Is it possible to overcome depression with just your mind alone?!


Question:

Is it possible to overcome depression with just your mind alone?

I strongly belive depression and related disorders stem from a disatisfaction with oneself. I also believe it's not as serious as it's made out to be. The human mind is an incredible thing. I'm sure if anybody tried 110% to pull themselves out of and combat depression they would succeed. It is a disease of the mind after all so what better way to treat it than the mind itself?
I had qiute bad depressive episodes but forced myself to rise above them.Has anybody any experience on this front?


Answers:

Hi, Mike:

I have a feeling that you're going to disagree with much of what I have to say. But I have to try....

I believe that you can control your feelings through your thoughts, but I have to qualify that. I really have to disagree with you about people being able to "pull themselves" out of a depression by themselves; and I also know for a fact that depression is a very dangerous thing. Even, possibly, fatal.

I've been depressed for all of my life. I have attempted suicide because I was so helpless and depressed.. And now, after so many years of help, and taking the right meds, I am so, so much better.

I have been in therapy for many years now, and am doing so much better. I think that this is:

1) Because of therapy. Some therapists are terrible and, I think, even dangerous. I'm in what's called cognitive therapy.
The whole idea is that, if you can change your thoughts, you
can change your feelings. But here's the catch: You can't do that alone. Cognitive therapists (the only kind of therapy I would recommend) teach you how to do that. It teaches
you how to identify your thoughts, how to "argue" with the negative, irrational thoughts, and therefore change your thinking. These therapists are highly trained in helping people learn how to do that .But it takes some time. To try to do that alone is dangerous, I think, because your thought process, when you are depressed, is already faulty, having professional help in learning how to learn this process is essential.

2) There's another component to mental illness, and that is
that it has a strong biochemical component. There's no doubt When you're depressed, your brain chemistry is all off kilter. Sometimes no amount of therapy, and certainly no amount of resolve to "kick it" yourself, will change that (except that, in the case of therapy, it has shown that the brain chemistry itself can change - but it takes time and a lot of work). Meanwhile, you can't fool around with depression. It is a very serious illness.

Yeah - illness. You wouldn't try to treat diabetes without insulin. In the same way, because there are so many great
antidepressants with few if any side effects, why not take
advantage of modern medicine so that you can live a more comfortable, productive and safe existence? I take them, and I know many others who do, too, with incredible results. If people made use of the right medications, the suicide rate
would go down. It's just not fun to feel so down. It's not safe, either. Sometimes depression has nothing to do with life
circumstances; sometimes it just comes out of the blue.
Mixed up emotions are often biochemical in nature - why not
treat them biochemically? There's no shame in it at all.

Mike, you sound like a guy who really wants to be in control
Why not find a cognitive therapist who can help you find
tools that will help you stay in control? Why not consider (if
a Dr. thinks it's appropriate) taking appropriate medications, giving yourself a head start so that you're not battling the biochemical component of your depression alone?

I HOPE YOU READ MY ANSWER!! I really do know what
I'm talking about.

I do agree with you that the human mind is an incredible thing.
But sometimes our emotions go astray, through no fault of our own. Sometimes, for no reason that we can figure out. Then, the smart thing to do is to avail ourselves of help from people who are experts, take care of ourselves (just as we would treat a strep throat), and make it easier on ourselves by considering the use of antidepressants, which are developed by scientists who have incredible human minds.

Listen, whatever you decide to do or not do, know that I care for you, and that there are many who care. Take care of yourself, okay? Just a suggestion...

Sue




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