“There is no Path to happiness! Happiness is the Path!”
(Sakyamuni Buddha)

What is Depression?

Depression is an involuntary, instinctual reaction of the mind in response to adverse events in life. We don’t decide we are going to be depressed. The mind dictates depression all by itself, telling us the outside world is the problem. But this is far from the truth. So we naturally plan to change everything. If life can be changed easily, there’s no problem. Dealing with depression is not necessary, because our depression is gone with the change in life circumstance.

Depression and the need for dealing with depression happen, because we come to believe the outside circumstances in life are hopelessly, and infallibly, etched into solid granite: that is, there’s no way of changing things. Hopelessness and depression go hand in hand. This is a basic instinctual reaction of the mind, so this happens to everyone. You are not unique. Our depression is perfectly understandable.

But once the depression loads catastrophically into place, the question becomes how to be dealing with depression?

At first glance it appears dealing with depression is useless. That is, nothing will change the hopeless situation. And maybe the outside world will never change? But there is still an easy way to cure the depression, because the outside world did not cause the depression. What caused the depression was the reaction of the instinctual mind. Dealing with depression requires this understanding.

Some instincts help us to survive. But this instinct — the automatic reaction of our mind — actually impedes our ability to survive. This is because of another feature of depression. Depression drains all of our energy. This knowledge especially is required for dealing with depression.

Healing Depression Is Easy But You Have to Know How

Oddly enough the medical profession as a whole fails to recognize that their traditional approach is confused and complicated. Usually the information is unreliable, and forms what can only be called a hyped-up attempt to sell psychiatric medications in a fraudulent billion dollar industry. So medical science is not the best approach for dealing with depression.

In truth depression is a time for intense nurturing – Yes, it’s time to love yourself, so take a breath and give thanks.

This Actually Reverses the Currents of the Mind

There are many ways of reverse the mind’s current of depression. Loving and nurturing oneself is only one of the ways. The most important way, however, is the practice of gratitude.

Developing a list of 5 things each day for which we can be grateful is the best way for dealing with depression.

But if we are suffering from depression, we this will be a discouraging suggestion. This is because everyone who is depressed, believes he or she has nothing for which to be grateful. Finding even one thing to be grateful, seems about as useless for dealing with depression, as an empty whiskey bottle is to a drunk.

Dealing with depression successfully, requires finding that elusive one thing to be grateful. When this is found, the depression will be gone.

It usually takes many hours of analysis, but then dealing with depression is a breeze, because the depression ends immediately. In fact each person will find as a fact out of his or her own experience, that it’s impossible to be depressed and grateful at the exact same time.

This fact was first presented in the Western World by Aristotle, 2,500 years ago. The term in modern, Western Psychology for the process is, “Sublimation.” The word was invented by Freud and forms a foundation for modern, Cognitive Therapy. This by the way, is the only psychological counseling that most insurance companies will pay for.

So the choice was there. Did I want to spend the next 3 to 5 years as a hopelessly depressed couch potato? Or did I want to spend a few hours analyzing life — looking for at least one thing to be grateful?

I chose the later and highly recommend it to all, who like myself, was suffering at the time with grave, emotional and mental disorders. As a fact out of my own experience, I found the practice of gratitude is the best method for dealing with depression.

More on Dealing With Depression

Depression is a very widespread problem today affecting one in four women and one in eight men. Many people are aware of the many symptoms of depression, including feelings of hopelessness or helplessness, obsessive negative thoughts, loss or gain in appetite, insomnia or an increased need for sleep, social withdrawal, irritability and loss of memory or concentration, and recurrent thoughts of death or suicide. It is tempting to think that depression is sadness and the causes of depression will simply disappear and the negative feelings will subside. However, the causes of depression are not so simple, and while a negative event may trigger depression, the causes of depression are not external factors alone. Many of the causes of depression are issues with the sufferer.

Causes of depression are 40 – 70% hereditary and children of depressed children are more likely to be depressed. This would mean that the potential for depression lies in one’s genetic makeup, and a stressor may trigger a latent potential for depression. However those who dispute heredity as one of the causes of depression cite other true observations that those who live with depressed individuals are more likely to be depressed, and a depressed parent may lack parenting skills or the necessary energy or patience to deal with a child properly, and may be one of the causes of depression. It is hard to know who really wins the nature versus nurture argument, but once we learn more about the role heredity plays among the causes of depression, the better we will understand how genes have an impact on our moods.

Whether causes of depression are hereditary or not, there is a physiological basis for the problem, which refutes claims that depression is nothing more than a bad mood that will pass. Low serotonin levels have been shown to be one of the causes of depression, and loss of neurotransmitters in the hippocampus has also been identified as one of the causes of depression. Seasonal affective disorder is also one of the causes of depression, and it has been shown that those who are deprived of light and warmth in the wintertime and become depressed as a result are not merely suffering from the “winter blues” but have a problem caused by the shorter days and longer nights. Seasonal effective disorder can develop into full blown depression if it not treated as one of the series causes of depression. Hormones may also play a role as one of the causes of depression, especially among those women who suffer from Pre Menstrual Syndrome or post-partum depression. In fact, while one out of every four women suffers from depression compared to one in every eight men, this discrepancy disappears among women who have undergone menopause, when there are lower levels of estrogen. More study is needed to determine whether these hormonal fluctuations are actual causes of depression, or merely triggers.

Losing one’s job, getting a divorce or a death in the family may not be actual causes of depression, but they can trigger the problem in those who have a predisposition for the problem. Certainly, such events can cause sadness and a feeling of worthlessness, but if these feelings are not persistent, they are normal aspects of the grieving process and are not causes of depression. However, if the negative feelings are prolonged and obsessive, they may be triggers in setting off depression. There are some physical aliments which are included among causes of depression. Hepatitis and heart conditions can be causes of depression, in addition to Aids and other illnesses which cause weakness and fatigue.

Depression is one of the most debilitating mental disorders of our modern era. It affects nearly 10 million Americans every year. Although it is primarily thought of as a mental condition depression can also inflict varying amounts of pain and discomfort that manifest as physical symptoms of depression. One of the problems with the associated with the physical symptoms of depression is the misdiagnosis of the depression itself. Doctors, when presented with these physical symptoms, will test for and diagnose a physical illness and prescribe treatments to treat these symptoms not knowing or understanding that the symptoms are hiding a more insidious disease. When you look at a list of the physical symptoms of depression you can see why these misdiagnosis and mistreatments can occur. 1. Headaches – These are one of the first symptoms that can occur with depression. In fact headaches can be intensified to migraine like intensity in someone who is suffering from depression. 2. Chest Pains – Depression can cause chest pains, which for most people is a sign of an impending heart attack. While any chest pain should be checked by a doctor it can also be a symptom of depression. 3. Sleep Disorders – People who suffer from depression can have either problems going to sleep (insomnia) or they sleep for excessively long periods of time. Thy may have trouble getting out of bed as well. 4. Digestive System Issues – Diarrhea, constipation, and nausea are all physical symptoms of depression. 5. Extreme Fatigue – The majority of people who suffer from depression also suffer from perpetual exhaustion. This can relate back to the sleep disorders and it doesn’t seem to matter how much sleep they get they still are fatigued. 6. Back Pain and Muscle Aches – Depression can intensify the pain and discomfort of people who are already suffering from these conditions. 7. Appetite and Weight Issues – People with depression can experience either a lack of appetite or intense cravings for certain foods. This can be accompanied by either weight gain or weight loss. Another issue for people who suffer from more severe forms of depression may be even harder to diagnose because with severe depression can come delusions and hallucinations. It can become increasingly difficult to know whether a depression sufferer actually has some of the physical symptoms of depression or if they are inventing them. It is also easier for many people to accept the physical symptoms of depression then any mental symptoms. There are many people and cultures that place a social stigma on anyone with a mental illness. It is therefore easier to accept and treat a more benign physical ailment then it is to deal with issues of the mind. What many people do not understand is that with the successful treatment of the underlying depression with either therapy or medication or both the physical symptoms of depression will often be resolved. Unfortunately treating the physical symptoms will do nothing for actual the depression and without proper treatment the depression will normally continue to get worse. It is therefore of the utmost importance to treat the depression itself if a sufferer is to see any relief from the physical symptoms of depression.

Those who suffer from signs of depression and related disorders may know the warning signs symptoms of depression all too well. They also know that these disorders tend to manifest themselves as repeated episodes of the depressive condition with the typical patient having many distinct episodes during their lives.

While not identical in every person, 10 signs of depression that may be experienced can include:

1. Difficulty sleeping or other disruptions of sleep patterns

2. Overwhelming feelings of anxiety and/or sorrow at inappropriate times

3. Loss of interest in pastimes formerly enjoyed

4. A sensation of hopelessness, lack of self esteem and feelings of guilt

5. Fatigue and overall lower energy levels

6. Loss of appetite or abnormally large appetite, leading to weight loss or gain

7. Suicidal thoughts and recurring thoughts about death

8. Irritability, restlessness and short temper

9. Memory lapses and an inability to concentrate

10. Difficulty in maintaining close or romantic relationships

The warning signs symptoms of depression have increased in frequency in western industrialized societies, especially among those born after 1930. Some have concluded that pollution and its attendant harmful effects on the human body are to blame for some of the increase in depressive disorders and has ramped up the number of persons suffering from depression signs.

Experiencing one or more of the 10 signs of depression and other mood disorders has to do with levels of neurotransmitters, specifically dopamine, serotonin and norepinephrine along with changes in the neural pathways of the brain. Imbalances between the neurotransmitters appear to be a cause of depression in many cases where depression signs are manifested.

Depression signs can derail careers and relationships, cause school work to go downhill and lower quality of life. The feelings of despair, sadness and frustration can make it impossible to function normally and relate to others. In many cases, depression goes undiagnosed due to the stigma borne by mental illness or failure of medical professionals to correctly diagnose or treat the problem.

Those who suffer from this condition often choose to self-medicate rather than go through the side effects of prescription medications. These people may use alcohol, caffeine or street drugs in an effort to feel better, which never works in the long run. Many of those who commit suicide happen to have symptoms of depression.

An additional problem faced by those suffering from depressive disorders is the stigma which is attached to the ailment. People who have depression signs are sometimes seen as crazy, unpredictable, even dangerous! In short, they are often avoided because of their disorder which only adds to their feelings of isolation and despair.

The stigma associated with depression signs can be devastating to those afflicted with depression. Teachers, co-workers, neighbors and employers will tend to treat them differently because of the disorder. It can be difficult to hide in many situations, for instance, when trying to get a new job. While it is not legal to ask a prospective employee about medical conditions they may have, one does not necessarily want to withhold the truth from an interviewer.

At the same time, it might be a long shot to actually land that job if your interviewer is aware of your depression. This is a case whether or not your depressive disorder would affect the quality of your work. In the case of students, teachers may treat them differently and the student could suffer from low expectations on the part of teachers.

There is also a lot of misinformation about persons with mental illness of any sort, with many making the assumption that all such persons are potentially violent and feared as a possible danger. Again, this leads people to isolate the sufferer, making their life even even worse.

Health insurance plans offered by employers often will involve higher premiums from the employer if a new hire has health problems, including depression signs. The employers fear is that their premiums will go through the roof if they are to take on a new employee with any sort of preexisting medical issues. This is true! Those who suffer from depression signs and disorders hardly get a fair shake from insurance companies.

The feelings of worthlessness and isolation that are felt by those who suffer from a depressive disorder are made worse by the stigma attached to the condition among the general public. This leaves the patient feeling even worse, their sensation of inadequacy and guilt compounded by the way that society treats them.

Society as a whole must learn to treat those with depression and other mental illnesses like the human beings that they really are. They are simply human beings with an illness, no different than a physical illness, merely different symptoms.

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder. Have you ever been half-way to work and couldn’t remember turning off the iron? You know you did-you always do-but you’re not 100 percent positive you turned it off this morning. You know you’ll worry all day if you don’t go back and check. So you head home. Of course, the iron was off.

If you’ve had this kind of feeling, you get a slight idea of what people with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder experience.

Although it occurs less frequently in the general population than the other anxiety disorders, it can be far more debilitating and can last for decades. Between 1.6 percent and 3 percent of adults suffer from an OCD. Recent research shows a slight increase in the prevalence of the disorder. Rather than meaning more people experience it, the increase is probably because with the development of new treatments, people with OCD are now more willing to admit their symptoms.

Obsessions are ruminations or thoughts that insistently intrude into the mind against a person’s will and continue to reoccur despite all efforts to stop them. The thoughts often are worries about becoming contaminated, harming others or self, or going against some social or religious taboo such as making inappropriate sexual advances in public or swearing against God.

Often associated with these obsessive thoughts are compulsive rituals. Compulsive rituals are repetitive actions that people feel compelled to carry out against their better judgment. They usually realize these actions are irrational, but know if they don’t complete the rituals, they’ll feel anxiety and discomfort.

The symptoms of OCD usually begin in adolescence and young adulthood and affect males and females equally. Males develop the disorder earlier, between age 5 to 15, while females develop the disorder later, between age 26 to 35. The symptoms can set in gradually over years or suddenly in a few hours. Some people have episodes of varying lengths and then the symptoms will completely clear up.

Some evidence shows that responding to life experiences with obsessive compulsive behavior is inherited. The disorder can run in families and across generations. At other times, people who have OCD have no other family members who suffer from the disorder.

Research also shows that the disorder involves abnormal metabolism of serotonin, a neurotransmitter. The areas of the brain involved include the front part of the brain and the caudate structures, which serotonin neurons richly supply. It is not, however, clear whether these alterations in serotonin cause OCD or whether OCD would cause these changes in the brain.

In OCD, there are five forms of ritualizing: cleaning, checking, hoarding, orderliness, and repeating. A person with OCD can have several of these behaviors, but cleaning and checking are the most common. Cleanliness and orderliness are virtues, but when they totally control a person’s life, they are part of an obsessive compulsive disorder. Washers are more common with women and checkers are equally prevalent among women and men.

Ritualistic washers or cleaners avoid “contaminates” if possible. If they think they’ve become contaminated, they will engage in prolonged and ritualistic washing or cleaning. These rituals may last for a few minutes or continue for an hour or more. They may wash their hands 100 or more times a day. They may avoid touching door knobs or being touched by other people. They may wear gloves or long-sleeved clothing even on a hot summer day. If they are touched or touch something “contaminated,” they will immediately wash their clothing and shower for several hours.

Ritualistic checkers’ fear focuses more on future harm or danger. They worry that death, some disease, or disaster may happen to them or someone close to them. They check to avoid these dangers. They may retrace their route in a car many times, looking to see if they hit anyone or they will repeatedly call the police to find out if an accident has been reported. If they fear fires, they may repeatedly check their stove or other appliances.

Other checkers may be concerned about orderliness or hoarding. Checkers will insist on doing tasks in a particular order and completing them without interruptions otherwise they must begin the ritual again. Checkers will arrange everything in its proper place. They may have all their clothes arranged by color and have every hanger the same distance from the next. Hoarders fear throwing items away. They may have to check an empty cereal box 20 times before they can throw it away. They may pick up articles off department store floors or in parking lots. Hoarders also may have collections of old newspapers or strings.

Repeating ritualizers will do tasks by numbers. They do a ritual a certain number of times or in multiples of certain numbers. They may, for example, screw on the toothpaste cap and then count to 50. They may brush their hair 30 times. Some are greatly distressed by the time and energy they consume in doing their rituals. One man did not want to eat or drink because he did not want to use the bathroom and endure his long and extensive cleansing rituals.

Sometimes rituals are related to their morbid thoughts such as unacceptable ideas about sex or violence. They may constantly check for their spouse’s faithfulness or constantly seek reassurance of their spouse’s faithfulness. If they have thoughts of harming themselves or others, they may hide knives or avoid being around people.

Some people with OCD show no outward rituals. They only have obsessions. I once asked a woman suffering from OCD what she obsessed about. She said she obsessed about everything from the moment she got up in the morning until she went to bed.

While not complicated by rituals, these thoughts can evoke intense anxiety. The obsessions are often unacceptable thoughts such as blasphemy against God or the desire to harm others. Others use thoughts ritualistically to reduce anxiety. They may repeat prayers to themselves or count objects in a room. They may make mental checklists.

Most people sometime in their lives will engage in such rituals or have unacceptable thoughts. These are normal. For people suffering from OCD, however, these thoughts and rituals are so extensive and time-consuming that they cannot carry on their daily lives. They also suffer severe subjective distress and disgrace because of these thoughts and endless rituals.

Some will recognize their thoughts as senseless. Others will hold the belief with such intensity that it almost becomes the truth for them. They resist treatment and lack the motivation to give up their beliefs.

The obsessions tend to increase with anxiety and decrease when a person is relaxed. When people who suffer from OCD have other stresses in their lives, they experience an increase in their obsessive thoughts and rituals. This can occur with any emotional upheaval-be it pleasant or unpleasant. Therefore, marriage, the birth of a child, or the death of a family member can all result in increased obsessive and compulsive behaviors.

People who suffer from OCD can have tremendous impact on their families. They can lose their jobs because of their OCD. Sometimes they ask family members to cooperate with their rituals or will constantly ask for reassurance such as asking a family member if they harmed anyone on their drive home. They can become angry and upset if members of the family do not cooperate or support their need to do rituals. They may ask their children to bathe often or not allow them to bring friends home. They may demand that the children stay only in one or two rooms in the house. In more tragic situations, they may not touch their children for fear of being contaminated.

As devastating as OCD can be to one’s life and to one’s family, it is treatable through medications and behavior therapy. These two methods can reduce the symptoms of OCD to varying degrees; a combination of both is most effective. Traditional psychotherapy has generally not been effective in reducing the symptoms of OCD.

Professionals prescribe antidepressants for treating OCD. (For more complete information, see the article by Philip Fox, M.D.). A person suffering from OCD should give serious consideration to trying these medications. Some people cannot tolerate the medications, and others find little benefit from them. Still others can have a dramatic reduction in their obsessive compulsive behaviors and become much more successful in applying the techniques of behavior therapy.

Behavior therapy for the treatment OCD began in the late sixties and its techniques have continued to be refined. Edna Foa and Reid Wilson give an excellent presentation of behavior therapy techniques in their self-help book S.T.O.P. Obsessing. They’ve based their book on many years of research on what have proven to be the most effective techniques in treating OCD.

There are two aspects to behavior therapy: (1) Exposure to what one is afraid of and (2) Prevention of rituals people use to reduce anxiety. By applying these two methods, people can reduce the anxiety that seems to drive the obsessive compulsive behaviors.

Exposure is essential to treating all anxiety disorders. Anxiety never goes away on its own nor do people reduce it by avoidance. People must face fear and expose themselves to the fear frequently and for prolonged periods. Gradually, the fear weakens and goes away. The technical term for this is “habituation.”

In treating OCD, people also must prevent the rituals because they use the rituals to escape from the fear. In other words, they avoid the fear by using the rituals. This, too, prevents the habituation of anxiety. Methods of avoiding the fear only result in intensifying their obsessive compulsive behavior.

To use these techniques, people must have a strong commitment to getting better and overcoming their OCD. They need to experience and go into and through the fear that they spend most of their time avoiding.

The exposure and reducing of rituals is done in gradual steps. For example if a woman showers for one hour at a time, she can gradually reduce the time to 45 minutes, then 30 minutes. She should alter the sequence of her routine such as washing her hair first rather than last. In the beginning, these changes will produce anxiety. But if she makes the changes frequently enough and long enough, her anxiety gradually goes away. She needs to work at the exposure and ritual-stopping a minimum of one hour each day.

It is most effective for people to expose themselves directly to what they fear. This involves touching something they consider contaminated or messing up their room. Sometimes people must do the exposure by fantasy because they cannot do it in reality. An example is when the people have thoughts of harming others or harm happening to them. In these situations, people write out a detailed story and then tape-record it. They would then listen to the tape repeatedly until their anxiety is reduced.

For instance, a man who fears his wife may have an auto accident if he doesn’t change his clothes 20 times a day would write a story about this happening. Then he’d listen to a recording of the story over and over until his anxiety is gone. Of course, he also would not be allowed to change his clothes during this exercise.

The technique used to reduce obsessive thinking also involves exposure. People with OCD often try to stop the thought. They want to get rid of it and not have it recur. This only increases their anxiety and-with it-the frequency of the obsessive thought. We encourage people to label the thought as simply a thought and not a reality. For example, they can say to themselves, “Everyone else uses public toilets and doesn’t worry about getting cancer.” Treatment encourages them to delay the thought and give themselves permission to think the thought later. They can say to themselves, “It is just a thought and a part of my OCD. I will think about it for half an hour at 7:00 this evening.” This gradually produces a reduction in anxiety. These people also must prevent thoughts they use to reduce the anxiety such as counting or phrases that try to undo the offensive thought.

Religious rituals and blasphemous thoughts make treatment more difficult. It is often hard for people with OCD to accept that their rituals are part of a psychiatric disorder. They condemn their thoughts as offensive to God. They feel they deserve God’s punishment and doubt their salvation. Their spiritual communities often value and affirm religious rituals such as prayer and Bible reading. Their rituals, however, are often not spiritually significant and often get in the way of normal religious experiences and beliefs. People with OCD can be so consumed with prayer that they do not go to church or they so condemn themselves, they refuse to go to church.

It is important to help them see that they have obsessive compulsive behaviors in other areas of their lives. They must understand that their OCD is what’s driving the frequency and intensity of their religious behavior. They also need to realize they are isolating only one side of their faith.

One young man engaged in much prayer to reduce his feelings of guilt about his sexual desires. The frequency of his praying disrupted his ability to work, and he was constantly haunted by doubts as to whether he was saved. His pastor confronted his doubting and pointed out the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice. This allowed him to give up his ritualistic praying. Without the ritualizing, his obsessive thoughts began to habituate and lessen.

It takes strength and courage to confront an obsessive compulsive disorder. Admitting a problem and then seeking professional help for that problem are the first two important steps in conquering the disorder. Those who have faced the challenge know the rewards for themselves and their families are worth the effort.