It seems there is still a stigma attached to depression in this year of two thousand and twelve [2012]. Hard to believe isn’t it? It’s my belief that stigma is used by people who have absolutely no experience of depression. If they had, I don’t think they would be so keen to show disapproval.

In the word’s of Mike Wallace, ‘There’s nothing, repeat, nothing to be ashamed of when you’re going through a depression. If you get help, the chances of your licking it are really good. But, you have to get yourself onto a safe path’.

Mike Wallace was an American journalist and was an original correspondent on the tv programme 60 minutes.

The key words there are ‘going through’. Because that’s what you do in depression. You pass through it. When a person doesn’t that’s when it becomes a fully fledged Mental Health problem.

This is what Amy Winehouse had to say: ‘Since I was 16, I’ve felt a black cloud hangs over me. Since then, I have taken pills for depression’.

That’s long term and what made it worse for Amy was that she never wanted treatment for bi-polar disorder. Which of course is her choice and her decision. Nobody has the right to judge.

But there are degrees to depression also different types of depression. The type of depression suffered by Amy Winehouse and many others is not what I’m dealing with here. That is a mental health problem and requires specialist treatment.

So we’ve read in a earlier blog that one type of depression is part of the five stages of grief. So any loss will always involve depression.

Another type of depression has anger at its roots. A lot of people don’t have ‘safe’ outlets for their anger. They have no way of venting which is private and which they can trust will be kept safe.  So anger which has no outlet will present as depression.

I think in particular of those of us who are in jobs where they feel they have no control and get treated disrespectfully – intimidated, bullied and made to feel worthless. Despite many changes to the law and overhauls of company ‘Policy and Procedures’.

This behavior still goes on.

Whenever we get into these situations we feel ‘helpless’ which breeds depression. Unfortunately, there are many thousands of people who get stuck into exactly this type of rut. Feeling helpless. Feeling hopeless. Another term for this is ‘stress’. Depression is a part of stress. I hesitate to get into the area of stress as it’s in some ways it only makes the subject larger when I want to focus specifically on depression itself.

But it is depression caused by buried anger that is my focus. And the trouble with this anger is it spills out like a leaking tap.

Drip, drip, drip.

It’s easy to spot too. You only have to look at the way people drive their cars on the road. They way people treat each other in a busy shopping mall. You can feel the tension build. You can feel the inner anger struggling to be contained, just under the surface. It’s no wonder some people go on a shooting spree out of the blue. How long did they struggle to keep it all in. [By the way that’s not condoning it – just trying to make sense of it].

It’s no wonder couples fight and argue endlessly. Each trapped in what they see is a downward spiral with no way out and no light at the end of it.

How parents struggle with children who no longer listen to them, who no longer feel they need the boundaries parents give. Leaving parents helpless and hopelessly alone to pick-up the pieces after being cast-off by kids who don’t care.

Do people really want to stigmatize this?

Do they really want to make ‘little’ of this.

I’ve painted a gloomy- but never-the-less true picture of what chaos buried anger, left unchecked, can cause. Yet it’s not without hope. There are things to do to help us through.  As a person who suffers from depression we need to take control. I have learned a painful lesson in life: I don’t have any control over what life chooses to unload on me.

The only control I have is what I’m going to do about it.

How am I going to handle this?

This is where we have control.

And it’s important to get that feeling of control back as soon as you can.  It is empowering. And you need to experience that.

I once saw a cyclone when I lived in a semi-tropical area in South Africa, as it was a high water-table area, the cyclone caused massive flooding and being on the coast the salt water caused major damage to agricultural land. The full extent was only revealed when it was all over. But a huge area looked like as if a giant had stormed about having a massive ‘temper tantrum’ and in his rage tore down bridges. Throwing around huge concrete bridges as if they were small toys, leaving towns and rural communities cut-off and isolated.  Trees uprooted whole roads disappeared complete with the cars parked on them. Acres of sugar cane were destroyed by salt water. It caused untold damage. It’s something I shall never forget. Nature at her worst:

Take a look at Cyclone Domoina

That’s an example of an outer event which I hope reflects to a degree inner chaos caused by repressed anger and depression.

But what to do? Top of the list is:

  • Get active
  • Get creative
  • Eat proper food  [you may want to take a look at this website for more information at:  www.stress.org.uk]
  • Drink in moderation – remember having one problem is enough – although the temptation to blot it all out is hard to resist.
  • Don’t rely on pills to get you through
  • Get medical help if you need help with specific problems, e.g. insomnia.

Something you can do easily yet can bring instant satisfaction is to:-

Get creative.

It won’t cost a fortune to begin. Creativity is as personal to you as you can make it. For some people it’s writing. For others it’s painting. While others it’s baking. Whatever takes your fancy. Give it a go.  Now is the time to begin. Something perhaps you used to do years ago. Something totally new. Maybe you’ve a little money put aside and you could sport yourself a course in something you’d like to know about or learn how to do.

Maybe its photography. Maybe its wild life. Whatever ‘floats your boat’ get going with it. Find yourself a ‘safe path’ and get on it!

Enjoy – Stay Safe and good luck!