Why Does Depression Occur
Monday, November 10, 2008Depression is a time of big change, a time of choosing if we dare release the beliefs that have kept us alive, surviving, and conformed. Depression is a time of questioning the foundational beliefs we hold. This is not a bad thing. Yet, when we question deeply held beliefs the problem lies in the fact that we temporarily lose safety, meaning, and purpose of life. Leaving something behind and moving into something unknown can cause different reactions for different people. Some people sail more easily through change, but most of us tend to go kicking and screaming. Indeed, when great change is upon us, for many people the experience will turn into a period of great depression.
Depression involves an interim of releasing old ways of believing yet we have not yet embodied new beliefs or new life skills. Depression, and thoughts of suicide, happen when we are in turmoil, caught between the end of an old way of living and a terrifying desire to live in a new way. In this transition, we cannot feel the joy of being alive. Internal anxiety rises and there is nothing we can do to run or hide from the conscious realization that we feel alone. We feel lethargic, powerless, and trapped. It seems as if the pain exceeds our capacity to deal with it.
