated forgetting” for the patient to come out of ‘learned helplessness’.
Thus a broader view shows that the society has a multifaceted influence in treating depression. The only thing required is a feeling of compassion towards the individual suffering from depression.
