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With so many people suffering from depression in today’s complex and accelerating world matrix, it seems like depression will probably visit all of us at one time or another. The World Health Organization says in a few years, depression will be the leading cause of global mental and physical disability (Schlein, 2017). Based on the findings of the second Singapore Mental Health Study in 2016, major depressive disorder is also one of the top three mental illness in Singapore (Choo, 2018).
In fact, due to the COVID-19 situation, there has been reports of increasing cases of people showing signs of clinical depression (Fava, 2020). There are a few possible factors (Fava, 2020) that played a part in this rising trend of depression cases, namely fear of getting sick, financial concerns due to loss of jobs & incomes, loss of community support, and reduced access to caregivers. With prolonged circuit breaker measures, some may suffer from social isolation (Tai, 2020), a result of being cut off from their usual support systems while others may experience intense emotional tensions due to poor & conflictual relationships with family members at home (Tai, 2020).
So is it possible to have depression instead of depression having us, even during this COVID-19 pandemic? Is it possible to control it instead of it controlling us – driving us towards self-destruction, alcohol and drugs – and creeping in as disengagement and self-isolation? How can we deal with depression in a healthy way? With small gains in psychological flexibility, even when we’re depressed, we may be better able to say “yes” to living and engaging a better quality of life.
What could life be like if you no longer struggled with your depression? Is it possible to have some level of acceptance of it, reducing the amount of time and emotional energy invested in fighting or running from it? Is that possible?
How Does the Depression Sneak into Our Lives without Us Noticing?
Depression is insidious as it often moves into your life, progressing slowly and gradually with most or all of the symptoms easily attributed to something else: crying relating to sadness and loss, insomnia and moodiness relating to stress, and low energy to physical illness. Even more, all of these symptoms HAVE been experienced when we haven’t been so depressed. Another reason for depression being a sneak: it’s difficult to recognize because of the negativity and stigma associated with it – it could be socially destructive and shaming! Admitting a depression may be difficult. Depression is hard to recognize because it appears differently for different people and may not disturb you like it does with other people you may know. It even may have triggered you months before you realize it’s effects – like missing your friend who moved away – even more than you thought. A delayed onset of depression may come months or even years after a traumatic experience (Gillihan, 2019).
Depression is insidious as it often moves into your life, progressing slowly and gradually with most or all of the symptoms easily attributed to something else.
Understanding the Solutions for Healing and Increasing Psychological Flexibility
Some days are better than others, but on some days, life becomes painful and difficult to bear with – even for the most resilient individuals. Mother Theresa suffered from depression and life was painful for her as well (Kolodiejchuk, 2007). In everyone’s life, there is some measure of pain and suffering, though to varying intensities, and that is normal. However, the suffering of depression often comes when we try and run away from the pain. These efforts may eventually become more of a problem than the depression itself - controlling through avoidance, through addiction, through self-harm and sabotage – all efforts that may help in the short- term but may be more damaging in the long-term. By not accepting our pain, even in small measure, causes us to suffer more. Instead, the deepest transformation occurs when pain is accepted and maybe even understood a bit, moving us away from potential self-destruction, towards new psychological terrain.
The deepest transformation occurs when pain is accepted and maybe even understood a bit, moving us away from potential self-destruction, towards new psychological terrain.
With this, there are six interdependent and overlapping behavioral processes that help to answer,“What is influencing the depression, and what may be causing the weight of how I’m feeling?”
Experiential Avoidance vs. Willingness and Acceptance - How do we face the inevitable painful experiences in life – through experiential avoidance, through baby steps of action, or through jumping into the deep end of the pool? It depends. Each one of us handles pain, grief, loss and the fear of the unknown differently. Avoiding both the external and internal experiences may manifest through many types of behaviors. One of the most profound avoidance behaviors is suicide. Founder of DBT Marsha Linehan candidly states, “If (someone) kills themselves, therapy isn’t going to work (Linehan, 2017).”Also, “the desire to commit suicide, has at its base, a b