Chapter 16. Depression

Most people at one time or another suffer from depression. It's one of the Class 4 "neither fun nor rewarding nor seem fun" stress symptoms. The word "depression" is defined as "dejected, dispirited, discouraged, sad, humbled, languid, dull". Unfortunately, knowing the definition doesn't help us in overcoming our condition. As a matter of fact, the definition doesn't even help us understand the causes for depression. it simply gives us additional words with which to describe our condition.

Certain things happen when a person begins to feel stressed. There's a massive surge of adrenaline, a sudden discharge of cortisol and a release of endorphin. This is called the "stress response". From my point of view, the person suffering depression is one who:

Is under a great deal of stress due to continuing unresolved and unexpressed anger toward their Primarys and what they did or didn't do and what they said or didn't say.

Has, for most of their life, gone to bed angry, night after night, week after week, month after month, year after year ...

Has never made peace with their Primarys nor forgiven them.

Has stopped recognizing, accepting and expressing feelings toward the Stressors in their life situation.

Is, for the most part, unaware of their angry feelings due to non-acceptance of them and thus being controlled by the anger rather than being in control of it.

Is needing a friend who will be honest with them and will be a source of much needed acceptance.

In summary, the genesis of depression is found in:

Our failure to recognize and accept our feeling states associated with the stress situations in our life, and

Our failure to take the necessary steps to handle our feelings appropriately toward our stress and our Stressors.

Left unresolved, our feelings, which are often beyond our awareness, are free to be in control rather than we being in control of them. In my way of thinking, depression is a symptom rather than a problem. It's the result of our failure to recognize and accept our anger and to express it the right way. Having gone to bed angry for a long, long time ... that energy we call anger turns inward and becomes the most stressful thing in the world to us. The results of that stress can manifest itself anywhere in our body. No organ is immune to its effects. Our metabolism, chemical balance, and thinking can all be effected and if allowed to continue, may progress to the point where medical or psychiatric intervention is needed.

Fortunately, modern treatments with antidepressants are kinder than the former electroshock, chemical shock and lobotomy therapies of the early to mid 1900's!

Would it "shock" you to know that the renowned neurologist, Dr. Antonio Caetano de Abreu Freire Egas Moniz of Portugal, actually received the1949 Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine for his contribution of lobotomy (leucotomy) to the world? If you find this hard to believe, just check out the official website of the Nobel Prize foundation http://www.nobel.se/medicine/laureates/1949/ .

While these former "Dark Ages" treatments were retired around mid-20th Century, Electro-Convulsive Treatment (ECT) was revived in the 1980s, primarily as a result of support by the American Psychiatric Association, who recommended its use for patients with depression who did not respond to antidepressants or who experienced undesirable side effects. The debate continues as to its efficacy.

But why allow our greatest stress (that is, the age-old question of what in the world to do with our anger) to build up to the point where medical or psychiatric intervention is necessary? Every day, before sunset, we must resolve the anger generated by daily life because if we don't, there is a high price to pay for our neglect! (ref)

Going Crazy

Most people at one time or another had thoughts like these: "I don't know how much more I can stand ... I think I'm falling apart ... I think I'm losing my mind ... I'm having a nervous breakdown ..."

A person who is suffering from the Class 4 stress symptom of "going crazy" is a person who:

Is under a great deal of stress due to continuing unresolved and unexpressed anger toward Primarys and what they did or didn't do, and what they said or didn't say.

Has, for most of their life, gone to bed angry, night after night, week after week, month after month, year after year ...

Has never made peace with their Primarys nor forgiven them.

Has stopped recognizing, accepting and expressing feelings toward the Stressors in their life situation. Their Stressors may be Primarys or Secondarys who remind them emotionally of Primarys.

Is for the most part, unaware of their angry feelings due to non-acceptance of them and thus is being controlled by the anger rather than being in control of it.

Is needing a friend who will be honest with them and will be a source of much needed acceptance.

In summary, the genesis of "going crazy" is found in:

Our failure to recognize and accept our feeling states associated with the stress situations in our life, and

Our failure to take the necessary steps to handle our feelings appropriately toward our stress and our Stressors.

Left unresolved, our feelings, which are often beyond our awareness, are free to be in control rather than we being in control of them. "Going crazy" then is a symptom rather than a problem. It's the result of our failure to recognize and accept our anger and to express it in the right way. Having gone to bed angry for a long, long time ... that energy we call anger turns inward and becomes the most stressful thing in the world to us. The results of that stress can manifest itself anywhere in our body. No organ is immune to its effects. Our metabolism, chemical balance, thinking can all be effected and if allowed to continue, may progress to the point where medical or psychiatric intervention is needed.

Notice the text for "going crazy" is identical to the text for "depression" (and for that matter, the same as for any stress symptom except one: stress reduction through honesty in communication). I've written it this way on purpose to highlight the fact that both are stress symptoms of the age-old challenge of what in the world to do with our feelings toward our stressful situations and relationships.

Remember, there are a thousand and one symptoms of our common challenge and, from my point of view, it's not nearly as important to figure out the reason why a particular person might develop a particular symptom as it is to learn new and better ways of handling our common challenge!

Next: Getting Through The Expression/Acceptance Barrier

 

Stress Reduction Through Honesty in Communication by John Twelker, Copyright 1986, John Twelker Enterprises, Inc.