Blog Post About Depression

[BenB]

Check out my blog post about depression! In it, I talk about my perspective on the nature of depression and how to work through it in therapy, based on my own experience in dealing with it and more recently helping others through it as a therapist. Please share, if you like what I wrote. Thanks!

[madman]

I thought it a very good read. I'm not a fan of pharmatherapy at all. If I take a pill to lessen the sting of the lows of daily life I believe it lessens the highs and the rewards of facing my fears and making nice with my emotions.

 

I've been in a funk for a while and I keep hoping that the therapy I've been doing is going to help teach me how to welcome my emotions instead of trying to sweep them under the rug as I've done in the past. I know from listening to Stephan that my subconscious is always trying to help me. When I'm blue I know it's my emotions telling me that something needs fixin. In the past I've used various addictions and denial to make the bad feelings go away (which never works). It's what I've been doing lately. The difference is that I'm aware of it. I'll ask myself if I need to act out and sometimes I decide not to or to a lesser extent or I choose a lesser evil. Or I'll phone a friend. That's hard to do but it really helps. I don't feel like I need to totally run myself into the ground although sometimes I do. If I do I'll try to exercise self care and not self attack. I'll take that as progress.

 

It makes sense that the way out of depression is through it. What am I unhappy with, specifically? It's not just everything.

 

Depression seems like it gangs up on me cuz I do my best to ignore, invalidate, and minimize it. Thereby erasing my self along with my emotions. Erasing is familiar. Trying to make friends with my emotions and hold them lightly is not. That's the hard part is trying to break old habits (I can do this myself) and feeling the fear of facing my emotions and asking them what they're trying to tell me.

 

Thanks for posting this. Your timing is right on. It's heartening to know I'm not the only one who's had trouble with this. G