Depression

Your #depression is not who you are!

It makes you feel like you are a depressed human being, you have drawn the short straw and now you're stuck with feeling depressed and low all your life.

This is simply not true!

You may believe that living with depression you are a broken, deficient and a flawed individual, but you are not the essence of this disorder.  When you start to believe that this is a disorder, meaning that this part of your brain is not working properly for you, it tends to mean that  your thoughts do not work as effectively as they could.

LET'S LIFT THAT BLAME HERE!

The way a depressive disorder can let your daily life down is when you're feeling #hopeless about something but cannot let it in that you could actually make this work for you with a change of thinking. Or when you're so #sad about something it consumes you and takes up all your #emotions even when things in general are fine, you are unable to see the positives. It shows up when you are experiencing something moderately sad but instead it creates overpowering feelings of being distraught and total devastation.

Depression changes the way we think, but for some reason the belief has led us to lean towards this as a way of being, a chemical imbalance that we have no control over. Or the false belief that it is not depression and something else. The suggestion that this is treatable often leads to people being offended as if it is some kind of insult that we should be able to cope better.

The word SHOULD is like a poke, the word COULD is a possibility of opening our mind to the possibility that we COULD and can CHOOSE to LEARN

"I SHOULD have done better in my presentation"

- change to -

"In these situations I COULD use more visual aids to help it flow more and remove focus from myself"

See the difference?

It is presenting a future opportunity rather than dwelling on a past that cannot be changed

Depression is not a failure, depression tells us nothing can be done, and we were born this way which leads to the belief living with depression means suffering.  It leads to thoughts that everyone is out to get you, or that you are a terrible human being and a failure. 

It feeds our thoughts with beliefs that if people took time to get to know you, they wouldn't like who you are deep down, these are some of depressions favorite tactics to keep hold of us and in a state of depression and low mood.

It takes hold deeply to make us believe, this is who we are, and this is a permanent personality flaw.  Depression is very real, not something that you can easily get over,  this is also one of depressions lies to maintain its place in our day-to-day life. 

Depression knows you don't want to feel this way and you don't know how to get out of it, if the answer was within you, you would.  So, let's look at some answers

Depression is an experience not an identity!

It's something you go through; it does not make who you are!

There is an issue with how we talk about mental illness.  For example, the most common way to say it is;  “I am depressed”  but people don't walk around saying “I am cancerous” they say “I have cancer” or “I'm fighting cancer” but they don't negatively make it their identity. Depression describes a dark perception of self – and it’s a lie!

Let’s make change!

“I am depressed” change to “I’m fighting depression!”

Research and studies on two people with the exact same genes (twins) growing up in the same environment;  If one has depression, the other has a 37% chance of also developing depression,  so genetics definitely play a role, but the other 63% is experiences, choices and other factors.  Even within that 37% some of that is environmental and other factors.

This knowledge provides the basic information that we have a huge ability to influence our #mentalhealth.  I genuinely believe that some people are born with gentle hearts, others are born with a huge capacity and sensitivity for emotion.  The point is, we are not born depressed, that doesn't mean it's not hereditary, but it does mean that depression develops as a combination of our experiences,  choices and learning.

How we develop the necessary tools to deal with our emotions, our tenderness, our sensitivity, our pain, our concerns, our dreams and our hearts is with resilience, encouragement and reassurance, when these skills are underdeveloped the painful feelings and memories turn into depression.

Depression is real but it's not who you are, you may feel discouraged about this because you've tried a few things, and the depression hasn't gone away.

Now is not the time to give up! and finding this blog is evidence you haven’t. Well Done!

There are so many things you can try, so many different treatments that may help.

Right here, right now - acknowledge depression is real but it's also treatable!

Modern research shows that depression is so much more than an imbalance, it's a combination of many factors and that may include biological, environmental factors along with chemical imbalances. It now considers the psychological and social experiences of individuals.

How can it be treated? There are actually many ways,  here I will list a few that are backed by researched treatments for depression.

#Therapy - actually changes brain chemistry and structure of thoughts and behaviours, space to talk and find purpose and meaning in your life and also relationship therapy should there be challenging people in your life

#Medication -  is an option some people find most helpful

#Exercise - is shown to be more effective than medication particularly at treating anxiety

#Nutrition - alters mood and depression has been directly linked to nutritional deficiencies and shown to be treatable through healthy diet

#Insomnia and improving sleep - in one study of people with depression, 87% of people who resolved their insomnia saw significant improvements in their depression with many seeing their depression symptoms disappearing in eight weeks

Overall #Health - treating underlying medical conditions that I have referred to as other biological factors that present and work alongside the idea that depression is a chemical imbalance that is out of our control.  Another underlying medical condition can have side effects from the medication which include depression.  Such as thyroid disorders, diabetes, Lyme disease, food allergies, anemia, vitamin deficiencies, sleep apnea.  All these medical conditions can manifest like depression so if we treat the underlying medical conditions the depression can lift.

#Self-Help - other effective treatments include finding gratitude in each day, mindfulness, meditation, and willingness which is a skill directly from acceptance.  Relaxation skills and learning to tune in and turn on your positive energy.  Building healthy social connections and many other approaches have been shown to be effective at treating depression.  Personal stimulation in hobbies and getting outdoors in nature and adventure to ramp up the positive experiences in our lifestyle.  Self-help books and spirituality, there's a huge list, I do not want to overwhelm but I'm trying to say there is hope for treatment and there's hope for feeling better.

If you've tried a few things and they haven't worked try some other things, there's more options than just one or two things that most people try. Keep trying as depression never misses an opportunity to tell us again, we failed. It is not failure you just haven't found the right treatment for you.

Depression is treatable, don't listen to its lies telling you that this is who you are and it's never going away,  start working at finding the combination of changes to your thoughts and actions that can make a difference.

A #therapist or #counsellor can help that journey go more smoothly just don't give up.

Please feel free to share this, as you never know who may benefit from finding this information. Thanks for reading and take care.

Counselling with Kirsteen  07979 735703