Who would have thought that Newton’s First Law of Physics was going to be useful in helping to understand the cycle of depression? But his Law of Inertia is often a good way to comprehend how depression can take hold of us.
Depression uses two ways to keep us in it’s grip. One is through isolation; it likes to isolate us from the activities we like to enjoy and the people we like to spend time with. The second way is that depression kills effort; we often feel a change in our levels of motivation when feeling blue. Take isolation and no effort and we have the perfect recipe for disengagement.
What is interesting about this, is that disengagement itself can lead to feeling blue. If we purposefully stayed in bed for days (when we weren’t in a depressed state), we would soon begin to experience the symptoms of depression! And so we can turn to Newton for some advice when it comes to beating the blues – get moving! Get up, get showered, make plans, get outside (even if you don’t feel like it); for a body in motion stays in motion and you will feel better for it at the end of your day.
Photo credit: https://unsplash.com/@melanie_kreutz
When we begin to explore loneliness more closely, we can also recognize its close relationship to depression. But what comes first – depression or loneliness? Well, I suppose that it depends. 🙂
CAMH (The Centre for Addiction and Mental Health) has created two videos to help adolescents better understand depression. Meant specifically for young people, the first video talks about what depression looks like, what are it’s potential causes and what teens can do to recognize and then treat the symptoms. To watch or share Mood Matters: Describing Depression: 
Alcohol and marijuana are depressants. As much as we want to lean into the argument that having a glass of wine relaxes us or that marijuana has beneficial effects, it can’t take away the fact that both alcohol and marijuana depress the brain. Seems pretty counter intuitive when dealing with depression doesn’t it?
Chronic pain can result in depression. Actually, so can having a chronic condition. Sometimes we don’t realize how being in continual discomfort can cause us to become depressed. We may choose to stay home one day due to increased pain levels; heightening the isolation factor. We may have to cancel plans because we are experiencing a flare up; leading to feelings of discouragement and disappointment. Potentially, we become so focused on what our physical bodies are putting us through that we may not realize the toll it is taking on our mental health as well; leading us to find ways to manage our chronic pain/condition that includes our emotional health as well.
Persistent irritability can be a symptom of depression. Typically when we think of depression we tend to consider first the classic symptoms of depression such as low mood and motivation, changes to our sleeping and eating habits, etc., yet irritability can be an indication that you are depressed; especially if it is persistent. This can be especially true for men, who may not show the visible signs of emotion linked to depression; the same goes for children or adolescents who may act out behaviourally as an indication that something is wrong. In any case, if depressive symptoms are interfering with the day-to-day functioning of your life, a proper diagnosis is important.
Depression is sometimes experienced as anxiety. Because depression and anxiety share the same biological basis, people often can experience symptoms and not be entirely sure of the direct cause. Feeling nervous and irritable for example, can lead one to thinking they may have anxiety, but those are common in depression as well. Lack of concentration and difficulty sleeping can also indicate depression; very often if what we associate to depression (sleeping all the time and low mood) are not directly present, we may in fact be blue but are experiencing it as anxiety. Either way, figuring out this mixed bag of symptoms begins with the same question: “Is this affecting my day-to-day function?” And if it is, an accurate diagnosis is important.
A website recently came to my attention. It is called Big White Wall and it is an online peer support and self-management tool for youth 16+ and adults experiencing mild to moderate depression and anxiety. What I really liked about it was that it is available around the clock, it is anonymous, and is staffed by “Wall Guides” who make sure the community is safe and supportive. They have a section where you can post questions and get feedback, a creative section where you can post pics and see other people’s contributions as well, a section called “Useful Stuff” which has many articles to choose from, and a section where you can sign up for courses (usually 3 to 4 weeks) on a variety of topics. All completely free to those living in Ontario!
Depression makes it hard to give. I often see clients who come into therapy because they live with a person who is struggling with depression and they are looking for ways to cope. One of the things that is quite common to hear is their perspective that their loved one “doesn’t contribute very much” which in turn places a greater weight on them to manage the household and family. And, as sympathetic as they attempt to be, resentment eventually plays a role in the dynamic between them.