A Single Bout of Clinical Depression: A Case Study

[An_Aging_Youngster]

My only bout of moderate clinical depression was caused ultimately by a collision between my upbringing as a child and my wife's expectations and personality as an adult. In retrospect, this was an event that had been building slowly for decades. It was the clinical anxiety that accompanied my depression that drove me to seeing a doctor, this in the face of my wife's opposition. (My wife's opposition was driven by her own fears, but that is another story.) The doctor confirmed my guess that I was suffering from clinical depression. He offered me a choice: medication or counseling. I have an aversion to medication except where absolutely necessary, so I opted for counseling. This choice ultimately led to my development as a person. The doctor referred me for a course of 10 counseling sessions.

The counselor was skilled. I also started the counseling knowing in advance that I would be the author of my own recovery under the counselor's guidance. I opted to have weekly sessions rather than fortnightly sessions. By the end of the fourth session I had an idea of my escape route from depression. I spent the fifth session consolidating that idea, and confirmed to myself my recovery in the week that followed. I spent the sixth session debriefing the counselor, which debriefing the counselor found useful.

The key to my recovery was anger. Anger often receives a bad press these days and is easily confused with rage. My own anger takes the form "This is not right!" and always overrides any slide towards depression that starts within me. It can also motivate me to discuss the events leading up to that moment with my wife, which discussions always prove beneficial to both parties. My anger reaction kicks in without me having to make any effort. This situation has been stable for five years.

I realise that this solution is not for everyone. My own Beck Depression Inventory score is 2 (very low). I have started working with somebody whose score hits the mid 20s between treatments. She has a genetic predisposition to depression which was triggered by escalating parental abuse in her teenage years and became chronic at age 20, so my own solution is extremely unlikely to work for her.

The take away from all this? Everybody's journey is different.

Go well.
AAY

[MsPurple]

Hi AAY and thank you for sharing your story

You are so right. Everyone's journey is so different. My best friend has depression (maybe some anxiety, not sure on full diagnosis but defiantly has depression) and I have GAD with depression in there sometimes. Although we are similar we are also so different. What makes me anxious doesn't for her and vice versa. We also seem respond differently to different types of self care and therapies. I find meditation useful where as she finds deep breathing but not really meditation.

This is a good reminder that although sharing advice on the forums is so powerful and helpful, we all need to remember what works for some doesn't always work for others.