Happiness, vivacity, enthusiasm and chirpiness become strange phenomena. Only the dark clouds of loneliness, gloominess, hopelessness and wretchedness seem the four corners of the globe. Despite craving for happiness, one canít discover few moments of actual joy, serenity and contentment.

Depression is a condition when extreme melancholy and reduced vitality surrounds a human being. It makes him feel unhappy, hopeless, worthless, crest fallen and disappointed. The one affected with this ailment doesnít feel at home in any activity. His/her thoughts are conquered by pessimism. During this phase of psychological disorderliness, everyone seems to be an enemy of the person suffering from this condition; life becomes empty and aimless, heart feels to be submerged and terror stricken. It feels that one would never be able to succeed in any walk of life thatís why the afflicted person always wishes to withdraw from the outside world.

Types of depression

The fourth leading cause of disability in the world, depression affects different people differently. Some continuously feel downcast for a long period of time while in some cases the waves of depression harass the human beings with various ups and downs in their intensity. Actually, most of us are not aware to the various types of depression which include Atypical, Psychotic, Manic and Dysthymia.

Major depression is believed to be the most common form of depression. Being involved in routine life is not less than a hefty burden for major depression afflicted persons. Dearth of enthusiasm and the absence of eagerness to do something are quite high up in their attitude.

Another highly prevailing but still unknown type of depression is Atypical depression. Itís the type in which sufferer is at times able to experience moments of elation. Interestingly, people who undergo atypical depression think that outside events i.e. success, attention, weather and praise control their mood. The waves of depression harass the human being with various ups and downs in their intensity and it may last for months or a sufferer may live with it forever. Such type of depression is very common in todayís youth.

The sufferer of psychotic depression imagines frightening and negative sounds and images. They begin to hear and see imaginary things, sounds, voices and visuals that do not exist. These are referred to as hallucinations.

Dysthymia afflicted people just walk around seeming depressed, simply sad, blue or melancholic. Medication is beneficial for this type of depression.

Manic depression can be defined as an emotional disorder characterised by changing mood shifts from depression to mania which can sometimes be quite rapid. Itís believed that people who suffer from manic depression have an extremely high rate of suicide.

It is observed that a typical depression not only affects the people emotionally but it imparts drastic impacts upon physical and mental health as well. And at times it bounds some people, especially youngsters, to be addicted to drugs. The duration of being depressed varies from man to man and it also highly depends upon the reason being down in the dumps. But the thing which is very much similar in all depression stricken people is that throughout this particular phase they find themselves sinking in a ëmarshy landí of frustration, stress and despair continuously. For this reason if the person comes across few moments of joy they are soon subjugated by those peaty feelings that have rooted in him/her due to some particular incidents.

The fundamental causes

Though grasping the accurate causes of depression is a hard nut to crack, however, the fundamental reasons can be categorised according to different age groups. Being overlooked by parents, dearth of family get together, failure in examination (and in sports as well), constant discords between parents, breaking up with close friends are some of the teenage depression causes. And in the group of grown ups (aged 20-30), depression is the outcome of unemployment, family turmoil, separations, tiresome study routine, inferiority complex and inability to perform professional duties efficiently etc. Besides, people who have serious illnesses are more expected to suffer from depression. It is worth mentioning that according to a research women experience depression twice as often as men.

Where this modern era has granted us a number of amenities there it also has given roots to chaos at the same time. And this hurly-burly in life also grounds evils like frustration, disappointment and depression.

The non-bookish, practical remedies

Just like the beauty of little brightening stars canít be experienced without dark sky similarly happiness canít be observed without grief. To some it may seem bookish language but itís reality that just like thorns are permanent part of rose, similarly sorrows are eternal element of life. And rather being dejected we ought to tackle them adeptly and courageously. But the question is how and from where to bring this courage back?

The abnormality of mood, caused by depression, can be brought back to track by recalling the happiest moments of life. Recollection of these golden jiffies works like brightening stars on a dark sky and assist in fetching back the colours of life.

Hanging out with pals and sharing the problems with close ones also help reducing the stress. Besides, light and soft music performs the key role in dropping down the despair and gloominess. If one doesnít let oneís feelings out, they keep mounting somewhere in the heart. And consequently it gives birth to distressed thoughts and causes restlessness.

And the final wordsÖ

There is a five letter word, called ìFaithî. A word whose meaning is taught to all of us from the very beginning of school life but unfortunately only few of us become conversant with the real essence and strength of this glorious word.

Monsoon is a seasonal prevailing wind that sometimes lasts for several months. It brings with it welcome relief from the heat and pollution, and leaves behind a host of illness and diseases, some of which can be life threatening. Amongst all, children are the most susceptible to these diseases.

Sickness is a common factor that comes with monsoon (heavy showers or drizzle). One should enjoy it with delight but health comes first and should not be ignored. This weather demands frequent visits to the doctors, and to avoid this, Dr Rafiq, ENT specialist at Mehran Clinic, advises that one should keep himself warm during the winds and the usage of steam or inhaler is necessary if nose and throat feels congested. If condition deteriorates due to fever, anti allergic tablets like Zyrtec or Regix can also be used.

Another general practitioner informed that boiled water should be used at home as well as on at work to avoid contamination diseases. And if pools of stagnant water are collected somewhere in your area try to get them washed because they invite innumerable diseases, infections and flies to your home, upsetting the health of family members. Walking in dirty water can also lead to numerous diseases. It is essential that your children dress up properly in the monsoon to avoid catching not just diseases, but also the common cold. Mosquitoes are a common example which bound during the season, and cases of Malaria and Dengue are on the upswing. Although various malaria prevention drugs are available, these are not always effective. Plus, in many places malaria parasites have grown resistant to the drugs. The best thing in monsoon season would be to keep your home mosquito free.

Very simple measures can be taken at home like keeping clothes and hairs dry and avoiding cold beverages which in return affect throat. Other than this, there are some old school precautions which are still followed and believed and usually all parents know these measures.

As small children are more prone to sour throat in cold winds, gargling thrice a day with a pinch of salt in warm water can give help. Runny nose can be taken care of simply with a glass of warm milk with a bit of turmeric powder before going to bed. Steam inhalation is one of the best cures to cough and heavy breathing and everyone should prioritise this in the first place to avoid heavy medication.

Dr Badar-ul-Huda, a physician thinks that wet season brings many diseases with itself like typhoid, cholera, gastro and flu. Every person should be careful of their diet and water as pollution, contagious flies and germs linger all time during the weather. Precautions to staying healthy would be having warm fluids mostly so one should completely avoid junk food and foods from the roadside hawkers but should take home made nutritious meals every time.

How the eye works

To see clearly, light rays need to be focused on to the retina at the back of the eye. This is achieved as the light rays pass through the transparent cornea, then through the fine-focusing lens.

The image formed on the light sensitive retina is converted into electrical impulses, which pass through nerves to the part of the brain responsible for vision.

Short sightedness (myopia):

The problem of short sightedness is that the eyeball gets too long compared with the focusing power of the cornea and lens. This means light rays from objects in the distance are focused in front of the retina because they’ve been bent too much by the cornea and lens.

Getting a clear image of distant objects is difficult, but seeing things close-up is fine. Children may perform poorly in class because they’re unable to read what’s on the whiteboard.

Often, the condition is first noticed in older children and young teenagers. Short sightedness can run in families, so short sighted parents are more alert to the possibility of their children having sight difficulties.Short sightedness can be corrected with a concave lens that makes the light rays diverge and focus accurately on the retina. Sometimes, laser surgery can reshape the cornea.

Long sightedness (hypermetropia):

The problem of long sightedness is that the eyeball gets too short when compared with the focusing power of the cornea and lens. This means light rays from near objects are focused behind the retina because they haven’t been bent enough by the cornea and lens.

Getting a clear image of objects close-up is difficult so the long sighted people have difficulty in reading or doing fine close-up works. Younger long sighted people are able to see objects in the distance, but older people often find they develop problems seeing distant objects because the lens becomes less flexible as they age. This condition is called presbyopia.

Scientists say they have taken a big step towards blocking a chemical vital to the growth of many cancers. They have unpicked the structure of telomerase, an enzyme which, when active, helps keep cells in an ìimmortalî state. The chemical is at work in more than nine out of ten types of tumour. Researchers from Philadelphia’s Wistar Institute, say their efforts could lead to drugs which switch it off. All cells in the body have a natural clock - the telomeres - which shorten every time the cell divides. After a fixed number of divisions in most cells, the telomeres are reduced to a certain length, and the cell cannot continue dividing. This change is responsible for changes within the ageing body, as cell division slows down. Some cells, such as stem cells within the embryo, use the chemical telomerase to maintain telomere length.