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This is a depressed brain:  Image courtesy of Mayo Foundation. Image can be found online here. This is an emotionally well brain:  Image courtesy of Mayo Foundation. Image can be found online here. What does that mean? Most simply, the front part of the brain (the top in the picture) is not functioning optimally. The front part of the brain helps with learning, judgment, reasoning, memory, abstract thinking, interests, motivation. and more. A depressed brain literally is just that. Its function has been depressed, limited, shut down. People who are depressed are limited or shut down. They no longer are interested in doing the things they usually do. They no longer find pleasure in doing the things they normally do. They have irrational thoughts about themselves, others, or situations. Their judgment becomes poor. They isolate themselves because of their irrational thinking and poor judgment. For some, getting out of bed may become incredibly difficult or even impossible, and choosing death over life not only seems like their best option for feeling better, but also their only option. There’s a physiological reason for depression. Emotionally well people, and even depressed people, sometimes have difficulty understanding depression. They might see a depressed person as lazy, selfish, or undisciplined. They might write off depressed moods in adolescents as "typical teenage behavior." Everyone becomes emotionally unwell at times, just like everyone gets a cold at times. Sometimes colds are short-lived, and all we need is rest and fluids to feel better -- similar to some emotionally unwell times. Sometimes, though, a cold actually is more than a cold -- it's a sinus infection or strep or the flu -- and we need medical intervention to heal, similar to moderate to severe emotionally unwell times. As you can see in the images above, the brain is not working properly. It's altered, it’s not well, and it needs therapy to get better. Therapy? Like a shrink? Therapy is defined as treatment for healing a medical or psychological condition. So, getting therapy for depression could mean seeing a psychiatrist, psychologist, or mental health counselor or social worker (all of whom specialize in treating mental health conditions), or it could mean seeing your primary care provider (a physician or nurse practitioner), or it could mean receiving alternative treatments such as reiki, acupuncture, aromatherapy, yoga, or hypnosis. Psychiatrists, physicians, and nurse practitioners can prescribe medication to help with symptoms of depression. Psychiatrists, psychologists, and mental health counselors and social workers can provide non-medicinal psychotherapy to help with symptoms of depression. Pills or People? Medication can be very helpful for some people with depression, some saying it's life-changing for them. Psychotherapy and alternative therapies also can be very helpful for some people with depression. There's no one right answer; however, the thought that a "happy pill" is the cure-all for a mental health condition is misleading. Clinical research for decades has shown a combination of both medication and psychotherapy has the best outcomes. Remember, a depressed brain is altered, and, oftentimes, needs more than medicine to make the changes needed to alleviate depression. While the chemicals added to the brain with an anti-depressant certainly can help to lift a person's spirits, they cannot help change habitual negative thinking tied with depression that usually only can be changed with the help of psychotherapy or disciplined self-guided treatments. It Can Get Better, Really. When you're waist-deep in depression, you feel absolutely stuck, and, frankly, you are. Your brain is being held hostage by the illness. Life seems bleak, blah, unbearable even. But, there was a time you didn't feel that way, and you can get there again. Reach out to a friend, family member, doctor, self-help site. If you're already down, the only place you can go is up.
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