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Hello and Welcome To My Blog! My name is Lauren Cartwright, MS, LCPC. I am a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor in the state of Illinois. My primary work over the past 20-plus years has been with clients diagnosed with Serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse. I am currently in private practice working with clients with such issues as anxiety, depression, grief/bereavement and or relationship issues. Please view my profile and schedule a free 15-minute consultation to discuss the issues we can address in therapy.
This blog is dedicated to mental health concepts. Every few weeks, I will take a mental health term or concept that corresponds with the letter of the alphabet. I will give my thoughts and insight on that concept in hopes that it can be something helpful and inspiring to you. The last post was “C” day, so today is “D” day! The concept today I will be discussing is.. depression.
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by feeling of sadness and anhedonia (loss of interest.) Think hedonism-pursuit of pleasure. Anhedonia-avoidance of pleasure. There is a lot of stigma attached to admitting we are depressed or are struggling with depression. But there is a difference between depression and feeling depressed. “What is the difference, smarty?” Well, I’m glad you asked, I’ll tell you!
Feeling depressed is a normal human reaction. We can feel depression due to the loss of a loved one, the loss of a relationship, our child may go away to college and we feel depressed. There is an endless list of life occurences that can lend to our depression. Sometimes it seems to come from nowhere. It can even be related to the change in seasons. That is normal. Mental health and mental illness are on a contiuum. On a spectrum. Think about drawing a line. Mental Health is the heading under the furthest left point on the line. Mental illness is on the furthest right. There is a lot of space in between. That means there are levels. When does “being depressed” turn into “depression?” When it has a serious impact on our lives, to the point we can no longer function in our lives. It usually affects several areas of our lives. I will give an example.
Let’s say you are depressed because your child went away to college. You feel sad, but you are able to get up and do all the things you need to do. The sadness does not consume your life. It is a part of your life. But you are still living it. In that same scenario, let’s say you feel sad most time of the day, you cannot sleep. You cannot eat. You spend all day crying. You are not showing up to work. You are not showering. You are not cleaning up your living space. You are not communicating with friends and family, like you normally do. You no longer do things that you enjoy doing, or if you do them, they are no longer enjoyable to you. Your bills are behind. And this has been occuring for 3-6 months. This is the point where you might need to seek professional help because you may have depression. But you need to reach out for help.
Either way, it is nothing to beat yourself up about, to berate yourself or feel ashamed about. It just means that life has happened to you (as it does to all of us) and you might need some help (as all of us do). If you haven’t already, I encourage you to read “day C”, which is compassion for yourself. This is when we have to love ourselves in the same way we love our family and friends. We have to assess whether the depression is part of my life, or is depression my life? Are you just sad or are stuck in a rut and can’t get out? Sometimes (a lot of times) we are unable to see it ourselves and need the input of people we trust.
We must show grace to ourselves in whatever phase of life we are in. If we are feeling depressed or struggling with depression, we have to honor and love ourselves. Our mental health is not something to be ignored. It does not just go away. We have to prioritize it the same way were prioritize or physical health. When we are in physical pain, we run to the doctor. But what do you do when you are in emotional or psychological pain? Your mental health is a priority. YOU are a priority. Do not ignore what you know you need to do.
Do you feel you are struggling with depression? Do you need help getting out a rut? You can always see a therapist if you need help in areas in your life you face difficulty with. Please visit my profile on helloalma.com and schedule a free 15-minute consultation if you want to discuss any of the issues listed in my profile. Please take care and have a blessed day! See you in a few weeks!
