Old is new again! - Why do we focus on depression only on the holidays.

This is a personal editorial not directed in any specific way, but I am confounded, but the problems that plague society, and the impudence that is facing us as a whole, and yes, I am fall prey to this as much as the next person and I should not. As a matter of course for my professional life, I have joined Instagram, X and am dabbling in a few other social media constructions. Over the past few days, I have seen posts where people are posting about depression. Using celebrities to talk about how we need to focus on this time of year as difficult for people with depression. I am going to throw the bullshit flag. If individual is suffering from depression the season doesn't matter.

No where in the any of the DSM or ILD codes does it mention anything about a holiday, month or time of year, with the exception of a pre-menstrual dysphoric disorder. Then why do we as a society care when we talk about depression, is it like every other special disease, does it need a champion, like Lance Armstrong, or Ryan White, or a Susan Kohmen (which I am not digging on this people for what they have done). Why can't we just appreciate that it is a mental health condition that impacts society, and it impacts society regardless of people race, color, creed, or season. We need to address mental health like anything else something that happens chronically. A condition that impacts people regularly. It is impacting people that we may not even know about. The people that are the best at hiding depression are the ones that kill themselves, and we wonder geez, how did we miss that. I know that not everyone is a clinical professional, or experienced with depression. People even have difference experiences with the same disorder. What I can tell you is there will be changes in behavior. That is the key, those are the things too look for. Clinically in all of my sessions, I strive to get everyone of my clients/patients/humans to understand Maslow's hierarchy of needs as it applies towards them. We revisit it in their life, and make it apart of everything they do.

We start with looking at the basic, making sure sleep, food consumption, and well being are taken care of, and generally not always two of those are always messed up in every client that is on my "couch". We then work at behavioral activation, changing cognitive dissertations, or thought patterns, and working towards understanding the depressive history, and talk about it with candor, and not shriek away from it but attack it. To talk about SI/NSSI and other taboo topics.

One of the things I found out fast, is you can't expect massive changes from someone that is struggling with small every domain in their life, or all but one major domain of their, and the one domain in their life that is going relatively well is taking all of their emotional battery. Behavioral activation is a therapeutic technique that is relatively new within the world of therapy, in a formalized why. However I would argue if you look historically, it is much akin to what Dr. G. Thompson did with Verbal Judo, just packaged up what therapists were already doing and labeled it to sell it. But BA is getting the person to enjoy small things again, and work towards bigger things. This is actually more difficult than one might think. I have had many a client struggle to follow simple homework, just to find pro-social groups in geographic area they live that they would be interested in joining, or learning more about to experience to connect with people, and deal with and address some of the isolation, withdrawal, and other hopeless feelings.

The overall message, I guess is simple, let's not but a dress on a pig once a year and call it good. Let's address mental health, like how it should truly be addressed everyday, every hour and with every true confidence to attempt to figure or resolve the problem at an individual level. Sure killing yourself sucks, but it also sucks for those that are left behind. Don't be someone that leaves someone behind, and don't leave anyone behind. But make mental health a priority.

Just my ramblings at 0715hrs this morning - thanks for reading -