Most people don’t start out in life intentionally headed toward depression. Life just takes you down that detour sometimes, for a whole host of reasons.
Sometimes it’s a traumatic event that shakes your world and shatters your confidence. Sometimes it’s the cumulative effect of anxiety and fear about yourself and your future. Sometimes it’s the sheer weariness of never seeming to get on the right road to happiness. Sometimes it’s the constant criticism and negativity of the people you travel with.
Sometimes it’s because no matter how fast you go, you can’t seem to outrun your past. Sometimes it’s because no matter how far you go, it’s still your face in the rearview mirror.
Depression isn’t even one thing. You could be in the midst of a major depression episode, during which you have trouble working, sleeping, and eating. You’re so focused on just getting through the day that you’ve stopped focusing on how you feel. All the activities you used to really get a kick out of have now gone flat, or maybe you’ve gone flat, but what does it really matter, because it’s all just flat.
You could be in the midst of a long-term dysthymia, which to me is like a kind of low-grade depressive fever. You’re still marginally functional but nothing seems to go right, and you sure don’t feel right most of the time.
You could be in the midst of seasonal affective disorder, aptly named S.A.D., where the drab and dreary days of winter precisely mirror your drab and dreary outlook and feelings.
Or, you could be anxious, which has an extremely common link to depression. As more is being learned about the link between the two, a differentiation is occurring between depression without anxiety and what is being called anxious depression. When anxiety and depression are linked together, treatment becomes complicated:
People with major depression accompanied by high levels of anxiety are significantly less likely to benefit from anti-depressant medication than those without anxiety, according to a study based on data from the NIMH-funded Sequenced Treatment Alternatives to Relieve Depression (STAR*D) study…. The results are consistent with previous research showing that people with depression and high levels of anxiety are less likely to respond to anti-depressant medication, regardless of what medication is used. This also may lead to more recognition and possible diagnosis of anxious depression.
The lead researcher in the study goes on to say that “the combination likely warrants a more personalized treatment approach.”
Are you depressed? Take the depression survey. And if you suspect you could be depressed, do not hesitate to talk to a doctor about it.
People arrive at the point of depression from many different places, indicating there are a variety of paths to recovery. In short, there is no one answer for depression and no single path to recovery. Just as the reasons for depression are as varied as the individuals who suffer from it, the paths to recovery will also be unique to each individual.
Not every person suffering from depression should be medicated.
Not every person who has a bad day is depressed.
Not ever person who struggles over meaning and purpose in his life should be viewed as crazy.
Not every person is able to bounce back from a major traumatic event without assistance.
In order to deal with depression, each individual’s unique story must be heard, understood, and integrated into a personalized recovery.
The above is a compilation of excerpts from Dr. Gregory Jantz’s Moving Beyond Depression: A Whole-Person Approach, Happy for the Rest of Your Life, and Overcoming Anxiety, Worry and Fear: Practical Ways to Find Peace.