Personal Belief on Depression and Counseling - Research Paper Example

?Introduction Depression is one of the leading mental health disorders affecting over 121 million people globally (WHO . The disorder exhibits unique clinical, physical and behavioral symptoms in different individuals, which mental health specialists apply to treat and manage the condition. Depression is a curable disorder that is easily diagnosed in primary care setting (WHO, 2011). However, diverse individuals, and communities have different understanding of depression leading to misconceptions about the disorder. These misconceptions are founded on lack of knowledge, myths, beliefs and other factors that impede diagnosis, treatment and management of people suffering from the condition. This paper is a self-exploration of my beliefs about depression and counseling. Personal beliefs on depression and counseling In my opinion, depression is a condition that adversely affects the physical and mental functioning of an individual. The disorder initially affects the mind, which results to an interference of our thinking and emotional patterns. The distorted thinking affects coordination of the mental and physical attributes of a person, leading to a reduced sense of self-esteem that eventually leads to a relapse into self-destruction habits, self-pity and in some cases suicidal thoughts. This implies that a depressed person thinking and attitude in life is pessimistic, hopeless and despondent. This is reflected in person behavior whereby the affected individual loses interest in self and other socially acceptable activities and habits he or she previously enjoyed. Physically the depressed person loses energy and enthusiasm to undertake demanding chores, such as going to work, school, cleaning and maintaining personal hygiene among other activities. These normal physical activities could be replaced by poor physical hygiene, disrupted sleeping habits, excessive drug abuse and addiction. Emotionally, a depressed person becomes obsessed with particular negative thoughts that limit his or her ability to perceive emotionally stimulating activities. Therefore, a depressed person experiences mood swings characterized by long durations of persistent low spirits and feelings. These could lead to behaviors such as social and emotional withdrawal from friends and loved ones in addition to occasional emotional outbursts (Repper and Perkins 2003, p 51). The symptoms are manifested by changes in the behavior of the affected individual. In essence, depression could be identified early by observing and noting the changes in behavior of the affected person and comparing it with his or her previous disposition. This implies that depression is a condition that develops gradually if proper attention is not given to an individual and it worsens with time. The gradual progression of depression in my opinion demonstrates that it is not genetic but an acquired disorder that results from our interaction with people and the environment around us. In my opinion, depression is caused by our failure to adjust to the prevailing changes and events in our lives. The life of a normal human being is made worthwhile or meaningful by the emotional support from other people, the ability to meet a person’s own needs and a favorable physical environment. Friends and close family members in a respectful interaction mutually provide emotional or social support to a person. People value these relationships and do not wish to jeopardize or entertain any kind of disruption. Some of these relationships include marriage and close relationships in family, work place and with friends. However, changes such as divorce, separation and death of a loved one sometimes occur leaving the other person emotionally distraught (Williams, 1992). In a normal person, the resulting change after loss of a valuable relationship causes a myriad of reactions including anger, guilt, hopelessness, despair and self-reproach among other feelings. These emotions could interfere with our daily activities for a short time but their effects diminish gradually. However, prolonged effects of the emotions undermine emotional functioning of an individual causing depression. Failure to meet necessities in my opinion is another probable cause of depression. The current economic situation characterized by high unemployment and job losses has created a high level of uncertainty to both employed and unemployed persons Losing a job is one of the most traumatic experiences that can happen to an individual because it lowers income and it disrupts social relations especially in working places(Bental, 2003). Besides the income generated from employment, a job enhances a persons esteem and status in the society. Therefore, job loss does not only lead to reduced income but a perceived loss of social status as well. The current capitalist society that associates economic success to wellbeing exerts enormous pressure on individuals to excel in every undertaking. The motivation to succeed at all cost makes people oblivious to the fact that failure is part of life. Therefore, when failure occurs, most people translate it as a condemnation to poverty or happiness in life. This leads to depression as person fails to adjust to the change and make the best out of the disappointment. Other possible causes of depression in my opinion include changes in physical environment for example transferring children from one school to another, poor weather, being transferred from one station of work to unfamiliar areas and other events that disrupts social - emotional support of an individual (Gabbard, 2000).. Any drastic change that disrupts the availability of these needs causes mental stress to every individual. If the resulting mental distress persists for longer period, depression occurs. Therefore, in my opinion, depression is an aggravated stress that arises from traumatic changes in life. People react and adjust differently to these changes and hence depression is a prolonged maladjustment to them. The difference in reaction and adjustment is determined by the personality of an individual (Rogers, 2005). In this case, some people will take a longer time to adjust and move on with their lives after a traumatic change in their lives than others. From this perspective, depression from my opinion is not a condition that occurs from biological causes but from an individual’s interaction with the environment. This implies that a person has control and can manage how he or she reacts to a traumatic experience. Therefore, to manage depression, providing social support to the affected person by addressing the underlying causes through counseling is the most effective way of managing the condition in my opinion. Counseling provides patients suffering from the disorder with a forum that enables them to talk about their problems without fear of being judged or condemned. Counseling in my opinion seeks to establish the psychological and environmental causes of depression in a patient and formulating an appropriate counseling technique to promote recovery. The counselor engages the patient in a confidential and trusting conversation, which provides a favorable environment for the depressed patient to open up. Greist and Jefferson (1992, p 73) define depression as a mental illness characterized by loss of interests or pleasure in activities that are enjoyable to other people and persistent feelings of low self-esteem and guilt that makes the affected person to have troubled sleeping and eating habits. In addition, depressed person normally exhibit low levels of energy and reduced concentration in their daily activities. In many cases, these problems become more intense and eventually could lead to chronic impairment on a person ability to undertake daily responsibilities. In severe cases, patients who are critically depressed have a higher tendency of committing suicide (Greist and Jefferson 1992). The exact causes of depression are controversial and many theories have been put forward to explain the condition. The medical perspective of depression considers the disorder as an ailment caused by imbalance of neurotransmitters in the brain as result of biological factors such as hormonal imbalance. Therefore, the biological perspective of depression holds that the ailment can be treated by prescription of drugs to rectify the chemical anomaly in the body. Five models have been put forward by Gilbert (2000) to explain the causes of depression. They include psychological models, cognitive, behavioral, social and spiritual models. Psychological model constitutes of several theories, including psychodynamic theory. However, all of these theories assert that depression is caused by emotional or psychological problems rather than biological factors (Gabbard, 2000). Some of theories in the psychological model include psychodynamic theories. The psychological model also attributes childhood and other formative experiences to playing a crucial role in triggering depression (Gabbard, 2000). This explains why people react differently from a similar traumatic experience after encountering a similar traumatic experience. For example, after being laid off, one person can start a business and move on while another might become depressed due to different perceptions in self-image. Cognitive model constitutes of theories that view depression from the perspective a person’s thinking in relation to the life events (Norman and Ryrie 2004). In this case, the model holds that persistent negative thinking eventually reinforces a distorted view causing depression in people. According to Rogers (2005), the depressed people become obsessed with negative thoughts that cannot be rectified by other life events and consequently they are excessively pessimistic, viewing life from a negative dimension. The negative thinking process could originate from unhappy or dysfunctional family background. When such people encounter a traumatic experience in life, sliding into depression is very likely. The behavioral model holds that depression is caused by lack of positive rewards. This implies that depression and positive environment are related. Behaviorists argue that once a person become depressed, they lose appeal to other people and hence they do not receive positive rewards leading to more intense depression. Therefore depression is a learned behavior that can also be unlearned by providing relevant inducement. The model attributes depression to environmental stressors and the inability of a person to cope with the stresses. Therefore, according to behavioral theories, people suffering from depression do not know how to cope with lack of rewards that they had been receiving before a particular event (Grove, et al 2005, pp 153-55). Social models view depression from the perspective of multiple negative life occurrences. Rogers(2005) argues that depressed people often report more negative life experiences than people not suffering from the condition. Some of the negative life experiences that could cause depression in relation to this model include important social exit events such as demise of a loved one, divorces and breaking up of romantic relationships. However, Rogers (2005) noted that not every person that experiences these events suffer from depression. Therefore rather than being the cause depression, negative experiences enhances development of the disorder. Religious counselors have also examined spiritual model as probable cause of depression. This model holds that depression could occur from spiritual crisis in an individual (Repper and Perkins 2003, p159). This approach is mainly prevalent in religious organizations where lack of meaning and despair in life is considered to imply deficiency of spiritual meaning in the affected person (Repper and Perkins, 2003). There are many theories that explain the causes of depression and this makes it impossible to pinpoint with certainty the actual factors. However, it is apparent that the causes are distinct, depending on an individual person and personal experiences. According to Gilbert (2000), the individual ‘s biological and psychological make up in addition to life events are the most critical factors that determine development of depression in an individual. Hence, depression is caused by multiple factors and is treated using many approaches including counseling. Doctors prescribe antidepressant drugs to treat depression caused by chemical imbalance in the neurotransmitters and hormonal changes that causes the disorder. Structured counseling sessions are effective methods of treating the disorder. They include counseling sessions such as cognitive behavioral therapy. According to Williams (1992), cognitive explanation of depression emphasizes on the individuals negative beliefs and irrational perception and interpretation of events. Recent research studies on effectiveness of cognitive behavioral therapy indicate that the method has higher effectiveness that use of drugs. However, Rogers (2005) argues that in counseling sessions, the relationship between the patient and the counselor plays a major role in determining the recovery of the depressive patient. Other counseling technique applied in treatment of depression includes gestalt, person centered and psychodynamic counseling. Conclusion My personal beliefs on depression are inclined on the psychological, cognitive, behavioral and social models. This implies that my understanding of the disorder is grounded on the conviction that environmental factors and life experiences are the major causes of depression. However, biological factors such as imbalance of neurotransmitters and hormones also contribute significantly to the development of depression. Due to the strong contribution of psychological factors and personal experiences to development of depression, it is important to emphasize on counseling in the treatment of patients. Counseling empowers the affected persons with the ability to cope with traumatic experiences in life. References Bental, R.(2003). Madness explained: Psychosis and human nature. London: Penguin Books. Gabbard, G. (2000). Psychodynamic psychiatry in clinical practice. Washington, D.C. American Psychiatric Press, Inc. Gilbert, P.(2000) . Counseling for depression: Counseling in practice. 2nd ed. New York: Sage Publication. Greist, J., and Jefferson, J. (1992). Depression and its treatment. 2nd ed. New York: American Psychiatric Publication. Grove, B., et al.(2005). New thinking about mental health and employment. Oxford: Radcliffe Publishing. Norman, I., and Ryrie, I. (eds). (2004). The art and science of mental health nursing. Buckingham: Open University Press. Repper, J., and Perkins, R. (2003).Social inclusion and recovery: A model for mental health practice. Edinburgh: Balliere Tindal. Rogers, P.(2005). Sociology of mental health and illness. Maidenhead: Open University Press. WHO.(2011). Mental Health: Depression. Retrieved on October, 5 2011 from http://www.who.int/mental_health/management/depression/definition/en/index.html Williams, G. M.(1992). The psychological treatment of depression: A guide to the theory and practice of cognitive behavior therapy. New York: Routledge. Read More