We Don't Always Know the Cause of Our Blues
Who among us has not been blue at some time? Sadness comes in many forms and for many reasons. It may be short-lived, but many people experience ongoing sadness. Sometimes we are all too aware of the cause, but often its origin is obscure.
Depression is a Reaction to a Loss
Some losses are major, such as the death or departure of a loved one, a move, being demoted or laid off, or the loss of good health. Other losses are small but incremental. Frequent criticisms or failure to live up to your expectations can deprive you of your self-esteem. Failure to find a partner or disappointment in one may make every day feel dreary.
Unresolved Needs from the Past Create Ongoing Depression
Often we don't know the cause of our depression and therefore don't know how to end it. And sometimes we may feel depressed in response to a trigger that we don't recognize because it is related to past events that we don't remember or don't realize the significance of.
Examples
A chronically depressed woman was raised by a mother who viewed her as bad and who blamed her for everything that went wrong. As a child, not knowing any better, she believed her mother's view of her. She felt continually sad because she was deprived of her mother's love; and assuming that she, herself, was faulty, she criticized herself constantly and suffered from low self-esteem. She was so accustomed to thinking this way that she didn't realize it was abnormal.
A very young boy whose father was in the Army felt abandoned and sad each time his father went overseas. During the boy's later childhood his father was stationed at home and the boy didn't remember how sad he had felt in his early years. When he left home for college, he became depressed but didn't know why.
What Can You Do About Feeling Blue?
If you are "clinically depressed," with lack of motivation or interest in things, changes in appetite or sleep, weight loss, slowed speech or movement, difficulty functioning, or thoughts of suicide, you should seek help promptly from a mental health professional. You can learn more about clinical depression at http://www.nimh.nih.gov. And you can also use my complimentary Tool, as described below.
If you are not clinically depressed but just have the blues, use of my complimentary Tool can help. It will provide periods of peacefulness and calm; and if, while using it, you wish to feel free of depression, over time you will become so.
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