In the modern world, it is considered that depression – extremely negative emotional state, from which, if it arose, you need to immediately get rid of. Doctors, in this case, prescribe antidepressants, psychotherapy, which help to cope with the depressive state. However, there is a downside to depression, which is worth considering. Many American scientists have thought that obsession with the problem, feelings and apathy can be useful for human well-being and human development. How can depressive thoughts be used to your advantage? Why is this method ineffective for endogenous depression? Answers can be found in this article.
Human psychology is depressed
Depression as a kind of psychological state arises as a reaction to emotional shock, psychological trauma, a crisis period in life. A person, being in it, experiences the following symptoms:
- Feels pain, unwillingness to move and communicate;
- Loses sleep, rest or vice versa, sleeps more than usual;
- Has problems with appetite – refuses to eat or overeat;
- Becoming aggressive or depressed;
- Ceases to see the meaning in life;
- Losing vital energy.
According to scientists, a person has depressed mental processes are activated better than those who are in an even mood, because concern about the existing problem and obsessive thoughts give rise to reflections on how to improve your life and resolve existing difficulties, brain activity and analytical thinking are activated. A person asks the questions: “Why did this happen to me?”, “How do I stop being unhappy?”, “Why is life so unfair?” And the like. If you think and find answers to them, then there is a chance to improve your health and living conditions. What else can you learn from being depressed?
Relationships outside the role of victim
As a rule, the depressed state is often due to the fact that the person takes the position of the victim. He complains about life, relationships and people around him, avoids taking responsibility for himself. Such a role does not lead to success and development. Having come down to the bottom of depression, everyone has the opportunity to accept himself as such – weak, helpless, dependent, with the goal of abandoning this role and making the decision to become independent and responsible.
Depression promotes personal growth
It so happens that a person finds it difficult to make a choice — every time he encounters such a need, he doubts that he is going to do the right thing. The feeling that prevails over him is the fear of making a mistake, losing something important to yourself – relationship, experience, work.Such a life stance – chronic insecurity – not only does not help grow as a person, but also leads to depression.
Experts, watching people in the doldrums, notice that their endless analysis about “What should I do to not make a mistake?” Once leads to the choice of one or another position. It is good if at this stage he has the help of a psychotherapist – thanks to working on himself, one can reduce the level of anxiety regarding the risk of making a mistake, learn how to be flexible, accept one’s own experience and don’t blame yourself for doing wrong. So, going through all the depressive stages within oneself – pain, doubts, despair – one can get closer to the true “I”, know oneself from different sides, learn to make choices.
Attention to your emotions
In the depressed state, many feelings “rise”. Sometimes their restraint provokes the onset of depression. So, if you allow yourself not to “crush” the emotions inside, listen to them, you can discover new features and qualities in yourself, get answers to questions about the meaning of life, your own desires and needs. Most often, people are accustomed to the fact that depression should be eliminated as soon as possible. However, scientists believe that its occurrence, just, teaches not to ignore what is happening inside, but to notice it.
So, a person begins to understand what his pain in the soul is talking about, what he wants to get, when he starts to hear his anger, how he would like to change his life, noticing despair and fear.
When the pain goes out
The habit of “pushing” emotions is familiar to many since childhood. “Men do not cry” and “Girls do not behave this way” – phrases, if they are often repeated by parents, form inside the habit of behavior, thanks to which a person begins to hide and hide what he actually feels, experiences.However, from the fact that they were ignored, thoughts and emotions have not gone away – they remained inside. Such suppression over time leads to depression and the fact that a person ceases to understand what he wants.
Depression contributes to the fact that pain and other negative feelings come out, not without reason, being in a mentally unstable state, a person often cries, stings himself, suffers, he has thoughts that life is completely in vain. So, having allowed myself to feel pain, “pouring” it out with tears, living through depression, it is possible to get rid of all the repressed feelings that have accumulated inside. This leads to a feeling of inner freedom, provided there is support nearby and the ability to stop in time for their sufferings. Only by feeling inside the emptiness in the soul, you can fill it with new emotions, feelings and impressions.
Habit of asking for help
It is believed that people are depressed, with a weak type of mental activity – they are vulnerable, insecure, impressionable. This is far from always fair. Those who are stoic, strong personalities are often inclined to fall into depressive thoughts, because they do not take the opportunity to ask for help.
Depression – a period when you can learn to do it. Being weak, addicted when the soul hurts and is disturbed by obsessive thoughts is not helplessness, but a position that speaks about caring for yourself. In addition, a person, when he risks to turn to other people for support, gets the opportunity to feel needed, loved, to let others take care of themselves.
Endogenous depression
Depression is divided into two types – neurotic and endogenous. The tips given here are relevant to the state of the first, when a person experiences painful feelings as a result of shock, trauma, crisis. The second type, depression caused by heredity and the nervous system, is not amenable to treatment only with the help of psychotherapy, living through emotions and the support of loved ones. In order to alleviate her condition, it is necessary to take antidepressants, which are prescribed by a doctor.