Out of the Blue: Six Non-Medication Ways to Relieve Depression (Norton Professional Books) by Bill O'Hanlon Page A
Authors: Bill O'Hanlon
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getting them to ruminate about (think deeply about and mentally go over and over) problems they face. In one study, happy or secure participants showed shorter decision times and imitated others’ behavior, whereas sad or insecure participants exhibited more systematic and rational behavior (Andrews & Thomson, 2009).
3. There is some evidence that being depressed helps people focus their attention and reduces distractibility (Andrews et al., 2007; Yost & Weary, 1996).
4. Depression may help people connect better with others or help to create social cohesion. This is because, when we’re depressed, others often have to care for us. If we were raised to think of ourselves as strong and independent, depression may force us to be vulnerable and ask for help or rely on others. Also, people in a depressed person’s social network—family, friends, colleagues, members of her religious community—may develop more empathy toward her (Hertel, Neuhof, Theuer, & Kerr, 2000).
Now some of these ideas may seem like a stretch to you, and indeed they seem so to me, but I’ve been curious about why so many of us have suffered from depression and would still like an answer, and as far as I can tell evolutionary psychologists are the only ones examining this area. These arguments are summarized in the book How Sadness Survived: The Evolutionary Basis of Depression by evolutionary psychologist Paul Keedwell (2008).
What I appreciate about these ideas is that they get me to think about depression in a different way and to develop more appreciation for the possible value of depression. If seeing depression as unremittingly unhelpful hasn’t helped, perhaps instigating a shift in your client’s relationship to depression to one of curiosity about its potential value may provide a little foothold to help her get some relief.
Or perhaps not. If you find that these ideas upset you or your client, just ignore them and move on to another section.
FOLLOW YOUR WOUND
More compelling to me is my own experience of the value of depression. My depression (and working through it) ultimately gave me a sense of meaning and purpose and a life direction.
Years ago, Bill Moyers interviewed the world mythology expert Joseph Campbell. He asked Campbell, “If a student asked you for advice on what to do with his or her life, what would you advise?” Campbell answered, “Follow your bliss. If you do that, you can’t go wrong.”
Soon many people who had heard this bit of advice from Campbell were justifying all sorts of indulgences by claiming they were following their bliss. Campbell became frustrated at this misunderstanding of what he’d said. He had meant that if one follows one’s deepest soul longings, one will find one’s life path and direction. He said, “Perhaps I should have said, ‘Follow your blisters’ instead.”
I appreciated the revised version, since that’s what I had done. I had followed my wound rather than just my bliss and found my work, my life, and my life’s mission.
Helen Keller said, “I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work and my God.” Through my “handicaps,” I was both sensitized to the suffering of others and fascinated by the human psyche and emotions. This led me to become a psychotherapist.
Depression can spur someone toward a new life direction. The wound of depression can be the place from which the light enters the wounded person.
After I became a therapist, I was abashed to discover that not all of my fellow therapists were as optimistic as I was about the possibilities for change in their most challenging and stuck clients. Psychotherapy theories often dwell on what’s wrong with people, and all too often psychotherapists spend much time, energy, and attention on diagnosis and finding an explanation for the problem rather than on solving it. I found myself becoming frustrated and even angry at this state of affairs and resolved to change it by hook or by
3. There is some evidence that being depressed helps people focus their attention and reduces distractibility (Andrews et al., 2007; Yost & Weary, 1996).
4. Depression may help people connect better with others or help to create social cohesion. This is because, when we’re depressed, others often have to care for us. If we were raised to think of ourselves as strong and independent, depression may force us to be vulnerable and ask for help or rely on others. Also, people in a depressed person’s social network—family, friends, colleagues, members of her religious community—may develop more empathy toward her (Hertel, Neuhof, Theuer, & Kerr, 2000).
Now some of these ideas may seem like a stretch to you, and indeed they seem so to me, but I’ve been curious about why so many of us have suffered from depression and would still like an answer, and as far as I can tell evolutionary psychologists are the only ones examining this area. These arguments are summarized in the book How Sadness Survived: The Evolutionary Basis of Depression by evolutionary psychologist Paul Keedwell (2008).
What I appreciate about these ideas is that they get me to think about depression in a different way and to develop more appreciation for the possible value of depression. If seeing depression as unremittingly unhelpful hasn’t helped, perhaps instigating a shift in your client’s relationship to depression to one of curiosity about its potential value may provide a little foothold to help her get some relief.
Or perhaps not. If you find that these ideas upset you or your client, just ignore them and move on to another section.
FOLLOW YOUR WOUND
More compelling to me is my own experience of the value of depression. My depression (and working through it) ultimately gave me a sense of meaning and purpose and a life direction.
Years ago, Bill Moyers interviewed the world mythology expert Joseph Campbell. He asked Campbell, “If a student asked you for advice on what to do with his or her life, what would you advise?” Campbell answered, “Follow your bliss. If you do that, you can’t go wrong.”
Soon many people who had heard this bit of advice from Campbell were justifying all sorts of indulgences by claiming they were following their bliss. Campbell became frustrated at this misunderstanding of what he’d said. He had meant that if one follows one’s deepest soul longings, one will find one’s life path and direction. He said, “Perhaps I should have said, ‘Follow your blisters’ instead.”
I appreciated the revised version, since that’s what I had done. I had followed my wound rather than just my bliss and found my work, my life, and my life’s mission.
Helen Keller said, “I thank God for my handicaps, for through them I have found myself, my work and my God.” Through my “handicaps,” I was both sensitized to the suffering of others and fascinated by the human psyche and emotions. This led me to become a psychotherapist.
Depression can spur someone toward a new life direction. The wound of depression can be the place from which the light enters the wounded person.
After I became a therapist, I was abashed to discover that not all of my fellow therapists were as optimistic as I was about the possibilities for change in their most challenging and stuck clients. Psychotherapy theories often dwell on what’s wrong with people, and all too often psychotherapists spend much time, energy, and attention on diagnosis and finding an explanation for the problem rather than on solving it. I found myself becoming frustrated and even angry at this state of affairs and resolved to change it by hook or by
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