Everyone Experiences Depression

Research shows more and more young children are being prescribed antidepressants.

Is this a concern or are people taking the easy way out?

One thing I do know, people on antidepressants seldom look at the cause of their depression. This means they do not have the ability (the life skills) to deal with the situation. The problems will thus persist.

Statistics show around one in four people will suffer from depression. For this to be a statistic, these are the people who have sought help and been placed on medication.

Think of how many people suffer in silence. From what I know of depression (from personally having experienced it and from helping people overcome it), every person will experience depression at some time in their life. Most of these will not seek help and will try and work their way through it.

If they do, great. If they don't, there is a chance things will get worse and they may even develop suicidal thoughts.

While there are a lot of definitions of depression, mine is simple. Depression is having a problem to which there is no solution.

Some common examples are:
The loss of a loved one - either through death or a relationship break-up. You want the person back but it is not going to happen.

Financial problems. Your expenses are greater than your income and you see no way of changing this.

Loss of job. You do not have a job and are unable to get one. As the pennies dry up, you need a job but it is not happening.

Being teased. When you are being teased or bullied, it is difficult to find a satisfactory solution.

Poor marks. With the Year 12 final exams approaching, many students become depressed because they haven't done the study and fear they will fail. They feel they have left their run too late and think no amount of study is going to fix the problem.

Suffering from some debilitating illness. You may be in constant pain, suffer from anxiety or panic attacks or suffer from some fear that stops you from enjoying life - like claustrophobia or agoraphobia. You may even have a complaint you can't get rid of or a terminal illness.

Stuck in a situation. You may be in a relationship or job that you intensely dislike and feel you are in a no-win situation. You don't want to stay but feel you can't get out.

You can probably think of many other examples.

So, how many people experience these problems and others? Everyone, at some point in their life.

All of the above put you in a no-win situation. You feel like you are "going in circles", "chasing your tail", "beating your head against a brick wall". While there is no solution, you feel down and may become frustrated, angry and tired. You may feel a sense of hopelessness and associated symptoms. As things become worse, you begin to spiral in a downwards direction.

The further down you go, the blacker things appear to be. This is why depression is often referred to as "the black hole".

There are different depths of depression, from light to deep. The deeper you go, the more work you have to do to get out (and the harder it can be).

Sometimes one event may cause depression; sometimes there are many. I often consult with clients who say "I feel depressed and I don't know why". This often means there is not one thing that stands out. Once we identify all the problems in that person's life that do not have a solution, we begin to see how the depression begins to add up. In other words, one thing by itself is not a problem; five things added together are.

Sometimes things like poor self esteem (hating yourself) and a lack of purpose or direction in life are the cause. Or it may be you have very high expectations of yourself and you are not achieving the result you want.

If you find you are suffering an emotional "down" feeling, identify all your problems that do not have a solution. If you are unable to find a solution, it is important to seek professional help.

If you are having problems with this, please feel free to contact us at clive@clivemurphy.com or give us a call on 02 6921 6373 (or +61 2 6921 6373 for overseas callers).