Is Depression Real

Is Depression Real?

Real or not how can we defeat depression?

Submitted by Jack Bass, B.A., LL.B.

Do you have a choice?

s depression a true mental illness requiring years of diagnosis to uncover and then deal with childhood trauma or is it subject to a faster resolution? Reality Therapy forces you to accept the context of examining your behavior in the here and now.

There are many persons, therapists and patients alike, who are witness to the face that not all illness or diagnosis requires drugs or years of counseling to effect positive results.

Dr. Scott Peck, a psychiatrist and author (The Road Less Travelled) does not accept a patient’s decision to remain in a depressed state by remaining immobile. He demands his patients get up and out of bed in the morning and start moving. “ Doing “ overcomes the self diagnosis of remaining in bed until the bad feeling of being depressed passes. Even a walk around the block each morning will do more good then remaining inside and dwelling on your inability to get moving.

Will you accept having to do something about your own state – whatever issue – depression, procrastination or promiscuity? Change is difficult and cannot be effected simply because someone else insists you see a therapist. In the same way Alcoholics Anonymous insists a problem drinker admits they have a problem I insist the client or patient come of his or her own accord. You cannot command your spouse or child to be responsible anymore than telling a smoker to just stop smoking. Command and threats are extremely limited in changing conduct for a permanent result.

Therapy very often comes down to assisting the client and seeing their options. They may have false beliefs or assumptions that have resulted in the lifestyle choices made. A child that was constantly told “ You are stupid and lazy like all the men in your family” may very well accept those statements as true and then conclude that he can never obtain or hold a good job . Examining those conclusions and the original statements may result in him rejecting what he was told and accepting that he is intelligent and can succeed. True that may take time to find the source of the statements accepted as true but it will not take years of therapy to recognize that the actions now being taken are destructive and that positive actions result in questioning the underlying beliefs. Uncovering the source may happen long after positive new conclusions are drawn and reinforced with positive results.

A popular example is Dr. Phil reaching for a change by asking a patient to realize his pattern of behavior is not effective. “ How’s that working for you “ is Dr. Phil’s response when the patient describes inappropriate or negative results of behavior.

He clearly implies:

You are making poor choices resulting in results you do not want.

And the corollary

You can make better choices and obtain results you do want.

You Can’t Move and Say You Are Immobile

The picture of a depressed person refusing to get out of bed or out of a housecoat and into the world is not complete. Many depressed individuals function at work — so already they are out and about. How is it they are dressed and at work and still insisting they are depressed and need medication and extensive rest before getting back to work the next day? Their activity belies their acceptance of depression as a way of living. Depression however makes them a centre of attention in the family. It affords them a reason not to take on family tasks and in fact to command others to do tasks to support them.

Family Therapy

Very often I will refuse to deal with an individual unless I can speak with their spouse or entire family. This stems from my service on the Board of Directors of Alcoholic Family Services. That non- profit , headed by the tough love of Howard and Mickey Ferguson insisted that the alcoholic was a part of a family system. The family often supported and encouraged the one member to take on a role that sustained the family in a very non- productive way. That was thirty years ago. This view is now very widely accepted and has expanded into most areas of therapy. The patient cannot be viewed or treated unless is wider social circle is known and the interplay understood.