Depression – what to do about it
I don’t know if it is me but most of the people I know are on antidepressants and even though I don’t believe in them, I’ve been suggesting to my mother that she should get on them too. The problem is that most of the people I know who are depressed are also addicted to pot, alcohol or Vicodin – all depressants! It’s crazy – if they gave up the addiction that they think is helping them through troubled times, they might not be depressed. True true true.
Meanwhile, when I was divorcing S, being toyed with by N, and dealing with an army of men who were hell bent on telling me that I didn’t know shit from shinola about building a house – I found myself many times on the floor of my kitchen in the fetal position. My therapist recommended I take antidepressants but I told her I wanted to feel ALL THE PAIN so I didn’t have one residual bit left in me after it was all said and done. And feel it I did and yes there are vestiges of the pain even now – though duller and less frequent waves pass through me – but each one is a reminder to stay on my path.
I was reading Dr. Weil’s self healing magazine and came across this article (Defeating Depression Naturally June 2008) – it says everything I have learned through trial and error. When I was suffering from panic attacks – the entire establishment of medical professionals felt my only option was drugs – so I took Zoloft for six months. Since I was trying to be a fiction writer and Zoloft made me stare at the blank screen every day and zone out, I got off the drugs myself and found a program that does behavior modification. How this works is they help you find behavioral tools to deal with your problem instead of putting a bandaid on it. It worked, not miraculously, but still surprisingly, it worked well then and still does.
The article by Dr. Weill highlights that more than 20 million Americans suffer depression and antidepressants are the most commonly prescribed drugs in this country, but depression isn’t a disease or a specific biochemical error, “depression comes when our lives are not working.”
Depression allows you to learn about yourself and become stronger. There are many stages, the first is the call or realization that something is wrong, the second is to meet guides on the path who help you develop your own wisdom, and then there is the surrender to change or letting go of what made you stuck. Next you deal with your fears or demons and find meaning, purpose or direction. The dark night of the soul is about moving from despair allow life-giving freedom to emerge.
Wow – brilliant Dr. Weill – I applaud you for writing what flies in the face of current thought – depression is a normal part of life and it is something to go through not rid yourself of – well done!