Anyone who writes about depression faces the inevitable challenge of trying to present the information from being, in colloquial terms, a real downer. According to the National Institute for Mental Health (NIMH), depression is the leading cause of disability in the United States for ages 15-44. Knowing that it “can result in severe impairments that interfere with or limit one’s ability to carry out major life activities,” according to NIMH, is enough to give one a serious case of the blues.
Common expressions of the depressive experience include “being in a black hole,” “a downward spiral,” “a heavy burden” and “the dark night of the soul.” People who have dealt with depression not only talk about the psychological and emotional pain of feeling helpless and hopeless, but also about a physiological pain little understood by those who have not fallen into this dark place. Given its prevalence — 16.2 million Americans reportedly experienced an episode of depression in 2016 — it’s imperative that we find a way to shine some light on this condition to provide both the hope and courage essential to recovery.
Once known as melancholia, depression has led to many psychological theories on its origins and treatment. Away from the therapist’s couch, there is an almost romantic quality when one looks at literature and the arts. It has been suggested that many artists (including Vincent van Gogh and Edvard Munch) turned their depressive symptoms into some of the world’s greatest masterpieces. Additionally, many writers (Ernest Hemingway and Sylvia Plath, to name a few) have chronicled the ebb and flow of their inner turmoil, producing profound works of poetry and prose.
Back in the modern world of all-things-wellness, there is a growing movement toward the concept of taking our suffering head on, thereby finding meaning in one’s depression. Far from being a New Age twist on turning lemons into lemonade, using the down times in life as a method of transformation has deep roots in human development. The poet Rumi wrote, “The wound is the place where the light enters you.” For many, the passage through a depressed state is as much a spiritual journey as it is a psychological trek. Finding that the light at the end illuminates a stronger self is what the Stoic philosopher Seneca referred to when he wrote, “What is hard to endure is sweet to remember.”
Regardless of its origins, anyone who has experienced a period of depression knows that, while in the grips, one seldom thinks, “I’m going to be better in the long run for going through this.” To the contrary, one of the first things that depression attacks is one’s ability to counter the errors in negative thinking that help to grease the downward slide. That being said, as a result of these down times, many people do turn to introspection, evaluation and/or altering life habits in an effort to decrease the pain. Survivors of depression, much like survivors of physical conditions like cancer, often report increased resiliency and appreciation of life.
Whether professionally guided by a trained therapist, or through the compassionate support of a caring other, moving through depression can illuminate those hidden mechanisms in one’s life that contribute to the spiral of negativity that is the hallmark of the depressed state. As a counter measure to the happiness addiction so common in Western cultures, working through, and with, a depressed period helps to avoid the trap of immediate maladaptive coping skills, which often rebounds back in the form of still more pain.
We would be wise to heed the words of the poet Rilke, who wrote to a despondent young poet, “Why do you want to shut out of your life any uneasiness, any misery, any depression, since after all you don’t know what work these conditions are doing inside you?” Rilke also advised:
… you must be patient like someone who is sick, and confident like someone who is recovering; for perhaps you are both.”
In my work as a therapist, and in my own struggles with depression, I’ve found that living as someone who is ill, while also in the process of healing, makes the depression less threatening. Addressing it as one would physical pain, as a call for attention and action, one acts with self-compassion — which is, in itself, an antidote to many of depression’s insidious symptoms.
Ultimately, depression teaches us that the very vulnerabilities that create despair, if managed thoughtfully, will expose the opposite energies of endurance, resilience and even joy. These represent more than just rays of hope; they are the assurance of an “invincible summer.”
According to the Center for the Study of Mind and Human Interaction at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Va., the gains from recovering from depression include:
Higher levels of empathy and awareness
Increased analytical thinking
Improved relationships
Enhanced stress management skills