Coping with Depression in our Modern World

Depression is typically prolonged feelings of despondency and dejection, cessation of interest in the outside world, loss of the capacity to love and possibly feelings of worthlessness. It is usually characterised by severe feelings of hopelessness and inadequacy, typically accompanied by a lack of energy and interest in life. Depression ranges from mild to severe. Symptoms could also be, disturbed sleep patterns, reduce libido, over or under eating. It could also involve a person carrying out repetitive behaviour as in OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder).

In our busy society today with demands being placed on us from all different angles people find it difficult to get time away from the stresses of life and sometimes these can become overwhelming. It is important to note that there is always help available. In the first instance there are voluntary organisations that can offer help and advice or there are always private counsellors with availability nearby.

PSYCHOLOGICAL VIEWS OF DEPRESSION

There are millions of people around the world who have been prescribed antidepressant tablets. This seems to be the favoured choice of treatment, with priority been given to a medical solution. Here, pill taking has been given precedence over examining the person’s internal life. With psychotherapy the aim is to focused on returning the individual to their former productive and functional state by trying to get an understanding of why the person feels depressed. Depression can also be attributed to compromised cortisol levels as this can impact our ability to cope with stress and manage emotions. Depression can also be as a result of loss. This loss could be the loss of a person, a relationship, job or any object to which a person has formed an attachment. Sometimes, ones response to loss can be traced back to childhood. This could have been the loss of a close relative,a pet or even a special toy. A break in the attachment bond with a parent can feel like a tremendous loss and triggers a process of grief that may be left unresolved into adulthood.

One in eight women, who have given birth been recorded to have postpartum depression. Due to the drastic hormonal changes in a woman’s body after giving birth, women can experience what is called the ‘baby blues’. With this the mother might experience symptoms such as crying, anxiety, sadness, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite and mood swings. However if these symptoms persist for more than a few weeks and then progress to suicidal or homicidal thoughts, postnatal depression might be diagnosed and treatment needs to be urgent.

Various studies have shown that there is evidence that a child’s response to loss is a significant determinant of how he will go on to experience and respond to loss later in life. Children can respond to losses with anger and anxiety and if these emotions aren’t acknowledged and handled carefully there can be difficulties in later life with regards to expressing these emotions or accepting them in ones self.

Depression can occur in adults or in children. The symptoms usually vary in duration depending on the cause of the depression and the person’s support systems and their ability to vocalise what it is that they are finding troubling. Depression can occur at varying times in a persons life, usually triggered by a particular occurrence that could be know or unknown (conscious or unconscious) to the individual.

HOW COUNSELLING CAN HELP

As a psychotherapist, I am a firm advocate of encouraging an individual to talk about their distress; therefore I have a strong belief in the benefits of talking therapies. It takes courage to decide to go for therapy and even more courage to actually go. However, when you attend the counsellor/therapist usually gets a background of what it is that you are struggling with, look at patterns of behaviour that might be problematic and then work on ways of how you can change negative thinking into positive thoughts. Also I have found that many individuals benefit from the practice of mindfulness as a way of reducing the symptoms of depression. I must say that sometimes the symptoms experienced might be so unbearable that antidepressants may be useful in the interim period. However, research has shown that talking therapies that encourage a person to examine their emotions and how to manage them are very successful in the treatment of depression.