Overcoming Depression
What is depression?
Depression is a mental
disorder in which the main symptom is depressed or down mood
beyond normal sadness or discouragement. In addition to being
out of proportion, the depressed mood also causes significant
distress and dysfunction. There is no consensus about what
causes depression, but the way I think about it, depression
is the false or erroneous activation of a system in the brain
I call the Loss Reset system. This is a built in program we
all have which helps us to deal with loss, particularly death
of a loved one. It is appropriately activated in normal
grief. In grieving, we are cleansed and better able to go on
without the person we were close to. I believe we evolved
such a system to help us cope with the inevitable experience
of losing a loved one.
Feeling grief at such times is
healthy, but let's say you lost your job and are moping
around feeling sorry for yourself. This is an inappropriate
activation of the Loss Reset system. It is appropriate to
feel sad, disappointed and concerned about losing your job,
but these are different than depression because the Loss
Reset system is not turned on.
If you are with me so far, the
next question is how does this system get activated when it
isn't really needed? According to the cognitive-behavioral
point of view, the answer is that our own thoughts turn it
on! If you think about your job loss in a depressing way, you
will unintentionally cause yourself to feel depressed. In
this view, depression isn't something that happens to you, it
is something you do to yourself. I don't mean that depression
is a deliberate or conscious choice, nor that the individual
is to blame for their own depression. Depression causing
thoughts are usually long standing beliefs of which most
people are largely unaware. Nevertheless, it is a verb, not a
noun. You depress yourself as a learned way of trying to
cope, unintentionally, of course. The advantage of realizing
you largely cause your own feelings is that it gives you
power over depression. Once you learn how you make yourself
depressed, you have a means for reducing or eliminating it!
What about chemical
imbalances?
Some people are apparently
more prone to depression and may need medications. The way I
think about this is to distinguish between "hardware" and
"software" problems. The hardware problem with depression
prone people is that they have a very sensitive trigger for
activation of the Loss Reset system. For them, it is very
difficult to stop depressing themselves with their own
thoughts (software). Medications can decrease the trigger
sensitivity of this system so it is easier to modify thinking
to avoid erroneous activation. However, if you don't change
your thinking too, you will probably need longer term and
higher doses of medications. There has also been recent
research showing that psychotherapy alone is often as
effective as therapy with medication or medication alone.
How do I know if I am
depressed?
There are affective, cognitive
and physiological signs of depression. Obviously, your mood
will probably be down, empty, unhappy, sad or blue. Thoughts
of worthlessness, hopelessness, helplessness or suicide are
common. There can also be physical symptoms like fatigue,
diminished interests, lack of enthusiasm, weight loss or
gain, insomnia or excessive sleeping, and difficulty
concentrating.
What can I do?
Try my anti-depression
self-help tools. If that isn't enough, get help! Depression can be
very serious, even life threatening (suicide).
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