Don’t neglect your own needs
Depression can also be summoned by persistently ignoring your needs. Cooperstein cites an example of a PhD student who finished his dissertation and then committed suicide. First he ignored his emotional needs in order to complete his PhD, becoming depressed in the process, and then he ignored his depression in order to finish. When he did, the whole torrent of dissatisfaction washed over him, ultimately drowning him.
Adults usually try to ward off their depression, though their attempts are often unconscious. “One person may try to deal with depression by going on spending sprees. In essence, they’re trying to run ahead of their depression. Someone else may try to offset its effects by comfort eating. Alcohol and drug abuse, too, are forms of self-medication,” says Cooperstein.
The good news is that with treatment, nearly 80 percent of people with depression show an improvement in their symptoms within four to six weeks of beginning medication, psychotherapy, attending support groups or a combination. Despite its high treatment success rate, however, nearly two out of three people suffering with depression do not actively seek or receive proper treatment. This is particularly true of seniors.
According to the World Federation for Mental Health, of the 32 million Americans over age 65, nearly 5 million experience serious symptoms of depression. Many seniors have to contend with a high level of loss—loss of social status and self-esteem, loss of physical capacities and the death of friends and loved ones.
Kathryn Riley, associate professor of Preventative Medicine at the University of Kentucky, says that resistance to treatment is a big problem. “People who are old now do not seek out mental health treatments; (such help is) simply not part of their life experience. Yet when treatment is made available, they make great strides.
“Untreated, people can get so depressed they lose hope, stop taking care of themselves and end up in nursing homes, even though physically there may be little wrong with them. Among elderly men in particular, suicide is also a major problem.”
Riley cites a form a behavior therapy that reintroduces pleasurable activities slowly, to create what she calls an “upward spiral.” Intergenerational activity also is valuable in helping the elderly regain outside interests.
There’s no question that depression is a debilitating disorder that some people have to manage for the rest of their life. It’s important to remember, however, that treatments for it are statistically among the most effective in the area of mental health. Perhaps we just need to get better at spotting the symptoms of depression and offering help.
Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 9 Feb 2006
