Life’s Good - Depressed Anyway?
Posted by Administrator in Mental Health.Why am I depressed if my life is fine?
SOMETIMES, feelings of depression can seem a complete mystery. Everything in life seems to be ‘in place.’ A person might have supportive friends, a good job, financial security and a loving family yet still feels unhappy or as if life is not worth living.
Regardless of a person’s external circumstances, it’s their internal ones that are important when it comes to depression. It is not simply enough to have pleasant experiences in life, you must be able to extract the appropriate emotional satisfaction for them to have the required effect! If every time you achieve something, you think “Oh well, anyone could do that”, or “I was just lucky”, you are missing an opportunity. Although this may seem like a small thing, on an ongoing basis, and in conjunction with other depressive thinking styles, it can lead to a lack of meaning and self confidence.
Life circumstances can change abruptly and drastically, and it is at these times that our ability to adapt is most tested. There is a natural tendency to want things to continue the way they have been, but new circumstances require new responses, and depressive thinking patterns and the resulting emotional arousal can make it difficult to adapt.
Also, if you have faced an adverse situation for a time which resulted in your feeling depressed, you may not be able to change your ‘life view’ once circumstances change. Habit patterns of thought can be hard to break when you don’t have a clear idea of what to do. At these times, help from a appropriately trained professional can help. (Make sure it’s the right kind of help though – see the Learning Path.) Read more