Quote:
Originally Posted by tecomsin
I'm glad you are feeling much better. I agree with you about mental addictions or obsessive thoughts and about the emptiness that remains. When you first posted this thread I was also having the same kind of thought... what is the point of coping, which for me means just getting through the day vs. coping meaning having a productive, enjoyable, fruitful day.
I also think my depression, or specifically the repetitive thought patterns, has the flavour of a mental addiction more so than really a mood. I wonder if my low energy also has that flavour as it is also a mental thing, not just physical. Once I can get myself motivated I can usually get something done. The problem is to get started and not be self-defeating every step of the way.
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Yes, I agree with you, te. Maybe others would not...but having followed the CBT model with professional support...it seems possible, I think, to reverse depression on one's own without medication. Well, that is my hope! It has been my hope for three long years, especially since I realized I have become somewhat treatment resistant to conventional methods i.e. medication, and counseling.
There are some who would argue depression is biological and one needs medication. However, not all mental health professionals believe this to be true. For instance, in the case of borderline personality disorder depression, Dr. Marsha Linehan believes that medication and hospitalization are not the correct therapy, but rather, learning coping skills is the right therapy, and new behavioral skills are necessary to break out of a sort of mental prison. My therapist of last year pointed out that all actions cause biological change. Getting up off the couch and running around the block causes brain change!
Unfortunately, this is extremely difficult work. Not just running around the block, but changing one's mental state-of-mind. I was mentally (and physically) tired when I wrote this thread. It is tiring work to grow stronger mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Maybe talking about it here (and whining, too, a bit
) helped me a lot and for that I am grateful to Psych Central members and their great peer support.
I agree with everything you posted here, te. Let's keep up the work of progressing along the path. Change is not easy. But we can support one another as we do the hard work.
