When Sadness Turns Into Depression
Sadness is one of the fundamental emotions that every human being feels. It is defined as being in a state of unhappiness or sorrow. American culture has an aversion to sadness. It has gone so far as to stigmatize sadness, and claim that it is possible to live a life of only happiness and joy. How often do we hear from people, “Don’t be upset, everything will be OK”? These words may be said in order to support or soothe the person who is distraught. But the unintended consequence is that it invalidates the sadness that is being felt.
Sadness and happiness are counter balancing emotions. Each emotion cannot exist without the other. When sadness is hindered from being expressed and felt, it will also hinder one’s ability to feel happiness. Even worse, if a person hides their sadness behind a façade of happiness, they become disconnected from both emotions. They lose touch with the subtleties of each emotion and can feel confused or detached by them.
When sadness is allowed to be felt and expressed properly, the emotion is short lived. Take the example of a young child. Young children are bundles of raw emotions. They are only beginning to learn how to express and control their emotions. If they get upset because a toy of theirs gets lost or broken, they will cry and feel sad until the emotion has run its course. The sadness may be intense, but it ends quite quickly in many cases.
Adults, on the other hand, have learned from their families, peer group & culture varying ways of expressing or suppressing their emotions. Some people are taught that it is ok to be outwardly sad and to express that sadness through tears. Others are taught that expressing their sadness is inappropriate or even dangerous for them to do. They learn to suppress the emotion. To ignore it. To pretend that they are fine or happy. If this is done for to long, if one’s sadness is not allowed to be felt and expressed, it can evolve into depression.
What is Depression?
Depression, also known as major depressive disorder or clinical depression, is a common and serious mood disorder. People with depression experience persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness and they lose interest in activities that they once enjoyed. Physical symptoms such as chronic pain or digestive issues may also coincide with the emotional distress.
Symptoms of Depression
Depressive Symptoms (You must have 5 or more symptoms in the same two-week period):
· Depressed mood – most of the day: feeling, sad, empty, hopeless and/or irritable
· Loss of interest/pleasure – notable decrease in interest of most or all activities
· Notable unintended weight loss or gain
· Lack of sleep (insomnia) or excessive sleeping (hypersomnia) – nearly every day
· Reduction in physical movement (slow talking, slow movement) or excessive movement (pacing, tapping, rapid tapping)
· Fatigue – nearly every day
· Feeling worthless or having excessive guilt – nearly every day
· Decreased concentration - nearly every day
· Thoughts of death/suicide – recurrent thoughts of death or committing suicide, attempting suicide or having a specific plan for suicide
Additional Criteria (Must have all four):
1. Symptoms cause significant distress or impair social and work areas
2. Not associated with the effects of a drug or another medical condition
3. Not better explained by schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder
4. No history of manic episodes
Prevalence of Depression
Based on 2019 data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAHSA):
Adults
· An estimated 19.4 million adults have had at least one major depressive episode in their lifetime (7.8% of all U.S. adults)
· Depression is higher among adult women (9.6%) compared to men (6.0%)
· Depression was most common in adults aged 18-25 (15.2%)
· Adults of two or more races had the highest incident of depression (13.7%)
Adolescents
· An estimated 3.8 million adolescents aged 12-17 have had at least one major depressive episode (15.7% of all U.S. adolescents)
· Depression is higher among girls (23.0%) compared to boys (8.8%)
· Depression was most common in adolescents aged 16-17 (20.1%)
· Adolescents of two or more races had the highest incident of depression (20.9%)
Treating Depression
Antidepressants:
Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are a common antidepressant prescribed to treat depression. SSRIs can take up to 30 days to take affect and require guidance from a psychiatrist or primary care doctor for use.
NOTE – Always follow the guidance of your prescribing doctor before making changes of ending your use of an SSRI. Sudden changes to the dosage of an SSRI can lead to significant side effects including severe depression and suicide.
Emotional Freedom Technique:
EFT, also known as tapping, can be an effective way of treating depression. EFT involves tapping on acupressure points on your own body in order to calm the amygdala, the fear center of the brain. The tapping allows for the Chi (emotional energy) to move more freely and bring a sense of relief and calm to the mind and body.
Tapping can be used during the depressive symptoms that one is experiencing to help reduce its intensity in the moment and bring relief. EFT can be used with an experienced mental health practitioner to alleviate the source of the depression, thus preventing any discomfort from being experienced at all. It is very common that the contributing cause of the depressive symptoms comes from unresolved emotions and trauma that an individual is carrying with them.
Ending the cycle of Depression
You do not have to live in a state of depression for the rest of your life. The distress and discomfort that you have been experiencing can end once and for all. You can let go of the pain that is causing your depressive symptoms.
If that sounds like a life that you want to live. A life without feeling depressed for days or weeks on end, then feel free to take advantage of the free tapping session that I offer to see if EFT and I are a good fit for you.