Depression: No Simple Answers

by | May 15, 2012 | Depression, Self-Help

The very first post on this blog was an article I did not write.  The woman setting up my social media outlets simply found an article that seemed informative to help me get things going.  No harm intended and I actually appreciate her help.  The article inspired one reader to share her critique of the article which got me to thinking:  I’ll write my own view of depression.  So here it goes.
Depression can be a bit of a slippery fish.  Its origins vary from life experiences to physiological to even a combination of both.  It can come and go without notice.  It can hang on for interminably long periods of time.  Sometimes it responds to medication and people report “getting their life back.”  Sometimes the quest for the most effective drug can seem worse than the depression itself. There are people who find that “the power of positive thinking” actually helps.  For others the mere thought of changing their perception of things catapults them into even deeper depression.  There are no simple answers when it comes to depression.
Some may disagree with me.  I have found in my life as a counselor that “always” and “never” have no place in the world of psychology.  It seems there are more theories and therapeutic strategies than one can master in a lifetime.  There are specialties that come just short of promising a cure.  In this field, therapists are advised not to offer a cure because, as we all know, every person is unique and the reasons for their particular issue complicated by that fact.  Not to mention that the brain, though far more understood now than in years past, posits a vast realm of mystery.
Therapists want to be able to free clients from the pain that cripples and paralyzes them.  Most of us are in this field because we genuinely care about people and want to present what limited knowledge we have to improve their quality of life.  In my experience, the one constant I can offer, is myself.  My presence, my heart, my compassion and understanding.  For my most profoundly depressed clients, that is the one thing that seems to help.  Not overnight.  There is talking and listening, and often there are tears.  Sometimes there are skills involved and sometimes not.  I encourage being gentle with yourself.  Allowing the depression to be there.  To understand it as a part of you but not necessarily as something that defines you.  I can’t promise that these will “cure” depression.  What I believe is that sometimes a portion of relief is found in someone sitting across from you confirming what you already know: there are no simple answers.

Dealing With Depression

Dealing With Depression

by | May 8, 2012 | Depression

There are many different ways of dealing with depression and different people have different ways of doing it, some like to tackle it head one, some like to look for help from other people, some think it is just a phase and will go away and so on. Dealing with depression can be a very difficult thing to do, often people feel as though there is no hope or that it is pointless even trying to deal with it, well, that’s not the case, you CAN overcome it and change your life for the better.
One of the key things to realise is WHY you want to get rid of depression, what reasons do you have for it? Do you want to be stronger for the people in your life, do you want to achieve a particular goal and think that depression is holding you back, do yo simply want to become happier person?
Think about all the great benefits that will come when you are not depressed anymore and it will give you more motivation to find a way to overcome it. There are medications you can take, there are exercises you can do, there are groups you can attend and more, there ARE ways to deal with it.
Now, if you feel severely depressed then you should talk to your doctor and get their professional advice, they will be able to give you some help in this rough time in your life.
Identify what makes you happy in life, what do you want to achieve, what your passions are and focus on those things, don’t think about the things that make you depressed, instead, try to focus solely on the things that make you happy.
When you focus only on the good things in life, it makes it a lot easier to overcome your depression and become happier naturally. If you feel you are put under a lot of stress throughout your days and it is bringing you down then read the short report available from this site, it should help you to relieve a bit of your stress and make things easier to cope with.
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