Through the Eyes of Depression

Depression is like wearing a pair of eyeglasses that are the wrong prescription; it distorts everything within your immediate line of vision. I’ve used this analogy numerous times in clinical practice. It’s the best description of a phenomenon many have experienced, yet don’t fully understand.

Depression occurs for numerous reasons and is experienced in different ways. There are vegetative depressions; agitated depressions; depressions that occur due to imbalances in brain chemistry and have genetic underpinnings; and depressions that develop in response to a perceived loss (e.g., losing a loved one or being sacked).

Despite its myriad incarnations, there is universality. Depression affects every facet of a person’s life: personal, professional, social and familial. It takes ordinary, everyday tasks that one usually tackles without much thought (i.e., getting up in the morning and taking a shower) and makes it feel like the equivalent of scaling Mt. Everest.

Some depressed persons function “normally” during the day while at work. Afterhours, it’s a different story. As night falls, depression engulfs them. Others experience the opposite. They can’t function day or night. They completely unravel. These individuals are more likely to seek professional help, while the others keep it to themselves, adding to their feelings of loneliness. Traditionally, people have been reluctant to admit when they feel depressed for fear of being stigmatized as a “crazy” or lazy. This is slowly beginning to change, particularly in more urban areas and in the U.S. (everyone’s either in therapy, on antidepressants or both here).

Ordinary, stressful situations are amplified and seem insurmountable. Depression distorts a person’s view of self, experiences and the world. It puts a negative spin on everything. Depressive distortions cause the individual to engage in negative self-thoughts often leading him or her to feel even worse and hopeless about the future. That’s the trick. When people are depressed, they often forget it is a temporary condition. Even the most acute of depressions will eventually lift, either through therapy, medication, both or of its own accord.

People get stuck in depression. They discount the positive in their lives and focus on the negative. Pointing out the positive to a depressed friend or family member is frequently ineffective and often met with a “You don’t know what you’re talking about” response. Consequently, depressed persons often isolate themselves from their social and familial supports. Alas, isolation only exacerbates depression. While people often have good reason for being depressed, the depressed individual often behaves and makes choices that are contrary to feeling better.

Research shows that depression is effectively managed by seemingly easy (easy for the non-depressed person) behavioral measures. For instance, regular physical activity, healthy diet, avoiding sleeping during the day (for those who with difficulty sleeping at night), avoiding alcohol and illicit substances, seeking social support, and sticking to one’s daily routine. However, depression often leads a person to isolate, sleep throughout the day (contributing to nighttime insomnia), drink and illicit drug use (in part to self-medicate), become sedentary, overeat foods high in starch and sugar (“comfort” food) and/or lose one’s appetite, etc.,p>

Most forms of depression are highly treatable with or without medication depending upon the type and severity of the depression. Depression is a legitimate mental health condition. Many individuals require professional treatment that includes psychopharmacological medications; others do not. It is important to determine what kind of depression an individual suffers from in order to select the best course of treatment. I have worked with countless people who were able to alleviate their depression by enlisting the behavioral techniques listed above while concurrently challenging their negative thoughts. Others were not able to implement the behavioral interventions until they began a medication course because their symptoms were too severe. When a person seems to be at their darkest, remember, it is the depression that flicked off the light switch. Shift the negative perspective and the depression will lift, rather like removing a pair of eyeglasses.