I don’t know about you, but when I’m severely depressed 90 percent of my negative thinking is based on the fact that I am a failure because all my cognitive-behavioral strategies …
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Many people seem to forget the Behavioural component (which incidentally has the most effect) when applying Cognitive Behavioural techniques to treat depression. No amount of thinking/meditating will improve symptoms unless some form of positive reinforcers are regularly experienced – hence activity scheduling & graded task assignment in the early mid stages of therapy(coupled with thought stopping and plenty of distraction tasks!)
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I have suffered from anxiety/ severe depression for most of my life, and can attest to the view that trying to think oneself out of it is impossible.
I have read so many self-help books, and gone deeper and deeper inside myself, all to no avail.
There is definitely a place for distraction/ keeping busy, and talking to other people.
I find this helps.
I really appreciated this post. I’m grappling with whether to continue to take anti-depressants while trying to conceive. I’m in the highly recurrent severe depression category. When I’m better (thanks to meds…) I feel like I *should* be able to go off. And yet, my psychiatrist is always saying, yes, it’s great you are feeling better, great to exercise, great you’ve learned so much in therapy, great that you have more social support, etc. etc…. but those things wouldn’t be possible without the effective meds, and wouldn’t be enough to fight off a recurrence without the meds. I know she’s right, that when I was severely depressed last time, I was simply unable to implement my therapist’s admonitions to stop “negative self talk”… it was only when the meds had helped first that suddenly what she was talking about became possible.
Please do not overlook the nutritional factors in depression. The brain is 60% fat, mostly EPA and DHA. Most people with depression are not getting enough of these in their diet. Seafood is the best source. Feeding the brain what it needs revoves the cause of the problem, instead of suppressing it with drugs. This is especially important during pregnancy. Andrew Stoll MD, in The Omega-3 Connection, published in 2001, describes his studies of patients with treatment-resistant major depression. These patients had not responded to treatment with any conventional antidepressants, but when fish oil was added, even the patients were surprised at their improvement. This makes sense because without omega-3 fatty acids, the brain cannot function normally, so even the strongest antidepressant will be ineffective. He then went on to studies of patients with bipolar disorder. In 1997 he presented the results of a planned nine-month double-blind placebo-controlled study of thirty high-risk patients with bipolar disorder, treated with fish oil. A four month preliminary analysis of the data showed such amazing results with fish oil compared to patients on placebo, who were no better or even getting worse, that he cut the study short and offered fish oil to all participants, and published the results in the Archives of General Psychiatry. In the bipolar study, he gave patients 9.6 grams of omega-3 per day, (6.2 of EPA and 3.4 of DHA), but he finds that in clinical practice, 2 to 5 grams per day is adequate for most patients. It is possible that other complications could also be due to deficiency of EPA and DHA.
This was such a relief to read. Absolutely great advice. Thank you so much!
great one..thanks!
Good perspective to treat it as it is illness of the brain…so true would we beat ourselves up for our cancer not healing? But in society that’s what happens with those with mental health issues because it’s associated with weak will, not illness. This permeates even after years having a DSM that helps diagnose it as illness…so much stigma even though everyone knows someone with this illness.
thnk u… its th same with me…
I’m severely depressed and i dont know were to turn to.PArt of the reason I m depressed its because im going thru a divorce with a guy to whom i still live snd I have a daughter with also because i have few relatives just my dad around.Im constantly depredsed i just cry day and night i am almost at the point that i might loose my job cause all i ever want to do is Sleep.I have no energy for anything its been months when will i ever get better when?!
Hi Mileyka,
I am so sorry to hear you are suffering. It sounds like your world is unraveling. I thought maybe I would offer you some hope. I have had to use outpatient intensive day therapy programs to get myself back on track. I have struggled for almost 20 years with a severe mood disorder. And I have gone through a divorce. I dont know where you are from but I am sure there must be some services in your area that can give your life some structure again and rebuild some strength within yourself. Also, alot of these programs will get you in touch with a doctor that will prescribe you medication. Please be patient with yourself. It sounds like you are going through a lot right now. Divorce and change cause people to feel helpless and unbelievably sad. You are not alone. I hope you are able to find some resources in your area to get you back on track.
Many prayers
I have suffered from severe depression at different points in my life. I see a Psychologist and take Anti-depressents. I think the article was very accurate in saying about the pressure that exists to “think” your way out of depression. I actively try mindfulness techniques, and have read alot of books. It doesn’t always help. For me, I think one of the biggest factors that has helped keep me going is knowing that I am not the only one. This world can be incredibly isolating, especially when we are bombarded with so many images of perfection and “happiness”. It really is quite bizare to think that with so many billions of people on this planet that we can feel so isolated. My love and best wishes go out to other people out there that suffer from depression also. We don’t choose to have it, but it helps to know you are not alone. xo
I have been dealing with severe depression for many years. winters are my worst. Im taking alot of meds. they usually work but not during the winter. Im out of work with very little income. I had to buy heating fuel today which took every cent I had. so the next couple of weeks is bread and water. the last couple weeks i ate because i didnt buy oil. i just stayed in one room to keep warm with the electric heat, which i havent paid for yet. lol. Im sitting here tonight crying and wondering why Iam alive. what difference do i make to someone else…now christmas season is here. guess who has no money to buy anyone a gift or gas to drive where the family members are. no one is coming home here this year. my children are grown and gone from home. I see them a couple of times a year. i ask myself what am i living for and i cant answer. i dont see anything to live for.
Interesting read, very true. Although I feel like i’ve been distracting myself from my ‘fear centre’ as you called it (have been calling it my dark core so not far off) for years. Not necessarily healthy distractions but all life type stuff that fills your brain with other things to think about. I didn’t feel like those distractions were helping me get rid of my depression, just masking over it a bit. Yet I still felt quite depressed for a lot of the time. At the moment trying to sit with my dark core, and accept it, forgive it and be still with it, seems to be helping… and hopefully in time i’ll feel the motivation to go out and use life as a distraction again
Very sensible advice, although at the moment my mood is so low I have no way of seeing myself as someone who deserves to have a break from the chaos in my head. My distraction for many years has been work and I now see that it was a huge mistake to put all my eggs in one basket as it is not enough and at 50 I have left myself very isolated from the world outside of work.
I would love to be able to find a way to shut out the madness to take that first step to change before it is too late. Very dark and negative I know but I have yet to find a to deal with the depressive illness which has destroyed my life.