Depression

"Depression" pretty much sucks.

Don't get me wrong here: "depression" is NOT "sadness". Sadness is okay - in fact, sadness is actually a good thing. Sadness is simply the opposite emotion to joy. Without the contrast of sadness, there would be no joy.

Depression, on the other hand, is a plunge down a steep embankment. It is a condition that leaves one unequipped to experience joy. The job of climbing back up the hill is a difficult one.

Anti-depressant drugs, such as Prozac and Zoloft (this latter I have had direct experience with) are a modern pharmaceutical miracle. The effect they have is to drastically reduce the range of emotions that one is capable of experiencing. Mostly, the bottom end is cut off (the "sad" end), but there is also a distinct, if lesser, reduction on the "happy" end. It's very much like the emotional equivalent of an audio compression device; the peaks and the valleys are removed.

Anti-depressants are physically effective and appropriate for allowing one to manage emotions that have wandered outside "normal" human ranges. These acute emotions tend to prohibit one from experiencing "real" life, as one is too busy experiencing a very scary "unreal" life. This is not to say that the "unreal" life that is being experienced isn't actually happening. Quite the opposite; "bad stuff" happens. It's more a question of how someone deals with bad stuff.

To ELIMINATE depression (rather than merely control its symptoms), it is necessary to actually learn to understand the role of emotions in one's life and to learn new ways to deal with them. This is not so easy; we have all spent a lifetime learning the old ways that have become "second nature" to us.

To accomplish this, it is best to have a teacher. While there are thousands of self-help books available, no one is capable of objectively evaluating their own emotions and responses, let alone describing a path toward modifying these to be more effective in dealing with life.

By "teacher", of course, I mean "therapist". Therapists have studied for years specifically this type of thing. Good therapists have a genuine human concern beyond simple understanding. It may be difficult to appreciate the role of a good therapist without actually experiencing some "sessions". Beyond getting a person through an emotional crisis, a good therapist can also help someone understand how to enjoy not just "life", but the person's own particular life.