As recently as April of this year, an expert from the esteemed Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) was reported as saying that depression is the second most common mental health problem in Qatar and that early diagnosis and treatment could help to prevent chronic suffering. According to Dr. Majid Al Abdulla, who is the Deputy Chair of HMC, and also a consultant psychiatrist, while it is a cause for significant concern, he further noted that Qatar was no better or no worse than other nations, as statistics are relatively the same as in most countries.
Depression Has Far-Reaching Consequences
While most people associate depression with personal problems in one’s life, it can actually impact a worker’s productivity on the job. What medical science has found is that depression in the workplace may result in:
- Significant decrease in productivity
- Inability or unwillingness to cooperate
- Accidents and other safety risks
- Drug or alcohol abuse
- Feelings of exhaustion or lethargy
- Frequent absenteeism
As can be seen, each of those may have a significant impact on how well an employee performs his or her duties, especially when working on a team or doing a job that takes cooperation among workers. While society is reluctant to label depression as a mental illness, it is necessary to recognize it for what it is so that adequate treatments can restore a person to a healthier mindset and quality of living.
Dealing with Depression in the Workplace
In other parts of the world, as well as at home in Qatar, new studies have found that there is a direct link between depression and the body’s ability to produce dopamine from the foods we eat or inadequate amounts from those foods containing the amino acid l-tyrosine. Just by reading about what dopamine is and its function within the body on the Examined Existence website, it is possible to further understand the correlation between loss of productivity and a deficit in naturally produced dopamine in the body.
What Exactly Is Dopamine and How Does It Affect Depression?
Without going into molecular biology or the way in which dopamine is produced in the ventral tegmental and substantia nigra areas of the brain, to name just a couple, it is perhaps easiest just to say that dopamine is commonly referred to as the feel-good hormone or the feel-good drug. So, now you can see what an important role it plays in combatting depression. An increase in dopamine simply makes you feel good. You become more willing to cooperate and communicate with others, you are less drowsy and, of course, more productive.
While too much dopamine being produced over a long period of time has been found to result in things like drug or alcohol addiction, a small elevation at periodic times can help alleviate many of the symptoms deprivation is responsible for. As the second most common form of mental illness in Qatar, dopamine may provide the answer experts have been seeking. Dr. Majid Al Abdulla and the HMC continue to seek effective ways to treat depression and dopamine may lead to ‘the cure’ they are seeking.
