month's article.

As the ripeness of summer wanes and we head into the fall season, we sometimes get a whiff of the melancholy that our clients (and many of us) face in the shift of seasons. In the midst of shorter days and more physical inactivity, the seasonal chill of unhappiness can hijack our enjoyment, whether we name it "seasonal affective disorder," the blues, or serious clinical depression. People in the midst of a major depressive episode are fighting most heroically, even though their inner battles are seldom witnessed from the outside.

 How can we support ourselves and how can we help clients and loved ones as we all face a range of emotional challenges - from ordinary sadness and disappointment to serious clinical depression and even suicidal thoughts and behaviors?

 David Burns is a popular resource and an expert on chronic depression. He cites the desire to feel good as the critical starting point! If we don't have the desire to feel good, then we really are at the whim of our brain chemistry and ancestral and social patterning. In other words, it's the ignition of our individual will to feel good that can make the difference between improving our emotional well-being and drifting aimless with the tides of feeling we can all be susceptible to.

 Robert Whitaker, author of Anatomy of an Epidemic, explores the relationship of chronic and widespread depression (among other mental health issues) with the rise of the pharmaceutical industry - asking the vital and concerning questions: Do antidepressant medications do more harm than they do good? Do they work in the long-term? Can they "cure" depression permanently? Can they actually cause recurrence and worsening of the condition? Could the acceleration of the drug industry have anything to do with the increasing rate of diagnosis?

 In addition to helping patients understand their depressive condition in the context of these societal patterns, what can we as caregivers do to support and help those who are suffering?

Strategies for Change from the Work of David Burns

Orientation to strengths and positives

Every day in our practice, we have a choice to make: Do we lead our client to delve into painful memories again and again, or do we direct the conversation toward an appreciation of positive elements in their life? Do we aid them in discovering more and more deeply their weakness and debility, or do we help them inhabit their assets and strengths?

Watching the thoughts

In his recent book Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, Burns focuses on cognitive approaches to healing depression and creating positive mood states. Negative themes in self-talk can keep anyone down. Do you have a reliable method of helping your clients learn about meditation or mindfulness practices? Training ourselves to notice prevalent thought patterns, and then to deliberately choose those that move our lives in a good direction, can be life-saving medicine.

Isolation and "independence"

Some of our depressive clients struggle with the theme of "self-reliance." For some generations, we have wanted to become independent of our families, independent of society's constraints, independent of conformity. Great. Now that we live alone, aloof, and disconnected from each other, how can we lead lives full of meaning and satisfaction? One of the best ways is by helping each other and being in community. Educate your patients about the crowdsourcing trend, the "shared" economy, and even simple programs like neighborhood organizations, support groups, and MeetUp groups that have community-building as their central aim. Just one new friendly acquaintance can refresh someone's outlook-even if it's with another depressed person.

Self-love, self-acceptance, self-care

Help clients learn to accept and care for themselves to combat the downward spiral of condemning themselves for being depressed. Behavior can be impossible to change without a compassionate, caring witness to exemplify acceptance. In a serious depression, it can be difficult to see any perspective other than contempt until it's demonstrated again and again. Teach your client the value of cherishing him- or herself as an innocent being doing the best they can with a hard situation. And help the depressed person find effective means of self-nurturance, insisting on those activities and interactions, however small, that provide a bit of light or levity.

Personal experience

In his work, Burns emphasizes that the therapist who has personally lived through serious depression and recovered has a great deal to share in support of a depressed client. Specifically: "Therapists who have experienced profound personal healing have much more to offer their patients than simply tools and techniques...." Such a practitioner is able to offer a profound degree of reflection and resonance than someone who has not encountered a similar challenge. How can you use your own experience of struggle and triumph in your clinical practice? 

References:

http://feelinggood.com/2013/10/22/secrets-of-self-esteem/
 

http://beyondthesecret.blogspot.com/2007/03/importance-of-feeling-good.html
 

http://robertwhitaker.org/robertwhitaker.org/Depression.html
 

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/emotional-fitness/201103/10-ways-feel-better-about-yourself
 

The final suggestion is to join Dr. Michael Yapko and me in our September 15 teleseminar with Michael Yapko: Focusing on Overcoming Depression: The Merits of Hypnosis and Mindfulness in Feeling Good. Register here now.

Make this month a good one!

Maggie