Focusing on whole mental health is incredibly important since many studies throughout the years have linked chronic depression to an ever-increasing number of physical health issues such as increased risks of dementia, osteoporosis, chest inflammation, strokes, heart disease, high blood pressure, lowered immune function and thyroid disease, not to mention the havoc it wreaks on various hormones. These potential risks should provoke a person to take control of their ongoing depression to find out what’s potentially causing it. If a person’s emotions are indeed an indication of how far they are from who they really are meant to be, then ample time and energy should be spent closing that gap.
I’m not suggesting it’s that easy. If taking antidepressants is what’s needed to control the chronic-ness of one’s depression, then it’s necessary. If that’s what it takes to pull oneself up in order to gain the motivation to take control, then I believe in it. But I tend to think that too many people turn to drugs before trying to pull themselves out with other methods, and many people stay reliant on the drugs for far too long without trying to change any thought patterns that might be provoking hopelessness. What I would love to see more of is a well-rounded plan for overcoming depression when being prescribed antidepressants, such as appropriate lifestyle changes, improved nutrition, less stress and more joyful activities along with the short-term medication. So maybe hitting the depression on all fronts, instead of throwing all the eggs into the drug basket, is a more successful plan.
And what if the drugs are masking the very symptoms you need to identify the problem?
Recent studies have suggested that the benefits of antidepressant medications aren’t much more effective than placebos, which would indicate that the mind has more control over our moods than we give it credit for. I know firsthand how bad thoughts can deepen a blue mood, and pretty soon there’s nothing more desirable than to sleep all day and all night just to avoid the thoughts that are endlessly swimming around our brains. But fortunately, we can control our thoughts, and in fact we are the only ones who can control our own thoughts. I believe that with much diligence and patience, forcing ourselves to think more about the good than the bad at every chance we get, we can retrain our thoughts and prevent us from sliding deeper into depression (or anger, or frustration, or revenge…).
Here’s an example of the type of diligence we need to have with our thoughts in the beginning, trusting that after awhile of integrating these habits, we will begin to do them automatically:
1.) Notice the thoughts in your head at any given moment. This is a great exercise when driving to work. I’m sure I spent more time driving mindlessly to work than driving fully conscious!
2.) Once you notice a thought that is more to do with the future, tell yourself that the future hasn’t happened yet, so it’s best not to prepare yourself for what hasn’t happened yet. Consciously take your focus off that subject and force yourself to have a good thought about something your eyeballs have witnessed on your drive.
3.) Once you notice thoughts that dwell on your to-do list, tell yourself that you can’t do anything about it when you’re driving and consciously take your focus off that subject and force yourself to have a good thought about something your eyeballs have witnessed on your drive.
4.) Once you notice thoughts that provoke your complaints about certain people or situations in your environment, tell yourself that there are good lessons to be learned from everything we encounter, especially the difficult ones, and strive to imagine the most positive thing that could come out of these interactions. If you can’t stay focused on those positive possibilities, consciously take your focus off that subject and force yourself to have a good thought about something your eyeballs are witnessing in front of you.
Just the act of searching for the positive, helps set up habits of healthier thinking.
Once you spend adequate time noticing the thoughts that are racing around in your mind, you can work to combat the negative ones by replacing them with healthier ones. You’ll then start to see how negative thinking can send you into a negative spiral and that once you start thinking better-feeling thoughts, you’ll start noticing all the good stuff in your life, including the opportunities that you don’t notice when you’re feeling down.
