I suffer from depression. What can I do?

I suffer from depression.

This question was submitted by 'Ronald'

Mark says...

Hi Ronald and thank you for getting in touch.

You don't give me too much to go on here. : ) Such as whether you are going through a depression at the moment and, if so, when this episode began.

Life can feel really hard and painful during depression. And it can seem hard to see a positive way forward. You might have noticed your thoughts seem to go around and around in a spiral of doubt, helplessness, pessimism, and fear. You might find you alternate between feeling agitated, restless, and full of stress with feelings of paralysis and inability to do the simplest of things, things you 'should' be able to do and would do normally. This can cause feelings of guilt and damage self-esteem still further. But there is hope.

Depression was at one time called 'nervous exhaustion', which is, I think, a pretty good name for it because it describes what it is. Depressed people always have more circulating stress hormone in their bodies (cortisol), so relaxation therapy is a vital part of overall therapy to normalize these levels and also free up the brain to work as it should be working.

People depress when they over-worry about the primal human needs they are not meeting in life. The exhaustion caused by this overload in stress prevents them from meeting those needs even more. Depression distorts perception, making everything seem extreme, all-or-nothing, and black-or-white. As depression lifts, the gradations and 'shades of grey' return to life again and, of course, so does enjoyment.

You may have noticed that mornings have been hard and that sleep seems to exhaust, not refresh you. This is typical in depression and happens because depressed people always dream more during a depression (and over-dreaming is exhausting). As you come out of depression, you'll notice that you begin to feel refreshed by and rested from your sleep and therefore have increased and sustainable levels of energy and confidence.

I hope you have good people to talk to in your life and a pretty good support network around you. And I urge you to take the Depression Learning Path.

There is hope, even though it can be hard to see, just as land can be hard to spot in a mist.

All my very best to you,

Mark