Depression is a serious business. one in two people will experience it at some time, and one in three experience it regularly. If youre not a sufferer, you may be forgiven for thinking that its the same as feeling a bit glum about something. It isnt though. Having a problem and feeling sad about it, is a rational and normal response. Depression is not rational at all - your conscious mind tells you theres nothing wrong, and yet you feel sad in spite of that. Just like when you watch a horror film and feel afraid. You KNOW there is no real threat, and you can say that out loud to yourself, but it doesnt make any difference. The fear comes from the amygdala, a part of the brain. You cant just tell it to stop producing fear chemicals, its out of your control. Depression is much the same, the sad switch gets stuck down, and theres very little you can do about it. It makes no sense, it doesnt matter how much you rationalise, and remind yourself how good your life actually is, sometimes, it just gets you. My life is borderline perfect. Ive worked incredibly hard to make it so. And yet, on occasion, tiny, seemingly insignificant, things, can ruin my whole day. On other, better, days, an army of bad news cant take me down. I very rarely have a good reason to feel down in any way - and yet, I do. The trick, for me anyway, is to accept that its not real (like the horror film), and that itll pass soon enough. Just ride it out until it does. Excelsior!
Posted on: Thu, 18 Sep 2014 10:44:11 +0000
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