Dealing with depression
It is unpleasant to cope with depression, especially in busy seasons. It’s like getting stuck on a muddy road. The harder you try to get out of it, the deeper you often end up.
Depression is one of three types – circumstantial, bio-chemical or habitual.
Circumstantial depression is triggered by factors that are mainly out of farmers’ control, such as weather, prices and government policies. Individuals feel helpless about what they have no power over and thus become depressed.
Challenge circumstantial depression with the following questions: Is there any clear proof that I brought these events totally on myself? If not, why waste energy by feeling depressed?
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Is there something that I can do for me or others that might make it a bit easier to get through these rough situations? Don’t take “no” for an answer. You can’t get rid of the problem or the politicians, at least in the short term, but there are bound to be some little things you can do to help survive or at least have a slightly better outlook on life.
The second type of depression is known as bio-chemical, when the stresses a person experiences cause biochemical changes in the blood, which in turn affect one’s brain, mood and outlook on life.
Chemical imbalance
Depression can hit like a thunderbolt. That crucial chemical balance of enzymes in the blood stream can slip over the edge during sleep and a person may wake up depressed.
But in most cases, the depression comes on slowly. Medications called anti-depressants can help but they are not the total cure. I disagree with doctors who say, “Oh yes, you are depressed. Take these pills and in four to six weeks you’ll feel perfectly fine.”
I’m sure you will feel much better. You might be one of a few who do respond quickly. But unless you also learn ways to challenge the negative thinking that also accompanies depression, and learn to take care of yourself, those medications end up as a temporary crutch and keep you on medications years longer than you might need to be.
Pessimistic outlook
Depression may be the result of chemical changes in your body. But it can also be the result of changes in your thinking and outlook about life, decisions that aren’t caused by body chemistry. It is now believed that such negative thinking can actually cause bad chemical changes.
The most important thing is to realize you are depressed, and to decide to do something about it. Depression is a disorder of our moods and thoughts, but these are affected by how we think and look at things.
In depression, our thinking becomes negative, our energy vaporizes and our motivation disappears. This means that doing something positive takes more effort than it normally does. But this is not an excuse for refusing to do anything about yourself. You start doing this by recognizing what you are saying to yourself. Once you realize exactly what you are thinking or believing, then you need to challenge some of the distorted thoughts that come along with the depressed mood.
Thoughts like, “I’ll never…” and “There’s no way I can ever…” stop you from doing things that you could do if you tried. If you don’t do anything at all, then you only reinforce the false belief that you really aren’t capable of doing anything.
The third type of depression is called habitual. Although not the most serious type, it is hardest to get rid of because people learn to expect the worst and refuse to acknowledge when good things are happening. People who are cynical about all governments, all farm programs and all of life generally fit this category. They are not fun to be with, not even for themselves.
