Depression

Another evening of documentaries. We're watching online at www.1-film-online.com (I recommend it - many good films about human psychology, history, science, technology, etc.). This time about depression and overcoming it.

Which of you or your acquaintances or colleagues has ever brought a sick note to work stating that they were absent for two or three weeks due to depression? At least no such case is known to me in Latvia. Moreover, most people don't even regard it as an illness but as a weakness of will. They'd say - he simply can't pull himself together, why is he playing the helpless one!

I suppose there is no need to explain separately that the signs of depression are despondency and apathy towards what is happening around you, a lack of interest and a complete absence of motivation to get up and do anything. You want to withdraw into yourself, not get out of bed or out of the flat for days on end, not make contact with anyone. It sounds hopeless. Moreover, depression can be reflected not only in a person's emotional state but also in a purely physical way - when something suddenly starts to hurt for no apparent reason.

There are said to be two types of depression - one caused by external circumstances or events, and one that is inherited. The first occurs when a traumatic experience, tragic event, or similar has taken place. The second type of depression, however, is inherited - it is written into a person's genes and can be passed down from generation to generation. The film was mainly based on the warning that it is an extremely serious 21st-century human illness and attention should be paid to it before it is too late to change anything. Moreover, great quantities of various antidepressants are consumed - but is that the best solution?

"Depression", 2001, pastel (Schmitt&Hall studio)

All those pieces of advice about turning to psychotherapists and specialists seem clear and understandable enough - but how many people actually go? I'm talking about Latvia, not America, where people run to their family therapist at the slightest thing. With us it has been instilled: firstly, shame about admitting helplessness or asking for help; secondly, one should manage everything on one's own, because one knows best; thirdly, what will others think of me. So we go around withdrawn into ourselves and sink deeper and deeper into depression, until life holds no real interest either in what is happening to oneself or to others around us.

Oh yes, and any misfortune - the loss of a loved one, a job, or a home - is perceived as one big black mark on everything. With blinkers on, we see no way out at all. Yet it is only part of each person's life experience. Oh, that last statement I really liked - everything that happens to us is only part of our life experience!

But that wouldn't be the main thing that prompted me to write this article - many of us can moralise and give advice, as long as we don't experience it ourselves. What attracted the most attention was the methods examined in the film for getting out of a state of depression. Setting aside medical interventions such as electroshock therapy, which is also used in cases of deep depression, or prolonged work with a psychotherapist in his office. A proven technique is 40 hours of conscious wakefulness and walking - simply aimless wandering around the city. During this time, however, one must not sit at a computer or stare at the television. The effect will be lost if you sit down and doze off even for a couple of minutes.

Another known method of self-treating depression is drawing, even if you are not particularly good at it. So - take paints, pencils, sheets of paper and draw, draw, draw - anything, for as long as possible and with complete dedication to the activity. Though this can apply to any creative pursuit - whenever there is an opportunity to completely disconnect from the current situation, the surrounding world, and the problems prevailing in it.

An interesting type of group therapy (I heard of it for the first time) - where all those present, except the psychotherapist, representatives of both sexes, sit naked in a circle so that they can see each other clearly, and discuss their emotional state and the physical sensations this state has produced. Evidently the emphasis here is placed on the innate interest in the opposite sex and the attempt to revive a person's libido. As is known, one of the signs of depression is a complete cooling and lack of interest in the opposite sex.

In other sources it is also mentioned that depression can be successfully treated with physical exercise, movement to the rhythm of music, with acupuncture, and similar methods. The main thing is to find the method most suitable for oneself. As in other cases, there are no universal remedies here either. Well then, now the information is available - let us return to our search for the golden ratio!