The Cure for Depression

Scientists and physicians now know that depression has biological, chemical, and environmental causes. Inadequate levels of serotonin and norephinephrine, not enough exposure to sunlight, a nutrient-poor, preservative laden diet, and even poor sleeping patterns and increased stress can all lead to a deep and lasting depression that requires medical treatment.

However, there is another source of depression that is far more common and often goes unnoticed- emotional turmoil.  Unresolved feelings of guilt, bitterness, anger, envy, shame, and pain invariably lead to a lifetime of struggling with depression. Biological factors that are present only complicate and intensify depressive feelings, and can lead to thoughts of suicide or self-harm.

The Cure for Depression

Most people have experienced a time of depression at least once in their life, and 18.8 million American adults, 9.5% of the U.S. adult population, suffer from depression every year. Twenty to thirty percent of men and women (respectively) polled will admit to experiencing depression, which is likely to be grossly under-reported. At least half of the population believes that depression is a personal weakness, despite the fact that every person will be personally affected by either their own depression or the depressive episode of a loved one in their lifetime. Depression is not a weakness. It has distinct biological and emotional causes and can be effectively treated.

You’re Not Alone

If you are experiencing depression, one of the first things to understand is to know that there are others just like you in the world. They struggle with the same negative thoughts, the sense of worthlessness, the tiredness, body aches, insomnia, crying spells, and outbursts that you are experiencing. You are normal, and there is hope.

Medical Treatment

If you are experiencing a deep depression that interferes with your ability to eat, sleep, work, or care for yourself, or if you have thoughts of harming yourself or others, you should seek help from a physician immediately. A doctor will likely give you a prescription medication that will help raise certain hormone levels in your body that will help you begin to feel better within one to two weeks.  This is not a cure for depression, but will help raise your mood enough to allow you to think clearly and begin the next step.

Finding the Root

Once you begin your medication, you can begin to examine the root of your depression. Some people prefer to perform this self-examination on their own, while many find self-reflection difficult and seek out the help of a trained counselor, life coach, psychiatrist, psychologist, pastor, mentor, or trusted friend. Whichever process you prefer, the healing begins with examining your life.

During this process, you will uncover scores of unresolved feelings that may relate to:

• Broken relationships
• Guilt over missed opportunities or mistakes in your past
• Pain from experiencing sexual, emotional, and physical abuse
• Greif from a miscarriage, abortion, or the death of a child
• Disappointment over life events that did not turn out how you expected
• Marriage problems
• Anger over a spouse’s affair, a friend’s betrayal, or a similar personal hurt
• Bitterness from years of harboring unresolved anger
• Feeling like others have a perfect life and you have all the burdens
• Shame over a past mistake or difficult decision
• Feeling unloved, unaccepted, and insignificant
• Hate for yourself, God, or others

Reaching Out

Once you begin to understand the unresolved emotional root of your depression, it’s time to begin building healthy relationships. This can include repairing a broken marriage, learning healthy communication patterns and setting boundaries, and developing a support system to help you through your healing process.

You may join a discussion group, participate in a support group, or begin family or marriage counseling to accomplish this task. Alternately, you might opt to read self help books, employ a life couch, or visit with a pastor or mentor on a regular basis. This process should include enlisting one or more accountability partners to help you stay on track during this phase. These partners periodically check in with you to ask how you’re doing and inquire about your progress toward certain goals and activities that bring about life change. This can be as simple as placing a phone call to ask how you’re honoring your spouse today, or a quick visit to make sure to are taking your medication properly and getting enough rest.

Another important part of successfully battling depression is learning to serve others. During the healing process, it is very easy to get caught up in your life and lose sight of the bigger world beyond your depression and personal struggles. Serving others provides a sense of purpose and worth, and reminds you that others are hurting as well. Helping others helps keep your own pain in perspective and keeps you from being consumed by your depression during the healing process.

Medication alone is not enough to cure depression. Counseling in itself is not sufficient for lasting relief. The only true cure for depression comes in tailoring a combination of treatments for you as an individual. This includes dealing with emotional turmoil, building healthy relationships and support systems, and changing the way you live your life to prevent frequent relapses.  Curing depression requires serious life change and the help of others. You don’t have to do it alone and you can overcome depression.

Call your physician or visit the nearest Emergency Room to begin your treatment and locate resources in your community to help you as you journey towards a depression-free life.

Jamie Simmerman is a registered nurse and freelance writer. Follow her on Twitter

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