Do you constantly get depressed or feel frustrated without any apparent reason?
Do you often get the feeling that you cannot be happy and feel frustrated? Do not worry; there are many others like you who feel the same way.
Every other person feels sad or depressed sometime or the other but these feelings usually go away within a few hours or at the most within a couple of days.
Depression is so common that it affects 1 in 10 people at some point of time in their life. But when people cannot get over the feeling of depression it is certain that they have a depressive disorder.
A positive frame of mind is one of the key secrets of a happy life. Anxiety and depression makes it difficult for an individual to think positively.
Depression is a very complicated affliction and it affects different persons differently. Events of your everyday life are the reason for depression. It can be described as a low or bad mood that affects the way a person thinks or acts.
There are many causes of depression as well as symptoms of depression. However, it is very difficult to understand if a person is depressed or just upset. Most people who are depressed feel unhappy, worried, irritated and restless.
In this article, I will put a light on counselling for depression that will not only help you but can also enable you to help everyone around you. I will also emphasize on causes of depression as well as the signs of depression so that next time when you see anyone depressed you can use this counselling for relieving the depressed person.
Let us first understand what depression is.
What is Depression?
Depression is a state of mind in which you feel sad or are in a low mood all the time. This feeling which persists for at least two weeks is very different from the short term sadness or the sense of feeling blue.
Depression occurs when your spirit is disturbed and you feel sad, lonely, hopeless or guilty.
Most people have the feeling of being depressed at some point of time, but in few people the sense of depression lasts for months or even years.
Depression Symptoms
Depression is usually associated with the following symptoms:
- Feeling of loneliness
- Locking oneself in a dark room for hours together
- Crying for hours together without a major reason
- Shouting and yelling at small things
- Trying to detach oneself from friends and relatives
- Compulsive overeating and vomiting
- Hurting yourself with a sharp blade
- Attempting suicide
- Attempting murder
- Consuming too many sleeping pills
In the next level of depression, the symptoms become so intense, that it starts affecting your routine activity. It is at this level you begin to feel that suicide in the only solution.
The depression symptoms in men might slightly differ from the depression symptoms in women in regards to intensity and aggression. Though women are more prone to depression, the symptoms are more intense in case of men.
It is a normal human tendency, to be subjected to bouts of depression now and then, but you will be classified under the category of depressive disorder only when the symptoms persist for more than two weeks.
Now that you know all about the symptoms, let’s look at the causes that force a person into depression.
Causes of Depression
It is not very easy to identify the causes of depression as it all depends upon the perception of the individual.
For example, a particular thing may make you feel really sad and depressed whereas for someone else the same thing may just be minor event to grief over for some time and forget.
However, I have tried to list out a few causes of depression.
- Sudden death of a loved one
- Breakup in a relationship
- Divorce
- Sudden change of place
- Loss of job
- Gaining weight
- Improper flow of blood to brain
- Addiction to drugs
- Lack of vitamins and nutrients in the diet
The most important thing for depression is counselling and you can easily use it for yourself if your depression is in the initial stages.
What is Counselling for Depression?
Counselling is a form of psychological therapy that can help you overcome your emotional disturbances and can reduce your loneliness. It will help you to form an attachment with your family and friends.
Depression treatment is done by using various therapies one of which is called psychotherapy or talk therapy.
Psychotherapy can work wonders during the initial stages of depression, and when used in the chronic stages along with medication, it can treat depression.
Psychotherapy helps develop good skills to cope with your problems and helps you bond well with your family, friends and relatives.
Statistics show that in a trial conducted involving 400 people a large majority were benefited through psychotherapy and were able to get relief from depression.
Benefits of Psychotherapy
- It helps to reduce stress
- It helps in changing your attitude towards family and friends and their problems
- You will not have any hesitation in accepting your condition and talking about it
- It not only treats your depression but also prevents it from getting worse
There are various types of psychotherapy, but I will concentrate only on the common types which support counselling for depression.
Different Types of Psychotherapy
1.Cognitive Therapy
- This treatment works on your thought process.
- The therapy is conducted by studying your thoughts and manipulating the thought process.
- It involves cross questioning to make you realize that your thought process is not right.
- It directly affects your thinking and helps your mind develop logical thinking.
For example,
During your mental depression phase you may feel guilty about the heavy rains that occurred in Mumbai. The counsellor will ask you few questions such as
a) Are you God?
b) Do you create rains?
c) How can you be responsible for heavy rains?
d) What was your purpose in making heavy rains?
e) If you are responsible for heavy rains then why are there places all over the world without water?
f) Are you selfish not to send water to those places?
2. Behavioral Therapy
- This therapy affects your behaviour.
- During depression if you have acquired any bad behaviour it would be very difficult to get rid of it.
- This therapy will gradually instil the right behaviour in you.
For instance,
During depression if you have become used to shouting and yelling, you can gradually get rid of these qualities.
3. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
- This is a combination of cognitive as well as behaviour therapy.
- It is used to address a particular problem.
- It works well with irrational and violent behaviour.
- For example, if you are manifesting suicidal tendencies.
- In this therapy home work is assigned to you, which involves writing down all your thoughts on paper.
- You writing will be able to tell me why your ideas have become completely irrational.
- Then, based on it the counsellor will ask you a few questions
- This will lead to development of rational thoughts and rational behaviour.
However, only counselling for depression is not enough as you also require medication for depression to keep you calm.
Medicine for Depression
- Vitamin B12 plays a crucial role for maintaining tranquillity of the mind.
- You should also take chamomile tea 2 times a day which will help you calm yourself.
- Omega 3 fatty acids is a proven method for improvement of brain health during depression as it helps to keep your mind calm and ensure proper blood flow to the brain.
- Your diet lacks vitamins and nutrients and hence it is vital that you should take a multivitamin tablet every day.
Depression is not a disease; it is just a condition of the mind.
Now that you have read all about depression, try to pull yourself out of it whenever you feel low. Also help others to recover from depression.
Do share your experiences in the below comment box. I will be eagerly waiting to read them.