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If you are stuck in emotional depression you may have little
sense of direction,
although depression can be a warning to evaluate and change your lifestyle
Depression can be a time to evaluate,
"What makes sense in life?"
Many people attempt to use drugs as a substitute for improving
their lives. Alcohol or nicotine, or anti-depressants or stimulants, are easier than
applying intelligence, focus and analytical skills to complex emotions and
difficult relationships. Such decisions can have strong consequences.
Consequences of Depression
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If you feel depressed for more than a
few days, we recommend
that you talk to a medical doctor or psychologist, especially
if you consider harming yourself or others.
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Depression is part of life!
Chronic depression
affects about 10% of the world population with about three million depressed men
in England alone. We find that common causes of
depression are not an economic crisis or financial recession so much as
unhealthy relationships
and life without meaning.
If you have healthy relationships and
a sense of purpose - an economic crisis or recession is just more problems to solve!
If you feel anxiety about your family or worried about
ageing, sex and thinning hair, it's easier to blame some external crisis or
recession for limiting your enjoyment of life.
Depression is also associated with
food allergies,
limiting beliefs,
stress,
codependence,
addiction, relationship breakdown
and relationship entanglements. There are solutions for
each of these, once you know what are your real issues.
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Depression is the inability to
construct a future
Rollo May |
Depression is often a reminder that
something is missing in your life,
or that you have abused or mistreated important people.
Martyn Carruthers
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Depression reduces the quality and sense of life, and often originates in
the early family. Depression often starts in dependent, symbiotic
or dysfunctional relationships. Relationship
problems require relationship solutions ... and drugs often seem to delay a
search for
solutions.
We find that depressed women are more likely to seek help,
while depressed men of any age appear more likely to self-medicate with alcohol or nicotine, or
obsessively
distract themselves with television, pornography, internet surfing or gambling.
(Fewer men than women seem able to talk about their feelings or seek help when
they need it.)
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Sometimes depression makes sense
- depression can motivate a search for meaning. Does your life make sense?
Do you enjoy ...
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- intimate partnership
- strong supportive beliefs
- a sense of connection to life
- you know what is important
- motivation to achieve a vision
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- a sense of purpose or mission
- healthy mind in a healthy body
- your place within your community
- transpersonal sense of connectedness
- nurturing children / projects
to independence
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You can prevent or remedy depression - or you can deal with its
consequences. We help people build better relationships, plan
their lives, exercise, enjoy sleep and benefit from healthy diets. People facing
alcohol or drug addictions can also seek drug
treatment and recovery programs.
Depression & Drugs
The manufacture and sale of anti-depressants is a multi-billion dollar industry. Although the most common anti-depressants may be
alcohol and nicotine, trying to manage depression with addictive prescription
drugs my have consequences
worse than depression. Many prescription anti-depressants are addictive and have
unpleasant side effects, especially with
older people.
The more expensive anti-depressant drugs are SSRI -
selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors such as Zoloft,
Prozac or Paxil. These drugs increase serotonin in the brain.
Many older and cheaper anti-depressants include MAOI or MonoAmine
Oxidase Inhibitors, with worse side effects. MAO inhibitors such as Nardil,
Parnate and Marplan may be prescribed if other medications don't work.
Symptoms of Depression
People who feel depressed often describe unpleasant moods,
thoughts and self-image. Depressed people may have difficulty
making decisions - the day-to-day tasks of paying bills, caring for
children, meeting people, housework and telephone calls may seem overwhelming.
Check these symptoms ...
- Preoccupied with death or suicide
- Insomnia and/or major sleep changes
- Appetite and/or major weight changes
- Decreased energy, fatigue - always tired
- Feeling hopeless, helpless or pessimistic
- Feeling guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
- Loss of interest or pleasure in work or profession
- Little pleasure in activities that were once enjoyed
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Sadness, anxiety, emptiness, restless and irritable
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Little interest or pleasure in romance or sexual activity
If you suffer symptoms of depression most days for a few weeks; or if the
symptoms
interfere with important daily tasks,
your sleep or your social life; please consider finding professional help:
Depression, Disease & Guilt
Depression seems to be a normal response to unhealthy relationships. People
at higher risk of chronic depression include those suffering from
codependence or
mental illness.
The most common issues underlying chronic
depression seem to be guilt and shame, either of which may be more likely if
you:
- abused, traumatized or tortured someone
- were abused by someone but you blame yourself
- blame yourself for some misfortune to yourself or to others
- mistake relationship types (e.g. perceiving a partner as a child)
- betrayed or abandoned someone important (e.g.
abandoning a child)
Managing Guilt & Shame
People who try to withhold emotions will sooner or
later express them; either internally as body symptoms or externally as
relationship events. Depression often seems to result from withholding
guilt. This guilt may reflect regret for abuse, abandonment, betrayal,
etc - or guilt may be a result of transference,
following, for example, parental alienation,
sexual abuse or
emotional incest.
If unassimilated guilt and shame is experienced as
depression, unresolved depression may result in chronic relationship problems, nervous breakdown
or suicide attempts. Long-term solutions for
depression seem to require
that people who have hurt others clarify and balance this hurt, and that
they change any damaging relationship enmeshments
(see emotional maturity.) People facing
alcoholism or drug addiction can seek a rehab center to gain sobriety and overcome these addictions.
Many people seem to try to control guilt and depression with
distractions (e.g. TV, sex, gambling, etc), psychoactive medications
(including nicotine, alcohol and caffeine) and dissociation (withdrawal,
self-hypnosis and meditation). Such control is usually short-term;
continued use of drugs or other distractions may result in obsessions and
addictions - without resolving the underlying depression.
Electroconvulsive Therapy (Electroshock - ECT)
Electroconvulsive therapy (Electroshock) is passing an electric current through
a human brain to cause a convulsion. Electroshock is used on people with depression,
mania and sometimes schizophrenia, especially people who do not respond well to,
or abreact to, medication. (I see ECT as an attempt to delete difficult
memories rather than to help people assimilate and learn from them ... Martyn).
The side effects of ECT include electrocution, brain
damage, nausea and headaches, memory loss, distractibility, difficulty
with multiple tasks, and trouble with arithmetic and complex language.
Solutions for Depression: Wisdom & Integrity
Intelligence is not wisdom. More intelligent people may become
depressed if they cannot find effective solutions for problems or trends that
less intelligent people may not notice. (Also, more sensitive people are likely
to feel depressed by incidents that less sensitive people may consider foolish.)
Opening up to a friend and talking about why you are
depressed is emotional first aid. Good friends, a healthy diet and appropriate exercise always makes sense. Focus on what you like that is around you. Take walks in a parks
or natural places. Practice gratitude for small things and remember
what makes sense. Let depression mature into compassion!
We help people evaluate and change their
emotions and build better relationships.
Online Coaching & Mentorship for
Depression
Plagiarism is theft. Copyright © 2001-2012 by Martyn Carruthers. All rights reserved. |
