Trying To Talk Yourself Out of Depression Does Not Always Work

The actual professionals and the self-acclaimed psychology experts have embedded an idea via articles, blogs, and social media posts that talking about mental health issues, particularly depression, is perhaps the first and many times, the last, step to reclaiming a life without feeling the daily blues. However, the truth couldn't be any different. For starters, people suffering from depression are often in jobs and family roles where they have to speak throughout the day. Many people with depression have a rather well-established circle of friends with whom they converse every day. People visiting the family psychologist might continue to have long conversations about redemption, loss, and unhappiness and still, might feel that the therapy is not really making an impact. People need to realize that you cannot talk your way out of depression, at least not in most situations. For way too long, the role of counseling sessions has been given the maximum importance as a way to treat someone suffering from clinical depression. However, counseling and confessions are more important to address the problem and to make someone realize that it is okay to feel like not waking up, eating, exercising, going to school, or being regular at the office. However, the same approach does not help if the goal is to overcome depression. Many people fail to realize this assuming that therapy and treatment are the same and the more people talk about depression, the easier it will be to defeat the problem. Talking about depression can make the person more conscious about the underlying problem but therapy is rather different and it might not include a lot of communication.

For instance, some people might want to face their inner demons via their personal journals. It is not unusual for psychologists to advise people to journal their dark and depressing thoughts. Later, these diaries are even submitted to the healthcare specialist as the person is unable to present the problem clearly, via words alone. Here, talking about depression had a significant role when the therapy started but later on, communicating about the problem was replaced by handling the disturbing thoughts or finding out the trigger patterns where introspection was the key and this was possible via a constructive activity like penning the daily schedule and thoughts rather than just talking about it. Thanks to more celebrities and role models sharing their mental health battles, talking about depression is no longer a taboo. It is easy to find students in classrooms and parents who are openly talking about their kids suffering from anxiety or anxiety & depression as a combination of symptoms. In such cases, the problem has already been spoken about. The family and guardians know about it, and the right type of responder and treatment is already sought. The next step to treat the problem rather than just talk about it includes multiple changes in the everyday lifestyle. In some cases, something as simple as biking whenever the anxiety pangs hit might be the answer. Just talking about depression can get repetitive and outlive the role of communication in mental health problems.

Today, therapies for treating depression commonly include medications where chemical combinations are fed as per a strict schedule and there is nothing wrong about it – if your body is unable to secrete the hormones and maintain the hormonal levels needed to feel good, you will need to supplement in some form. Even alternative therapies, ranging from yoga to breathing techniques, don’t preach about just being seated in a chair and babbling for an hour about your daily struggle to dress up and step out of the apartment. I also feel that somewhere the role of counseling in marital problems and cases of abuse has been wrongly interpreted as a means to address, treat, and manage depression. However, depression is often self-manifested and many times, it is just out of control for someone, the result of too many permutations in the blood chemistry going horribly wrong. A decade back, even I used to say that talking about depression is the key to controlling and overcoming it but now, I truly believe that once you have spoken about it, find ways, real methods, and strategies to ensure that you can beat the hell out of your depression…let us start doing something about the problem!

There is one more aspect about why just talking about depression is not sufficient. Often, mental health issues need a lot of self-realization, and in such cases, talking about the problem with friends, family, or spouse can really help. However, some people can suffer from multiple mental health conditions. For instance, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD might be the underlying reason for feeling agitated and anxious and the inability to find a cure for the issue might make a person more withdrawn and depressed. In such cases, depression is not the condition in itself but more of an outcome of another psychological issue that needs to be identified. In such scenarios, the support of a husband, wife, or parents can be limiting because the relationships themselves might have contributed to the onset of obsessive behaviors, ensuring that talking more about one's signs of depression is just not going to be sufficient. Similarly, something as complex as untreated ADHD symptoms in adult life can be confused with someone feeling low and when the symptoms surface in a more profound way after a mishap in the family, it is assumed that depression caused by loss is the only thing keeping someone down. However, the ugly moments in life can often be the reason for underlying mental health problems like bipolarism, severe anxiety, or OCD taking over, forming a grip that is hard to break by merely talking about the problem.