Depression
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) the rise in the rate of depression around the world is a leading cause of human suffering and disability (WHO 2001). There are many research studies into depression because it is a growing problem. According to an estimation by WHO, depression will be second only to heart disease as the leading cause of illness or death.
Each person afflicted with depression directly affects others and the costs, emotional, physical, financial and social are enormous. Marriages, relationships and families suffer, businesses are affected as depressed employees cease to function properly, society has to fund greater health care costs, and we have a society tragically affected by suicides that result from apathy and despair.
A clinical diagnosis of depression follows an assessment by a doctor who considers nine specific symptoms (I have a list of these for my clients) and there is a specified criteria for the diagnosis of depression to be made. They may then prescribe antidepressants and/or a referral to a counsellor
Some people may fall short of the prescribed criteria for a diagnosis of depression, but their low mood is distressing. They use the term ‘depression’ loosely and it has different meanings as it covers varying degrees of emotions such as ‘I feel fed up’, ‘I feel low, can’t sleep and not able to get up in the morning,’ ‘ I am waking early and feeling very tired and crying a lot and feeling hopeless’. If people are feeling like this it is important to nip it in the bud.
There are lots of myths and self limiting beliefs about depression. I know people who believe that they have a biological illness that they are stuck with and that and there is nothing that can help. They believe that medication is the only way to get them through. Consequently, they have been on drugs for years and go around in a numb and stupefied state. Their lives have become defined - and ruined – by their depression and their reliance on drugs.
Often, depressed people are pessimistic expecting little of themselves or other people. They miss out on experiencing life to the full. They are convinced that there is nothing that could help and therefore think there is no point in seeking help.
What we know about treating depression:
- It is well researched that drugs alone are not the best way to treat depression
- Drugs and psychotherapy are effectively combined
- Psychotherapy without drugs is effective.
About psychotherapy. Studies have shown that:
- Three psychotherapies have empirical support: cognitive, behavioural and interpersonal
- Psychotherapy should be an active process between clinician and client
- Psychotherapy should not just focus on the problem solving
- The most effective therapies do not trawl over the past. Some therapies go over and over the past to the extent that the person gets worse, not better.
Hypnosis complies with each of these applications as it is an active and direct means of communication.
The Human Givens Approach explains how to lift depression, why people feel like they do, what antidepressants do and much more. It also explains why some common forms of counselling and psychotherapy often make depression worse.
You do not have to limit your life to a state of numbness and miss out on living a fulfilling life. I can help you using both hypnosis and the Human Givens approach to bring control and meaning back into your life.