The Nature of Depression
Overview & Facts ›› Depression Overview
Depression is not limited to specific times and places, however, because it is essentially a reaction to stress. Hence, depression is a mood that can occur at any time to anyone. Many, if not most, people with depression are at high risk to develop a recurrent and potentially chronic disorder, characterized by deleterious effects on vocational, social, and family functioning.
Freud said that depression was anger turned inward. Others however, have taken this idea further, suggesting that depression results from long-term efforts to repress and/or suppress all types of painful feelings such as: disappointment, frustration, sadness, and grief.
Milton once wrote: «The mind is its own place, and in itself, can make a heaven of hell and a hell of heaven.» I believe this quote from Milton speaks to the reality that clinical depression can occur absent an external catalyst or event. This fact is lost on many.
Depression also typically reduces a person’s level of energy and motivation to address his or her feelings and the issues from which they stem. Therefore, as a preventative health measure, people will always fare better if they permit themselves to experience all types of feelings. Depression is often confused with ordinary unhappiness. To be unhappy is to be sad or discontented when things go wrong; it does not involve a loss of perspective. Circumstances occur in everyone's lives that cause some unhappiness. Depression, on the other hand, is a mood that affects people's basic emotional dispositions, determining how they experience and perceive themselves and their surroundings.
So what can you do if you are already grappling with depression? First, please do not try to force yourself out of feeling depressed.
Sources and Additional Information:
Brian McLaughlin
Diane L. Randall, Psy.D.