🔼: [[Medical Conditions and Diagnoses]], [[Symptoms of Unresolved Trauma]], [[Disorientation and Disconnection|Disorientation]] ##### Depression When we are depressed our [[💡 Default Mode Network|Default Mode Network]] is overactive, but not all depression is the same. A once popular theory suggested that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance (specifically a deficit of [[💡 Serotonin (5-HT)|Serotonin]]), but this is an imperfect and contested one — though some people with [[💡 Clinical Depression|Clinical Depression]] genuinely do benefit from medication. People with [[💡 Existential Depression|Existential Depression]] are quite different — their depression often stems from seeing reality more clearly. Depression is also often a [[Symptoms of Unresolved Trauma|symptom of unresolved trauma]]. So depression will often manifest for three common reasons: (possibly) a chemical imbalance; the absence of [[Meaning]] or a lack of [[⭐️ Self-Becoming]]; or the presence of [[💡 Trauma|Trauma]] — or some combination. Another possibility is that the depression is secondary to another issue that hasn’t been detected, such as [[🛡️ Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)|OCD]], [[💡 ADHD|ADHD]], unmetabolized [[💡 Grief|Grief]], some other issue. Once it’s been tended to, the depression will lift. If it’s tended to and it doesn’t lift, it’s likely a “both/and” situation. If our depression could be described as "treatment resistant," it may be caused by [[💡 Complex PTSD|Complex Trauma]] — and there *are* effective treatments for it. %% - The opposite of depression is vitality, aliveness. (Andrew Solomon) %% ###### Treatments - [[⭐️ Internal Family Systems]] - [[💡 Psychedelic-Assisted Therapy]] - [[🧪 Ketamine]] infusion - [[💡 Stanford Accelerated Intelligent Neuromodulation Therapy]] - [[🛠 Microdosing]] - Getting comprehensive bloodwork done to make sure we don’t have any deficiencies that could be causing it - [[💡 Cognitive Behavioral Therapy|CBT]] can be helpful for those whose depression is caused by errors in perception. The way their mind makes sense of reality is warped, and CPT helps correct it. This is *extremely* helpful for some people. For others it’s a modality that treats symptoms rather than causes. Sometimes it’s more helpful to hold [[💡 Cognitive Distortions|cognitive distortions]] as [[💡 Trailheads|trailheads]] and to follow them deeper. And in the case of [[💡 Existential Depression|Existential Depression]], CBT is unlikely to be helpful at all. ###### Supports Sometimes depression can arise out of either the presence of negatives or the absence of positives in our life. It can be helpful to not hold these as strategies to make depressive feelings go away, but as avenues to *enjoy life*. [[🔑 Stand in the bright spots]]. - [[⭐️ Sleep]] - [[⭐️ Life Curation]] - [[🕯️ Meditation 🧘]] - [[⭐️ Outdoors]] - [[🛠 Light Therapy Lamp]], [[💡 Vitamin D-3]] - [[⭐️ Self-Love]] - [[⭐️ Nutrition]] changes. Some people are remarkably food-sensitive - [[🕯️ Journaling]] - [[🕯️ Gratitude]] - [[☀️ Connection]] - [[🕯️ Movement Practices 👟]] - [[Massage]] or [[🛠 Self-Massage]] - [[🛠 Gamification]] - [[🕯️ Cold Shower]] - [[🌿 Herbal Bath]] - Make your [[🛠 Sacred Space]] more relaxing / beautiful - Volunteer Work - Laughter - Make Life An Adventure / Novelty - Creativity/Using your hands - [[🌸 Flower Essences]] - Things that bring us joy, even if we don’t feel like it - Remembering that [[Feelings Are Temporary]] ![[Nutrition for Depression]] ![[Supplements for Depression]] ###### Related - [[🦮 How to Recover from Trauma]] - [[📖 Lost Connections - Uncovering the Real Causes of Depression – and the Unexpected Solutions]]