Inside Depression

Depression is Everywhere

Doesn't it seem like almost an epidemic? More and more are being diagnosed for depression and then medicated. You know, there is really no diagnosis for depression? Note - this does not include bi-polar depression. There is no formal, official testing that determines depression. I"m not sure how there could be, just setting the scene for what seems to be a diagnosis explosion.

As I see it, the real problem is the victimized feeling after being diagnosed. We are convinced by the drug industry, professionals, and ourselves that we are helpless in fighting depression. I say for many, that is completely misleading. Now I don't believe they are misleading us on purpose. We all want an easy way out for everything. We want a pill to cure any ailment. We've just stopped thinking for ourselves.

Depression is real, and painful, and devastating. But,,, we do have to take some responsibility for the cure no matter what the doc says. And that is great news, because that is where the hope lies.

Burning Desire

Unless we have a "burning desire" to make a change in our lives, it won't happen. The desire drives the change, provides the energy, and opens up our mind to get out of the box. As much as we desire change, understand the importance and even necessity of change in our loved one, they must have a burning desire or we are wasting our time.

What can we do? Hope is one answer. Without hope, few of us have the courage or strength to make significant changes. So we must find avenues of hope for the depressed. To help them understand and truly believe there is a better way of living available to them. Hope for a future free from the pain and suffering of depression. Realistic hope where they know it won't be easy and takes guts and courage, but the rewards are so worth it.

Building the fire for "burning desire" with hope and encouragement is a necessary step for change. Now is the time.

Big Tough Men

My experience is men have more difficultly realizing and then admitting depression than women. Society tells us we should be tough, not cry, carry life's load all by ourselves, never need help and all the other garbage we're fed. Granted, it's our choice we believe this stuff, but most of us do.

So depression builds into something significant, but we don't want to recognize or deal with it. Most of us wrongly label it a weakness, and we want no part of being weak. And thinking about admitting this weakness is darn near absurd. It totally blows our image. The image is more of our self-image than what others image us to be. That's another blogging subject for later.

My idea? Turn depression into a strength. It truly can be. You have to be really tough, a real man, to do that. Our strength comes from our toughest battles, and the big D is no exception. My greatest strengths and maybe even strongest abilities come from the battle field of depression. So men, flip it around to a strength and be man enough to face it. Use depression as a building block, not a stumbling stone. Might just be the strongest block in your foundation.

Medicating Old Habits

Even in the depths of depression, I knew changing some of my thinking habits was necessary. In fact, I had worked diligently on trying to think differently all of my adult life. Over, and over, and over I attempted various methods of positive thinking. It helped tremendously, but wasn't the answer.

Enter medication. Anti-depressants were introduced into my life, and I thought I had found the answer to all that was wrong. It was great for awhile, but eventually wasn't enough. I needed a stronger dosage, then a change to different drugs, increased usage, more change, and various combinations.

One reason I never achieved "wellness" is my thinking habits. No drug could change a lifetime of unhealthy thinking. In my opinion, my stink'in think'in always pulled my back into the pit. After many, many years, I awakened to learn it was my responsibility and my duty to find a way to healthy thinking. That's my journey and my gift in coaching others to accomplish the same.

(For Healthy Thinking tips, see my other blog.)

Fears, Fears Everywhere

When we are stuck or can't accomplish something of importance, there could be a fear behind it. Fear plays a huge role in most lives and a primary role in depression. Fear paralyzes us. Much of the time we don't associate fear with our inability to move forward. In other words, it's seldom obvious.

I just returned from a coaching conference where I had the privilege to hear Rhonda Britten speak. WOW! A true powerhouse of a person in the "overcoming fear" game. A devastating family tragedy at the age of 14 gives her the credentials.

Her book, Fearless Living, is terrific. Click on her name above to visit her website for more in depth info. As she says, fear is a killer; it kills hopes, dreams, careers, relationships, and almost killed her. It might be killing your depressed loved one. Check it out for them and you.