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The A to Z of normality – Depression

'The secret of life is balance, and the absence of balance is life's destruction.' by Hazart Inayat Khan

Depression is probably the most commonly talked about and prevalent symptom of mental ill health. There are several prominent theories why depression is so common. All are based on biological and social influences on the individual's behavior. Each person has a threshold (toleration level) to social pressures, which is biologically set. When social pressures become too much, and this threshold is crossed, the person withdraws from society (a sort of retreat) and a major change in their behavior occurs. They become withdrawn, apathetic and generally lose interest in life. This change in behavior, I believe is understandable for the following reasons.

Adaptive Strategy (psychological retreat)

I'm sure that everyone can remember times in their life when they have felt under pressure. Whether these pressures come from family, work or relationships, they have the ability to drive the most emotionally stable of us toward despair. We all seek a way to escape from and cope with these pressures, usually in the form of some kind of retreat. Some of us may read a book or listen to music; others may go for a long walk. Some people may even go to the pub looking for sympathy from friends. I would argue that depression is one of the most extreme forms of retreat.

Depression in my opinion is a major life changing adaptive strategy, which is triggered by intolerable life pressures, and in this sense very much understandable and therefore normal. In essence, it is a major form of mental retreat. . How many of us have got to the point of admitting to ourselves that 'I can not keep on going on like this' prior to a depressive episode. This point of acknowledging personal emotional and mental difficulties is nature's way of telling the individual that they have taken on too much and that they should slow down and adjust their life style accordingly - more about this in the discussion below.

The Common Thread

I have argued that depression is understandable and therefore normal because it is just another (all be-it extreme) way of coping with intolerable life pressures. As discussed in the introduction of this article, we all have in-built levels of toleration to life's pressures. It is therefore innate in us all that given too much pressure from life, any one could become depressed. There is no difference between the person who develops heart disease because of excess fatty food in their diet, than the person who becomes depressed because of an excess of pressure in their life. As pointed out, these toleration levels are innate in each individual and this is the common thread that each human being carries with them. In short, the potential for depression is in us all.

Conclusion

In this article I have highlighted reasons why depression is an understandable reaction to intolerable life situations and that every one has the potential to become depressed. In effect I have argued that there is a natural process to depression therefore rendering it normal. In my own experience I can recall reaching mental and emotional breaking point. Admitting to myself that 'I could not continue going on like this' turned out to be an essential part of my mental and emotional survival.
At this point I realized that some major change to my life would have to occur, if my sanity was to remain intact, and from that point I allowed myself time to leave the world of outward pressures beginning to explore the person inside I for so long had neglected and denied. I became neglectful toward my every day responsibilities. I went through a long period of sleeplessness and refused to eat and even leave my bed. People around me did not seem to understand but they appeared concerned realizing there was something wrong with me psychologically. This response resulted in them seeing to my daily needs and responsibilities. I now had others relieving me from the strain of every day living and giving me the attention I so long craved. I now had time to reflect on and address the things in my life, which had caused me deep psychological and emotional distress.

To allow myself to deteriorate like this was a gamble. I was pinning my hopes on some form of empathy from the people around me giving me the opportunity to 'sort my self out'. This is exactly what happened and the gamble paid off.

Though the journey to self-discovery was a painful one, I believe it was worth it. It has been said that the process of mental and emotional break down is 'a break down to break through' and this certainly applies to my own experience. I believe that the depressive reaction to intolerable life pressures is a logical one and part of a natural process of survival innate in us all.

Some phobias of the famous

1. Natalie Wood, US actress: Hydrophobia (fear of water). Drowned in 1981.

2. Sigmund Freud: Siderodromophobia (fear of trains).

3. Robert Schumann, German composer: Metallophobia (fear of metal). He especially disliked keys.

4. Queen Christina of Sweden: Entomophobia (fear of fleas). The seventeenth-century monarch had four-inch cannon balls built so that she could spend most of her time firing tiny cannon balls at the fleas in her bedroom.