Depression As Symptom
Seeing depression as a symptom—not a life sentence—opens the door to hope, curiosity, and healing. Biological treatments can help, but exploring and addressing the psychological causes of depression offers the chance for lasting relief.
Depression and Hope
Recently some people have shifted from saying, “I am depressed” to saying “I have depression,” as if they were saying, “I have multiple sclerosis.” It’s just something that is and will be forever, and we just need to find ways to cope with it. What I like about this approach is that it’s often good for helping people to let go of shame about experiencing depression. What I don’t like about it is that it deprives people of their power, choice, agency, and hope. Alternately, if we see depression as a symptom rather than a cause, we can become curious about the causes of the depression and hopeful about relieving the depression.
Depression — Biology and Psychology
But what if it’s 100% biologically caused? What if you have a massive predisposition toward depression because of your brain chemistry? We’re in murky waters here because we don’t yet have very good ways to determine what’s caused by biology and what’s not. Maybe in a hundred years …. In the meantime, you have some powerful options: If you favor biological treatments, such as medication or TMS, give them a try. Get the help of a psychiatrist, if possible, not just your family doctor because psychiatrists know vastly more about these treatments. Pursue psychological healing. It may include resolving family of origin issues, building self-worth, or dealing with relationships that drag you down.
Work on the Psychological Part
Whether you pursue biological treatments or not, I strongly recommend that you pursue psychological healing because so much healing is possible. In the psychological approach, first you need to become curious about the possible causes of depression, then explore those causes, then do some healing about them. It takes work, and it may take help, but the payoff is feeling better for the rest of your life. Worth it, yeah? Doesn’t that sound better than spending the rest of your life saying, “I have depression”?