Stress and Depression - Is Medication the Best Solution?
Monday, April 28th, 2008By Abe Kass There is relief for people suffering from depression and anxiety, a very painful and debilitating condition. Frequently present or past circumstantial stress causes these illnesses. By examining one’s relationships, attitudes and life style, depression and anxiety can be kept in check and for many, completely eliminated. The guidance of a mental health professional is often necessary. Genetic differences and learned behavior influence how people respond to stress. These differences between people account for why some people become depressed under severe stress and others don’t. Stress is so powerful that it can actually change the physical body and even alter its chemical balance. People respond to stress, at least in the early stages, by trying to avoid it. This is often why people become alcoholics, rage-a-holics, workaholics and hypochondriacs. Unfortunately, these attempted solutions rarely work and often because of their destructive nature they make things far worse. Depression sets in when people give-up trying to fight the stress. By dealing with the problem head-on and intelligently, most people can learn to tame their demons and discover a truly satisfying and happy life. Anxiety, depression and similar ailments are nothing new. They have been around as long as humankind. This is because stress and depression are a normal part of human nature. It is natural to feel sad or anxious when things go wrong. It can actually be a blessing in disguise. Consider the following analogies: It is essential to survival that our skin can sense heat and let us know to keep our hand, for example, out of fire. The mild discomfort of rapidly warming fingers is a very appropriate and useful warning - “move away, you are too close and you could get burnt and severely damage yourself.” Our feelings of depression and/or anxiety are similar. Depression and anxiety tells us that something is wrong and a significant change is needed. If you are driving down the highway and the temperature gauge announces that the engine is over-heating, what do you do? Does it make sense to reach under the dash board and disconnect the gauge or pull over, see whats wrong with the engine and come up with a plan to fix it? The obvious answer is to fix the overheating problem before the entire engine is ruined. Yet many people will try to solve their anxiety or depression by eliminating the sensors through adapting a dangerous or dysfunctional life style or by relying exclusively on psychiatric medication to solve the problem. A man in his mid twenties came to me for psychotherapy. Both his family doctor and a psychiatrist had diagnosed him as being severely depressed. They started him off on antidepressant medication to eases his discomfort. He was sad, tearful and extremely depressed. He reported that he had no idea why this was happening. He had been married a few years. Recently his wife had given birth to their first child. Immediately afterwards he became depressed.Together we figured out that what was bothering him was his becoming a father. We began to explore the relationship he had with his father and how his own father raised him. He realized that he had patterned and compared himself to his father his entire life. When he paid me at the end of the session, he commented that his signature on his cheque is an exact imitation of the way his father signed. After the first few sessions, when he understood where his depression was coming from and that his feelings were normal and natural, he immediately felt relieved and better. When he went for his follow-up session with his psychiatrist, he presented himself as being so much calmer and confident that the doctor discontinued the medication. The medication took two to four weeks to create an effect and after just one week, with psychotherapy he felt much better. This young man continued to see me for another nine months. His father, who was a successful politician, took on a less idealized form in his mind. The son began to see his father as human, with virtues and faults. Not only was he a successful professional, wealthy and powerful, but he was also an alcoholic who cheated on his wife. As time went on my client developed more and more of his own sense of self. He became his own person and no longer compared himself to his father. This was very liberating for him. When we finally finished our work he was completely free from depression and reported he had never felt better in his entire life. With courage and a willingness to face the issues honestly in one’s life, in most cases debilitating stress and depression can be completely eliminated Abe Kass, M.A., R.S.W., R.M.F.T., is the publisher of Wisdom Scientific self-help educational programs. Abe is also a registered Social Worker, registered Marriage and Family Therapist, certified hypnotherapist and award winning educator. He concluded, after many years of clinical practice and research, that practical solutions requiring a focussed effort of no more than a few minutes a day for very specific personal and relationship problem were critically needed. Wisdom Scientific publishing house has been created to fill this need. For more information on Stress visit Relax and Live Stress Free ProgramFor more information on Depression visit Defeat Depression Program Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Abe_Kass http://EzineArticles.com/?Stress-and-Depression—Is-Medication-the-Best-Solution?&id=306710 credit reporting fraud debt consolidation in nh how do i remove a judgment off my credit report how to repair credit report