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So this is my story, I won't' claim it invalidates anyone else's experience and it will have an element of anecdotal. Everyone can have different levels of depression and there are many variables at play (current lifestyle, health etc). I found myself in an utter mess. I constantly felt depressed or under huge stress from rampant anxiety. The best way of describing my depression is to imagine wearing a weighted jacket, just constantly pulling you down and zapping all zest from your life. Here I was, working a very well paid job, loving young family and everything going for me and I just wanted to crawl into a ball and die. I was just on the verge of going to see a Dr to get prescribed something, but I was hesitant about this from stories of side effects. It seemed no one had a consistent experience and some had a horrible time, with a few finding them great. I went to see a therapist which really helped me to unspool everything, as my life seemed like a blur at the end. They recommended to me a book. The book was called 'feeling good' by Dr David Burns an American psychiatrist, and it was basically a manual of using Cognitive therapy on yourself. I found it laid out in away my engineering brain could grab onto. The text is a little dated, when it comes to case studies, but everything is very applicable. The premise is that we constantly shape our emotions based on our thinking and that if you can challenge your thinking, you change the way you feel. I devoured this book and within a few weeks felts massively better. I now find that depression can start to creep back in, but I can right away use some tools to get myself right again. Some will read this and think 'if this guy was fixed by a book, it could not have been 'real' depression'. What do you have to lose though, 1/2 weeks of trying something out and $20 on the price of the book. |
So can others prodding us. We've forgotten the value of both of these.
It explains why "we" don't seek these things — and simultaneously let others take their place (ads, behavioural suggestions in media, etc).