I've got my own ideas when it comes to depression and mental health in general. When I wrote the former sentence, I realized how inappropriate it would be for me to sit here and write a post about such topic. However, I'm trying to get back into the "groove" of writing and I promised myself any thoughts that decide to shape themselves into light bulbs in my head, I should head straight to my laptop or a notepad nearby and spill all out. I need to. I have to.
Not long ago, I read an article about counseling. For someone who's been under the supervision of a counselor, I often found myself asking not whether it would work for me, but whether I need it. I know a lot of people wrestle with many different questions and ideas, but according to the article I read, a lot of people focus on that particular question. In addition to that, how do you know whether what you're feeling is 'clinical' or just the blues? Let me tell you what I think....
There's been a lot of discussion about joy. There are books that have been written about "happiness", music made on how it's a possibility, and movies directed for that very special cause. There are happiness classes planned for school kids, and even government officials: In a recent TV interviews, Mr Cameron commented on how we should pay attention to our GWB (General Wellbeing) as well as our GDP. Hmm...
Being in therapy, I never found the idea of "happiness" very useful and practical. I think there are two words, although subtle and different, that we may use to define how we're doing emotionally and whether or not we need help: Contentment and joy. Happiness is too precise and impossible. In reality, humans experience a mix of emotions. We all go through bad patches when life decides to make itself unbearable. As you all know, it may be all sorts of things. Even the transition from being a teenager (yes, even teenagers go through a bad patch, much to my mom's surprise!) to an adult.
But the real challenge here is, no matter how difficult life is and how unhappy we feel, if we are primarily 'emotionally' healthy, we will still have times when we feel content. A simple sunny day or lying on the grass while you're in the company of a special someone, or even a simple cup of coffee/hot chocolate with a friend could bring it out in us. We, for a small amount of time, forget our worries and cares, and instead feel calm, serene, and content.
Also, no matter how miserable we are, if we know that things are essentially ok, we will feel that odd moment of joy. It could be triggered by lots of factors: Music, something we see or hear about, a joke, or a friend touching us with their love and concern.
It is the absolute absence of these two states - contentment and joy - that indicate I believe that there's something deeper and more profound than unhappiness that you're suffering from. My mother told me not long ago that if the memory of contentment or joy seem far away or if it's hard to remember what either even feels like, then you're in for something deeper than mere unhappiness.
Unhappiness can be pictured as an overcast sky. But, sometimes, the clouds part and a burst of sunshine appears. Depression, on the other hand, is like a blanket of cloudy grey sky. The sun, for all we see it, may as well have died.
Two friends have told me in the past that without treatment for depression, they wouldn't have been alive. They didn't just mean that they could've killed themselves. They just meant that living constantly under grey skies didn't deserve being called a life.
As simple as this sounds, and easier said than done, depression can be cured using a mixture of methods. And as much as I drifted off topic (as usual), which is what I seem to do best in life these days, all I want to say is this: If you are weighed down by these clouds, do not despair. It may be hard to believe, but behind them the sun is always there.
Next Topic: My review on the book "Intellectual Foreplay" - I can't wait. I think.
No comments:
Post a Comment