Thursday, June 16, 2005
What about Depression?
People are now frequently declaring themselves as depressed. Depression has become the most overused diagnostic term by the general public. We have been educated to be depressed and to medicate away the symptoms by commercials and advertising. Take your self-diagnosis to your doctor and you will most likely walk out with a prescription for an antidepressant. Many times people simply feel sad and anxious and are uncomfortable feeling those emotions or think there must be something seriously wrong with them when in fact, feeling sad or anxious can be quite normal and even appropriate.
Situational responses of sadness occur after a significant personal loss of a loved one, of a job, a dream, or a move. Any change or loss or anticipated loss can generate feelings of sadness, anger and fear.
An opening of an old wound or trauma can trigger sadness and anxiety. If there was a traumatized loss as a child that was never resolved of released, a current upset can stimulate more feelings than expected. A mental health professional may be very helpful in helping you to define the source of the upset and healing it.
If as a child and adolescent, you experienced a parent who withdrew emotionally or “went to the bed” for days, or was hospitalized because of a “mental breakdown”, you may have learned to cope in the same way. Perhaps, the patterns have biogenetic components. Learning new coping behaviors is important. Sometimes medications are necessary in the re-learning of new behaviors.
Rather than treating “depression” first with medication, explore these options.
1. Allow yourself to become more comfortable with feelings. Welcome to humanity! You will have feelings of sadness and anxiety.
2. Seek guidance and support from a mental health professional, spiritual mentor or sometimes, a good friend who can allow you to talk you through your feelings.
3. Get in action! It is the enemy of negative thinking. Simple exercise and getting out in public with people who are supportive and positive can change the chemistry in the body that brings on depression.
4. Structure your day with a simple schedule that decreases the amount of time spent in bed, watching TV and being on the computer.
5. Eat simple and healthy food. Decrease the eating of junk food, or not eating at all.
6. Do something for someone else (i.e., deliver meals on wheels, build a Habitat house, mow someone’s lawn, etc.).
7. Do the things that work for you to keep you in action and in relationship even, and especially when, you don’t want to.
Blessings,
Sylvia
Situational responses of sadness occur after a significant personal loss of a loved one, of a job, a dream, or a move. Any change or loss or anticipated loss can generate feelings of sadness, anger and fear.
An opening of an old wound or trauma can trigger sadness and anxiety. If there was a traumatized loss as a child that was never resolved of released, a current upset can stimulate more feelings than expected. A mental health professional may be very helpful in helping you to define the source of the upset and healing it.
If as a child and adolescent, you experienced a parent who withdrew emotionally or “went to the bed” for days, or was hospitalized because of a “mental breakdown”, you may have learned to cope in the same way. Perhaps, the patterns have biogenetic components. Learning new coping behaviors is important. Sometimes medications are necessary in the re-learning of new behaviors.
Rather than treating “depression” first with medication, explore these options.
1. Allow yourself to become more comfortable with feelings. Welcome to humanity! You will have feelings of sadness and anxiety.
2. Seek guidance and support from a mental health professional, spiritual mentor or sometimes, a good friend who can allow you to talk you through your feelings.
3. Get in action! It is the enemy of negative thinking. Simple exercise and getting out in public with people who are supportive and positive can change the chemistry in the body that brings on depression.
4. Structure your day with a simple schedule that decreases the amount of time spent in bed, watching TV and being on the computer.
5. Eat simple and healthy food. Decrease the eating of junk food, or not eating at all.
6. Do something for someone else (i.e., deliver meals on wheels, build a Habitat house, mow someone’s lawn, etc.).
7. Do the things that work for you to keep you in action and in relationship even, and especially when, you don’t want to.
Blessings,
Sylvia
