by Bayla Maya

Created on: March 02, 2007   Last Updated: April 18, 2007

Learning to Cope with Depression

Depression is a normal emotion felt by everyone throughout different stages of their life. Normal depression is not a disorder but an inability to deal with changes which can lead to the feeling of hopelessness. One cause of this inability to cope is unexpected stressful occurrences within a person's daily life structure. It is not unusual for situations such as the death of a relative or friend, divorce, unemployment, and promotion to cause a feeling of despondency. If the person can't cope with the change from the stressful situation it may snow ball into a severe state of depression. When a victim of depression can no longer manage daily life activities, and can't fight off an extreme feeling of unhappiness then it is time to take action.

Depression can be an extremely harmful disorder if the person does not receive help. It can lead to marital problems, low self worth, learned helplessness, and in extreme cases death by suicide. A depressive state may facilitate the beginning of other disorders. In order to prevent the progression of a depressive state it is important to be a good listener, and guide the person to seek professional care. One should remember by helping a person with severe depression to find the right form of treatment can aid in saving a life.

Case Scenario

Lenny appears to be sitting on top of the world with the grand opening of his new business just weeks away. He has a beautiful home in a prestigious area where he enjoys partaking in raising his children. Even though there is much laughter in his home, Lenny can not escape from the extreme feeling of despair. Lately, on a daily basis he finds getting out of bed and going through life's routine a challenge. Lenny's wife is concerned but, he is unable to talk to her. She urges him to seek out professional help.

The Diagnosis

At the first meeting with Lenny one would start off by using talk therapy to determine if his behavior is characteristic of clinical depression. This would be in hope to conclude if Lenny is really displaying maladaptive dangerous behavior towards societal norms. It may also be possible to surmise if a faulty perception is creating considerable personal distress in his life. Talk therapy is not only limited to evaluating whether a disorder exists.

This form of therapy is also used in hope of establishing a good rapport with the patient. It is important the patient feels relaxed and trusting of their therapist. During this talk session one

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