Psychotherapy Articles
Depression: Knowing the Causes, Symptoms of Depression are Vital First Steps to Relief
If you tend to get depressed during the holidays, you should feel better when they’re over, right? If you don’t, January can be a tougher time than the holidays. You think you should be feeling better and at least you had a reason for it a few weeks before them but you don’t. Therefore, knowing the many other reasons for depression can be the first steps in alleviating it for you – or someone you know.
Causes of Depression
Causes of depression include:
- Learned helplessness
- Being victimized
- Ongoing stress and traumatic life events
- Genetics
With learned helplessness, people believe that no matter how much they try to correct a problem, they cannot find a solution. Feeling out of control can feed depression.
Regarding being victimized, the aftermath can be anxiety and stress. However, both of these reactions can occur with depression. If you have been verbally or physically abused, for example, depression may result.
Ongoing stress depletes certain chemicals in the brain, which can give rise to depression. In addition, certain life events can cause it. These events include a relationship break up, job loss, or the death of someone close to you. However, just because it’s “over” (like the holidays), it doesn’t mean that your depression is necessarily going to go away.
Depression has a genetic component. If your family has a history of depression, your risk may be higher. However, being around family can also bring out feelings of depression that have been dormant by raising old, unresolved issues.
Symptoms of depression
The classic sign of depression is if you can’t feel pleasure or are unable to look forward to upcoming events. It means that your “feel good” and motivational chemicals are depleted. Other signs of depression include:
- Irritability, angry outbursts, and sadness
- Too little or too much sleep
- Feeling unmotivated
- Fatigue or tiredness, especially in the morning
- Lower sex drive
- Difficulty concentrating
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- Headaches, digestive problems
- Overindulging in food, gambling, sex, and alcohol/drugs
There are degrees of depression, ranging from mild (“the blues”) to moderate to severe. With moderate depression, you may be experiencing major problems with a job or a relationship, but you are able to cope with everyday living. Severe depression often comes with severe impairment and suicidal thinking.
And if you are feeling despair about the world’s situation, hopeless about your future, or find yourself despondent, seek help. A trusted friend, therapist, or an internet bulletin board or chat room for dealing with depression can be valuable. So can writing in a journal. Try not to let yourself slide to the point where you feel like ending your life – catch yourself on the downhill slide before you reach that point.
If you know Someone who is Suicidal
If you have a friend who is feeling suicidal, helping him can be a slippery slope. On the one hand, someone who is feeling suicidal is actually saying: “I can no longer make rational decisions and I need someone else to make them for me.” On the other hand, if your attempts to help a suicidal person end up angering him, it may provide him with enough energy to harm himself. Furthermore, telling a suicidal person that to kill himself is selfish or will devastate his family will just alienate him further. Rather, talk about how much you care about him. Let him know that you want him here.
When a suicidal person appears to be getting better, she may have secretly made the decision to kill herself. Be especially aware if someone who has been very depressed acts unusually happy or gives away possessions. It means that it’s time to intervene is a big way.
In general, give the suicidal person something to look forward to on a regular basis, even if it’s a weekly lunch or phone conversation. Try to understand her point of view, even if you don’t agree. Remain calm, and try to help the person break down the big “dark cloud” into smaller ones, helping her see her problems as more manageable. Ask her what has worked in the past, so that she can get in touch with her strengths. Also, emphasize that problems are temporary, while suicide is not.
While these suggestions can be helpful if you have a suicidal friend, it is important to remember that you are not the person’s therapist, and that you can only do so much to help her. In addition to doing what you can, encourage her to get the help she needs.
For more information on depression or to obtain support if you or someone you know is depressed, go to healthyplace.com to learn more about depression and sexual orientation / sexual identity.