The world of self-help, personal development, and self improvement is often challenged by people as it relates to psychology and psychiatry especially when it comes to depression. Some feel the boundaries of the various human potential teachings stop short of encompassing individuals who suffer from serious or clinical depression. You might be one of those people but we believe that if you follow these simple, yet powerful ideas, you will understand why we believe this is not true.
Depression is defined by Dictionary.com, as a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason.
Clinical Depression has a different meaning: is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and by loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities.
It doesn’t matter which kind of depression we’re discussing. They all require that we ask important questions. They are:
1. To begin with, why did this depression start?
At any given time, our emotions are produced by 4 choices – what we choose to focus on, the language we use, how we use our body, and the meaning we place on the event.
The way in which you choose to react to a given situation, say your downtown store is closing, will result in very different emotions. Where you focus your attention, how you describe your feelings, the words you use and what meaning you give to the experience all have an impact. Each one creates a different reaction.
On one hand, you might choose to focus on the mounting pile of debt as well as the failure you feel. You may give this experience the meaning “this business failed because I am not cut out for business.” As you do this, you allow your body to move into a depressed position (shallow breathing, shoulders slumped, eyes down, etc.) and start using language like “failure”, “unfair”, “idiot”, “forced out of business” “taken advantage of”, and many other words. How would you feel? What emotions would you likely experience? Are they negative, depressed emotions?
On top of that, we have a tendency as humans to relive our experiences day after day. Each time we do, we find ourselves re-focusing, giving the event meaning the same way, getting into the same physiology, and using the same language… which creates the same emotional response. By repeating this process we create the early stages of depression.
“So, if it’s just a way of thinking, why don’t people change from being depressed to a more positive state of mind?” you ask?
2. Why is it that depression persists?
For every emotion, there is a corresponding chemical that binds to the receptors designed for that particular chemical. Everybody is adaptable and so, a constant stream of one chemical creates additional receptors to accommodate it. The more receptors, the more your body craves the chemical the receptors were designed for. It’s exactly like drug addiction. Your very clever brain will find ways to re-create your thoughts/feelings in order to have your body produce the chemical that your receptors desire.
For most folks, this is how depression begins. Any event can be used as an opportunity to create the chemical. Their brain is eventually trained to respond to all events the same way… the more receptors there are to “feed” the more often the emotions are swayed to produce the appropriate chemical.
3. Can we avoid depression?
The truth is that it doesn’t matter what events occur in our lives, but instead, what our response to those events are. What is important is that you have a choice. You don’t have to be chained to a single reaction.
There’s no need to allow your past to predict your future. Past mistakes, experiences, and events are just that… in the past. The emotions you experienced are in the past as well. Do you believe it’s possible to change the way you feel about those past events? The brain is so agile, that it can relearn patterns, reshape them so that your feelings about those events have a chance to shift. Choose to focus on new things, give new meanings, change your physiology, and even change the words you use. However, and this is important; we are not saying “you don’t need medication, you can “think” your way out of a depression.” Medication is a tool, and can make it easier for a person who suffers from depression to see that they have a choice. Always, always follow the doctor’s orders.
We get that “bad” things happen. They happen everyday. There have even been books written about them happening to “good” people. We’re not saying they don’t happen or that you need to “think positive” to overcome them. No. What we’re saying is that how you choose to perceive an event will affect your physiology. Be open to the possibility that any event, good or bad can serve you. It can provide you with a valuable lesson. If you choose to shift, your perspective, every day will offer you opportunities for joy and gratitude.
Get personal development tools by visiting oneMYnd.com or visit our personal development training blog for other articles.
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