An article appeared today in the Standard in which a psychotherapist gave his/her view of humanity and his/her profession. What came to the fore was that in today's society a lot can happen. We sometimes wonder about other people's stories and what these people have been through. Sometimes you can't even imagine it, yet it has already happened to someone.
In addition, the psychotherapist also gave his/her view of therapy. It was described that besides suffering, people also have a lot of resilience and that this resilience can be very helpful in guiding people who suffer from mental disorders. This is also applicable to the treatment of depression. Depression often stems from emotional shock that makes it difficult to move on with your life, be happy with your life and see the good in life. This makes people with depression gloomy, lack initiative, often isolate themselves, have no vision of the future,....
Treating depression? Some basic principles
Suffering from depression does not mean that you are weaker than other people who do not suffer from depression. There is a prejudice in some environments that only weaker people are prone to depression. This is not true. Everyone has a chance of developing depression. Much depends on how you handle difficult situations that could potentially trigger emotional trauma. For example, if you have difficulty distancing yourself from a negative event in your life and you react to it by fretting about it all the time, you are much more likely to develop depression than someone who seeks professional help, talks to people or takes up sports,... This is not to say that you are weak, but brooding is much harder on the mind and body in the long run than talking about your problems or going to exercise.
In addition, we also speak of resilience. Resilience comes from the elements in your life that you can draw strength from. This can range from your personal attributes to friendships and even hobbies. In fact, in your life there are less pleasant things, which weigh on you, and things from which you can draw strength. If there are too many of these negative elements in your life at any given time, the more likely you are to develop depression. For example, someone who is laid off and also just going through a divorce will be more likely to develop depression than someone who is laid off but has many people around them to fall back on.
Treating depression? How do you treat depression?
Treating depression, then, consists of building more resilience into your life so that your likelihood of depression becomes less and so that the symptoms of depression decrease in intensity. Moreover, it helps to look for what makes you happy, build in more of this and reduce negative habits, such as fretting, for example. In this way, you make room for positive, supportive habits, which you can then fall back on in depression treatment and depression prevention.
My Quarter is an online self-help program developed by doctors and psychologists that uses these techniques to guide you through depression treatment. Based on cognitive behavioral therapy and solution-focused techniques, the program helps you reduce depression symptoms daily from home and build more resilience into your life.
Treating depression? Take the depression test!
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