Behind the Happy Smiles

Looking at old pictures again. That was in 2004 and 2003. Carefree days spent at the beach!

This was taken with my ex-colleagues @ KP and diving buddies from DT as below. 3-4 years later, it is interesting to see how each of us have evolved. At least I know one is happy married last Sunday @ Equinox. Most of our careers have progressed well. But we all have time less than before to head to the beach together!

In my workplace, while preparing the P&L, we do often chat heartily. Everyone around me seems very happy. But this can't be true. I am sure at various points in our life, we would be faced with problems that can be depressing and unsettling. Pregnancy is one, as I have witnessed two of my happily married girlfriends showing me tears in their eyes when they first learnt about their pregnancy, and couldnt accept this reality or the changes that are about to take place in their life.

For a start, if you suspect depression, there are online depression tests.
http://testyourself.netdoctor.co.uk/interactivetests/goldberg.php

If immediate help is recommended, you can always start with a GP, who will recommend if a psychiatrist is required. Antidepressant medication may be prescribed. A psychiatrist charges approximately S$120 for the first 20 minutes, and S$180 for the next one hour. How about the less priviledged then? They may be the ones with the real depression problems - poverty, dysfunctional homes, debt, no qualifications or skills to enable them to work & prosper, alcohol, drug addiction, lone parents, criminality or disabled.

For the rich, maybe depression is self-inflicted - maybe "not finding the right guy"; Paris Hilton was said to experience depression and anxiety while in jail, but now "grateful to be home and excited to have real food". In Hollywood, for the divorced seen on the streets, "casual clothes suggested depression, and party clothes meant desperation".

But of course we all know that antidepressant medication does not solve the problem. You need to work through the root of the problems, and know that you are going to be alright.