The parent comment seems to be suggesting that people with depression need to take control of their own life by recognizing what makes them unhappy in order to overcome it. There is nothing harmful about that.
What if the thing that makes them unhappy is their own brain?
There is absolutely no reason for me to be unhappy and generally I'm not, I just don't feel anything except for some anxiety. I have an amazing job, an extremely supportive family, a nice apartment, several close friends. Yet, there are some mornings I struggle to get out of bed. There's no external source in my life currently (or past really) that is causing this. I have been diagnosed with ADHD, Depression, and Anxiety, several of my other family members (brothers, mother, grandmother, etc.) have some or all those things too. It's a very real, biological, sometimes genetic thing. It's a very complicated beast. There's no just recognizing it and overcoming it. Yes, I recognize a lot of my symptoms are caused by my brain, but that doesn't do a lot for me to be able to just overcome it when I can't even find the motivation to brush my teeth. It takes help, and a long time retraining your mind to not just immediately assume you're a worthless piece of shit not worthy of anything.
It's beatable, but when you're in the state of mind of a depressed person, you're not going to see that immediately.
/rant
Want to get out of bed in the morning? Sure thing, but good luck concentrating on anything when combining SSRIs with ADHD brain. Don't want to break out in a cold sweat at the prospect of being called on in a work meeting? No problemo, I hope you enjoy discovering the hidden depression sub-basement, and you thought you were already at the bottom of the pit.
Then there's all the crazy drug-drug interactions with CPY2D6 inhibiting anti-depressants and whatever else you might be on. I gets better if it's something like prozac or paroxetine, as both are simultaneously substrates and inhibitors of that enzyme (i.e. they inhibit their own metabolism so have non-linear DRCs... ah wacky fun).
But don't worry, you don't actually need drugs! All you need are positive thoughts filled with hopes and dreams, you filthy junkie.
/rant
On a more serious note, the only sustainable pharmacological treatments I can think of are:
- Dexamphetamine & beta-blockers (better chances if your anxiety is closer to a 'panic' disorder). This worked pretty well for me, until my local government health authority decided I couldn't be trusted with 'dangerous' drugs like dex. Far better to cast me back into the pit than to fuel our local ice epidemic, since clearly smoking meth is 'pretty much the same thing' as taking dex under medical supervision.
- Monotherapy with a non-reverse-able MAOI (e.g. Parnate, Nardil). Although good luck finding a psych willing to prescribe one, even if you can demonstrate you understand the interaction risks and know how to mitigate them.
I've had depression my entire adult life, and have been in a very similar circumstance to you.
I've been trying to 'think my way out of it' for many years, but it was never achievable. Finally a few months ago I bit the bullet and went to see a Clinical Psychologist, who quickly recommended me to a Psychiatrist and have started medication. I've always been extremely skeptical of anti-depressants given the nature of them and all the talk surrounding them. However, The effects of this medication have literally changed my life in the span of about 4-6 weeks. It was definitely the missing link in what I needed to do 'fix' my brain (chemically) to get everything onto the right path.
Well, OK, then work on the brain. Take control by seeking treatment! Or doubling down on commitment to existing therapy.
"Have hope," you cry to the hopeless. You may as well tell the poor, "have money". Where do you expect them to find it?
How does one seek treatment if they cannot even get out of bed?
> The parent comment is suggesting that people with depression need to take control of their own life by recognizing what makes them unhappy in order to overcome it.
Your comment is suggesting that depression -- clinical depression, not, "boo hoo things are tough right now and I'm unhappy" -- is the depressed person's own fault and all they need to do is change everything in their life until they're happy.
It's really wrong.
When you learn to levitate by taking control of your own life and recognizing what makes you happy, then you will have something to teach people who suffer from depression. Until then, I beg that you do more reading on the subject, and I'm happy to offer some of the material that I've found most useful.
It's somewhat unfortunate that Allie Brosh's most famous work ended up being about her depression, but: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2011/10/adventures-in-... -- when she published this, people struggling with depression suddenly appeared out of nowhere and said, "YES, yes, this is it exactly!" It's a great and easy primer into the depressed mindset.
She wrote a part two: http://hyperboleandahalf.blogspot.com/2013/05/depression-par...
Then watch this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDXCvtRxZ2E&list=UUK_QgiNMxV...
Depression may well be an inflammatory disease, which means that multiple people in this thread are arguing for people to just wish away inflammation: http://bmcmedicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1741-7...
The stigma of depression -- which, unfortunately, is exacerbated by well-meaning but not well-informed people on the subject -- is one factor that prevents sufferers from seeking the help they need: http://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/stigma-as-...
Stephen Fry, bless his heart, was at the beginning of the more recent efforts for sufferers to come forward, in spite of their fears about stigma, and discuss the disease: http://www.stephenfry.com/2013/06/only-the-lonely/
Hope this helps someone.
I dunno, to me it reads as a (possibly) clumsily articulated suggestion to manage depression. Suggesting that one recognize and address the problem doesn't preclude the idea the problem is depression and addressing it to take control of one's life means seeking treatment. Maybe they're just speaking the generic advice and assuming the reader can put the pieces together.
Part of my own journey with depression was realizing that when I got agitated over posts that imply or even explicitly portray a "just cheer up and get over it" attitude towards depression, I was just doing it for the temporary rush of indignation. I wasn't helping anyone. Not the person I responded to, and certainly not passerby readers. Eventually I realized, the smart response wasn't to disagree, it was to make a friendly expansion on that post for any passerby readers who might not know. There's no reason to assume malice unless someone is openly asserting clinical depression is a lie and depressed people are just bummed out. And even in that case the best possibly outcome is still achieved with a friendly retort that still focuses the message on utility to the passerby readers.
But when people confuse that with advice for depression, I rush to change their minds about that, because it is a form of pop psychology which is pervasive and adds to the challenges faced by people suffering with depression.
I appreciate the experiences shared here, while completely anecdotal they are all telling me the same story and they're directly relate-able.
Your point (I think?) is: those experiences are indigestible to someone who is currently suffering depression.
But to me, that in itself is an entirely different discussion...
Do you believe I can think my way into and out of a sprained calf, for instance? How about rheumatoid arthritis? IBD? Alzheimer's?
What medical training do you have to make claims like the ones made above? If none, what do you think you are contributing to the conversation?
I can't at this moment think of anything more polite to say to you.