Out of Depression: A Depressed Patient's Successful Self-Help

Chapter 12 Primary treatment of depression (1)
understanding depression
With the progress of society, the public has a much deeper understanding of depression than 10 years ago; with the development of mental health, psychotherapy institutions have also flourished.Presumably, when it comes to psychotherapy or mental illness, no one will not know, which has changed a lot from when I fell into depression.It is gratifying that in the small town of my hometown, several psychological counseling centers have also been opened one after another.Everything is developing so fast, which I could not have imagined 10 years ago. After all, in my hometown 10 years ago, no one knew about psychological counseling, and no one paid attention to mental health. When there are psychological problems, people often seek help. For a fortune teller, not a counselor.But now more and more people realize the importance of mental health, and hope to get rid of the disease through more scientific methods.

Although the cause of mental health has made considerable progress in the past 10 years, there are still many shortcomings: first, the public still does not pay enough attention to psychological problems, and there are many misunderstandings about mental disorders and psychotherapy; The level of practitioners in the health industry is uneven, and there is still a big gap with developed countries. This is also the main barrier restricting the development of mental health and the public's acceptance of psychological treatment. Third, due to insufficient supervision, many lack empirical experience or Treatment methods that have been banned in foreign countries are still popular in our country, which prevents the public from really gaining anything from treatment, and thus creates suspicion and distrust of the entire psychotherapy industry.Therefore, the psychotherapy industry serving the public in our country still has a long way to go.

Among various mental illnesses, the prevalence of depression is relatively high, and one out of every five people has been or is suffering from depression.However, in my country, the current treatment is mainly based on drugs, lacking human care for patients and in-depth analysis of depression, which leads to a relatively high recurrence rate.This book will deeply analyze the causes and countermeasures of depression from a psychological point of view, hoping to help you understand depression and treat depression.A large number of cases and treatment ideas in this book come from clinical observation and practice. I hope this book can become your ally in the fight against depression. I wish you all get out of depression as soon as possible, and regain your lost self and long-lost happiness.

It is difficult to clarify what depression is. Everyone who falls into depression has a personal experience and understanding of depression, and of course they have different symptoms.In general, depression affects our mood, our hopes for the future, our perception of ourselves and others, and it can also have a big impact on physiological aspects such as appetite and sleep.The more the patient hopes to be happy and positive, the more difficult it is to do so. The whole person seems to be out of his control, and he often sings against himself.This stings our hearts all the more when others can easily obtain the happiness we have longed for.Before suffering from depression, we may have many hopes and ideals for life and the future, but when we fall into depression, everything becomes less important. The only important thing is: when will I get better.Although people around us also try to understand and care about us, others cannot really understand what happened to us. After all, depression is an invisible injury.Others might think we're moaning, or making a fuss out of a molehill.Even if others can feel our pain, there is nothing they can do to help.

Depression can also cause patients to experience a severe sense of trapping: feeling that the whole person is bound by depression and cannot break free.Here is an essay from one patient:

I feel like I'm locked in a cage, as time goes by, although I'm still struggling, it doesn't help, the more I try to get out, the more tired I become, and now I'm knocked out His head was bleeding, but he still struggled unwillingly to give up, hoping that a miracle would happen and the cage would be opened suddenly.I also know that I am the one who locked the cage, and I did everything myself, but how can I get myself back?Can anyone give me this answer.

In this cycle of constant struggle and frustration, perseverance is constantly worn down, and the will to survive is severely tested. Some people give up, while some persist, and find themselves again, and regain their long-lost love. hapiness.Therefore, in addition to the correct method to overcome depression, there must be a spirit of tenacity-remember: sometimes the key to success is that we do not give up our efforts despite the gloomy outlook!
The core symptom of depression is this: lack of joy.More precisely, the loss of the ability to experience pleasure.Things that could make us happy in the past can't arouse our interest now, and the more we want to get rid of this state, the deeper we sink, unable to extricate ourselves.When repeated struggles result in failure and despair, the motivation to change will be further weakened. Maybe lying in bed is the best choice, because everything is too strenuous and life becomes extremely difficult for patients.At first, avoiding may make us feel better, but eventually avoiding becomes part of our problem—the more avoiding, the more fearful; the more avoiding, the more alienated from ourselves; submerged.

In desperation and helplessness, we always look forward to miracles, and imagine that all this is just a dream, but all this is actually in front of us, making us unable to escape and unable to get rid of it.Many people expect that drugs can help him miraculously get out of depression, but sometimes all he gets is despair: Although drugs can help you relieve symptoms, the potential sense of failure and inferiority still exists.Drugs do not allow us to understand ourselves, nor can they enable us to discover the crux of our depression, so drugs cannot help us find our true selves.

The following is an essay written by a patient in a depressed state:

I dare say: God is not mean to me.I have no external pressure, but I am tortured.

i worry

i fear

i'm lonely

i cry

I blame myself

...and so on and on
I look forward to a meaningful and colorful life.The more this happened, the more I felt that my situation was helpless and obscure.

I need to be independent, they (parents) should not control me, care about me, just provide room and board, and they do.

I am dissatisfied again, I have no ability to be independent, I don't know anything, I haven't learned anything.

I have a lot of free time, just loop, loop, loop.I'm constantly panicking and that's what they caused.I kept wishing for a fresh start.But I don't want to.There is still a lot of time, you can wait, wait, what is still lacking.When everything is ready, it will be more perfect.

I stand alone in the darkness.
There was no sorrow, there was no pain.
The winter of my life came so fast.
My psychological quality is very good, and I have been comforting myself.

Finally, I broke down.I wailed, and in an instant, I was liberated.Now, I'm thinking again.Silence, silence, hypocrisy, deserted.No bustling, no temptation, no trap.I don't need to console myself anymore, maybe I'm numb.I am running from what I cannot escape.

I can't trust anyone, I am facing a pile of materials, a thick pile.I pile them in my arms, in front of my bed, so it's never a problem.

Dust off floating dust and relieve puffiness.I dropped everything.Simple, clear, no stress.

I will go for a walk, in the dark night, I can cry freely, no one will laugh at me, cry till I am tired.Covering the quilt and falling asleep, that is my happy life.

I pick what I like, how.I'm barefoot, I beat, that's all my business.Cowardice, laziness, lack of energy, ignorance, numbness, confusion, hunger, inferiority, emptiness.What a good match, it created so many excuses for me.In the dark night, I walk alone, nothing could be more beautiful.

Being in it is enough.

Depression not only affects our emotions, but also affects our behavior, thinking, imagination, physiology and other aspects.

mood
When we are in depression, our emotions will become low and we will lack the ability to experience happiness. Even the things that made us happy in the past will not cause us to feel happy now. The more you pay attention, the harder it is to find happiness in the end.

Therefore, paying too much attention to emotions is not conducive to calming emotions. We should not force ourselves to be happy, but try to ask ourselves: Why am I unhappy?We may not be able to find any reason at first, which actually hints at our lack of self-understanding.When we start to understand ourselves and listen to what our emotions are telling us, unhappiness becomes less incomprehensible and more "reasonable".For example, if you regard the affirmation of others as a condition for self-affirmation, then when you do not get the approval and affirmation of others, you will be unhappy because your needs have not been met.From this, we will learn that emotions are just a "barometer" of whether "needs" are met. Through the analysis of emotions, we can discover the "needs" deep in our hearts. Through "needs", we can slowly discover the "needs" in our hearts. deep self.

thinking
Changes in mood can affect the way and perspective a person sees.In the same way, a certain way of thinking about problems will also affect people's emotions to a certain extent.For example, if a person is in a bad mood, it is easier to interpret other people's harmless jokes as a negation of himself, instead of rationally thinking about whether there are other possibilities.Of course, if a person thinks that he is an unlovable person or a failure, under this kind of self-denial thinking, he will not be in a good mood.

In a state of depression, a person's thinking will fall into a certain irrationality, and this thinking tendency will make his mood more depressed.For example, a person who is lovelorn, if he thinks that he is a person who is not worthy of love, so he will fail in love, then he will probably think of the experience of being rejected and denied by others in the past, and this will make him more sure that he is right. Lovely, unlikable people.This thinking tendency will make his emotions sink into a trough.

Therefore, by changing the way a person thinks about problems, the emotional state can be improved to a certain extent. When we no longer regard ourselves as a loser, a poor person, or an incompetent person, depression can slowly leave us. and go.

behavior
When a person falls into depression, because it is difficult to see the hope of the future, but the failures and setbacks in reality are in front of him, and he is unable to get rid of depression and despair, what positive actions can he take?Even surviving is a kind of torment, a kind of test, how can we still be in the mood to do the things that once made us happy?Even if we do, it will only make us more tired.Depression can make people depressed, trying to encourage themselves to be positive and cheer up, but in the end this kind of self-encouraging language will only become an empty slogan.In the face of depression, we become weak and powerless, and we can hardly find the direction to break out of the encirclement.Afterwards, we have to shut ourselves up and stop trying, because only running away from everything—from reality that we can’t change, that we can’t face—can make us feel better for a while.In the end, it may become extremely difficult to get up from the bed and go out of the house. Some things that we could easily do in the past require great effort to do now, but what is the point of doing it?Nothing has changed, there are still frustrations and realities we don't want to face outside the door.

To get out of depression, you must break the behavior that has been changed due to depression. To treat depression, you must first change your life. Trying to get out of the hidden place is the first step in overcoming depression.

Imagine
People have a rich imagination, and our imagination will be further stimulated in a depressed state.At this time, we seem to be the director of life, thinking of the worst in everything, and thinking very concretely and vividly-we imagine how we failed, how we were rejected by others, how we behaved badly.These pessimistic "plots" make us less confident, and we are also afraid that the fantasy plot will be staged in reality.As much as we try to avoid it and try to make ourselves feel better, we just can't do it and can't really feel relaxed.

This imagery also sometimes occurs in dreams, fantasies, or daydreams.Some patients often have some successful pictures in their daydreams. In the fantasy, he has achieved his desired self and life.At this time, everything is different from reality. In the imaginary world, we can do what we want and be who we want to be.And when we have to face this cruel reality, the beautiful picture will be replaced by the ruthless reality. At this time, the strong anxiety and fear will make us flash the picture of failure and being hurt in our minds. The appearance of this kind of picture makes us even more uneasy.

Sometimes the patient also reflects his despair in his dreams.For example, I got cancer and went to the hospital for an examination. The doctor said that I had three months to live.When I went to check again, the doctor said there was still half a month left.Go to the hospital for an examination and the doctor said there are still 10 days.A few days later, he had another dream: he was about to die, and he set up a tombstone for himself.

Therefore, dreams and fantasies also reveal our deepest expectations and conflicts.Through the analysis of imagination, it can help us further understand ourselves, and discover our expectations and hurts!

physiological
Physiological changes during depression are mainly concentrated in two aspects: on the one hand, they are visible, such as loss of appetite, changes in sleep (too much or too little sleep), mild pain and tension in the body, changes in weight and libido; On the other hand, it is invisible, mainly due to changes in the secretion of some chemical substances in the brain, such as dopamine, norepinephrine, and serotonin, which are commonly called "monoamines."Generally speaking, in the depressed state, the secretion level of these chemicals in the brain will decrease, which is why taking monoamine drugs can alleviate the symptoms of depression.

Therefore, many people think that depression is caused by biological reasons, that is, abnormal secretion of monoamines in the brain.Therefore, only by improving the secretion of such substances through drugs can the purpose of curing depression be achieved.At present, the psychiatric clinics of many hospitals in China are based on this theoretical model to diagnose and treat patients. When the drug treatment is not effective, it is generally considered that the time of taking the drug is not long enough, or it is necessary to try another drug. .Some doctors even recommend that patients take medicine for life, and some patients have become seriously dependent on antidepressant drugs, even when the side effects are obvious. Drugs seem to be his life-saving straw.

Of course, drugs do help some patients, but one thing that must be remembered is: drugs can only relieve symptoms, they cannot solve deep-seated problems.We cannot simply assume that depression is caused by the abnormal secretion of chemical substances in the brain. The question is: how is the balance of the original chemical substances in the brain broken?If the original cause of the abnormal secretion of brain chemicals is not found and resolved, it is like continuously filling a leaky pool with water, and the hole in the pool is not filled, so that the pool cannot be truly filled.Only by finding the crux of depression can we really get out of depression and effectively prevent recurrence.

diagnosis of depression

According to the diagnostic criteria of the American Psychiatric Association, as long as a person has more than 5 of the following possible symptoms for two consecutive weeks, he can be diagnosed as suffering from "dominant depression".

1. Depressed mood.

2. Significantly less happiness.

(At least one of the above two)

3. Significantly decreased appetite and at least 5% weight loss.

4. Sleep disorders.

5. Irritable or depressed mood.

6. Poor energy and exhausted every day.

7. Feelings of worthlessness, lack of confidence, guilt.

8. Difficulty concentrating.

9. Frequent thoughts of death or suicide.

(at least four of these symptoms)

(End of this chapter)