Mental Health Awareness Month: Depression
Mental Health Awareness Month
May is Mental Health Awareness Month Each week, we’ll take a look at common mental health concerns and how to manage them. Last week we talked about anxiety. For our second week, we’re looking at depression.
What is Depression?
Depression is a persistent feeling of low self-worth, deep sadness, and lack of enjoyment in life. Depression often includes fatigue, lost interest in things one used to enjoy, and hopelessness.
Getting to know Depression:
Physical symptoms can include: fatigue/lethargy, weight loss or gain, sleep difficulties, pain
Psychological symptoms can include: difficulty concentrating, feeling of emptiness, low self-worth, excessive guilt, irritability/anger, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
8.4% of adults and 17% of adolescents had a major depressive episode over the last year (NIMH)
*Adapted from Britannica and the ADAA.
How to Support Those With Depression
You probably know a friend or loved one who experiences depression. Here are some things to consider when you’re supporting them.
1. Listen
Listening is step one to helping anyone with essentially any emotional concern. Listen to the person and try to understand what it’s like to be i. Be sure to convey your curiosity non-judgementally—you’re trying to show empathy and compassion, not “figure out what’s wrong with them” or fix the problem.
2. Offer help where you can
For the person in the midst of a depressive episode, even regular tasks can feel insurmountable. Offer to help the person in ways that are actually helpful and meaningful to them. Maybe that means doing the dishes or making them dinner. It might be helping them plan out a schedule to get them on a healthier routine. Find what’s consistent with the individual you’re trying to help.
There’s a fine line here, however. Make sure you are not forcing or coercing the person too much. This can activate a person's own guilt or low self-worth and have negative effects.
3. Encourage self-care habits
Help the person name and apply some practices that foster their well-being. Finding those things that feed the soul can help us when we’ve bottomed out emotionally. Do they love music? Painting? Exercise? Cooking? Hiking? Encourage them to take care of themselves by doing something that will give them life.
Better yet, schedule a time to do one of these activities with the person. Having something to look forward to on the schedule with a person you enjoy can go a long way for emotional health.
*Adapted from Mayo Clinic and Therapist Aid
How Therapists Can Help With Depression
Here are two common ways (of many) that therapists help clients manage and overcome depression:
Psychodynamic Therapy
Psychodynamic therapy is an insight-oriented model, meaning it seeks to find new levels of understanding in a person. It looks at how psychological concerns like depression have emerged in a person’s life. Psychodynamic therapists look at both present and past experiences, particularly significant life experiences that have formed you into who you are today.
What role does depression play in your life? When were you first depressed? Are there internal narratives you carry about yourself that are driving you toward depression? Really entering into questions like these helps us understand ourselves more deeply and move toward change.
*Adapted from Psychology Today
An Example of Psychodynamic Therapy:
Often our self-concepts—or the way in which we view ourselves—get embedded in us very early in life. Let’s say I struggle with depression and I gradually observe that I have a low view of myself. I see myself as unintelligent, uninteresting, incapable, and bad. Looking earlier in my life, we find that an elementary school teacher made me feel embarrassed in front of the rest of the class; this moment helped set in motion this narrative that I should view myself negatively. However, that’s not the case—as a human being, I am filled with inherent worth. By naming and confronting this self-concept, I can begin to view myself more accurately—with the strengths and proper shortcomings like everyone else.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
You might remember CBT from our focus on anxiety. It is highly effective for both!
CBT looks at the nature of thoughts and how those inform our emotions and behaviors. By testing and confronting harmful thoughts about things like low self-worth or incapability, we can over time alter the negative emotions that come with these distressing thoughts.
*Adapted from Psychology Today
An Example of CBT:
When CBT takes on depression, it focuses on the thoughts that are beginning and driving the cycle. Let’s say I’m in a season of depression. A CBT therapist helps me see that my thoughts are deeply negative and even hopeless. Things like: “Why should I wash the dishes? There will just be more tomorrow.” “Why should I get exercise? I don’t have enough discipline to meet my fitness goals.” Thoughts like these are making me feel cynical, fatalistic, and sad which results in unhealthy behaviors. CBT works to see these cycles, confront the thoughts, and problem-solve toward healthier patterns.
