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What do I mean by dead end? When we find it no longer possible to resolve problems or overcome obstacles successfully we are at a dead end. Psychologists say that unresolved problems occupy our mind and do not allow us to proceed. They lead us to ‘stress’, meaning a mind burdened and pressurized beyond normal levels. No responsible person can be stress-free. A mother with a newborn baby cannot but be stressed out. If she is stress-free it means she is irresponsible. For a newborn baby demands frequent attentions round the clock and tending the baby is not an easy joke. But, as already told, unresolved problems and insurmountable obstacles raise our stress levels beyond permissible limits. When stress is prolonged, it leads to depression. We lose hope and energy to move on. We also lose our self-esteem. Prolonged depression leads to psychic disorders. They become difficult persons to their own kith and kin.

Fighting depression starts when you understand that you are suffering from depression. For, out there, quite a lot of people are unaware of their depressed state of mind. Once you know that you are suffering from depression, search out the reasons behind it. Is there any problem in your life which remains unresolved for a long time? Find a way out. Do not allow problems to remain unresolved. Find answers. Learn to distinguish between real and imaginary problems. No one can help you if you want to marry Angelina Jolie unless you are a more handsome man than Brad Pitt. You can’t change the healthcare policy of the U.S. government unless you are Barrack Obama. Even he may find it impossible sometimes.  Real problems are those problems that can be resolved by us. ‘Impossible is a word to be found in the dictionary of fools’ said Napoleon in this context, the context of resolving real problems. Such quotes are inspirational and they should not be stretched too far. If your dream of becoming a physician or entering into an Ivy League university fails, do not lament but move on. Never say die. Stop comparisons with friends and relatives.

We should know that a thousand and one factors, on which we have no control, have their role in our lives. If your friend has fared better in life than you even when you have slogged more strenuously than him, it means there were some factors favourable to him. Emanuel Dermann, the author of ‘My Life as a Quant’, wanted to become an Einstein but, in his own words, in life talent vs. luck and he could not become a physicist, not to speak of an Einstein. Life took him to Wall Street (New York Stock Exchange) and he found a way to implement the highly abstract concepts of Physics and Mathematics in the financial headquarters of U.S. economy. An Einstein can emerge only in a particular set of circumstances. The destiny of every individual is unique. You have to find your destiny. In fact life is all about finding your own destiny. It may happen when you are at the fag end of your life. But do not stop the search. Excellence is something that can be attained in any field of life. If I become a hair dresser, I should become one of the best hair dressers in the world.

Probably I have digressed too much. But depression comes mostly because we are afraid of failures. When the child learns to walk, it falls but rises and continues to walk; again falls but again rises and continues to walk. Soon the very same child runs so fast that its parents are out of breath running behind it to save it from imminent danger. ‘Greatness lies not in never falling but in rising after every fall’ told some thinking man.