DBSA Tennessee Past President, S.L. Brannon
share
  • Home
  • About
  • FIRST BOOK: Two Agreements
  • My new book: A Brand New Day
  • Advocacy
    • Letters to our Governor
    • Advocacy Action Items for DBSA Tennessee
    • Submitted Relative Articles
  • Network Resources
  • Additional Events
  • I\\\\\'ve been there
  • Forums
  • Contacts

Holiday blues: depression and suicide prevention

12/18/2014

0 Comments

 
Help available for dealing with depression

A life lived with depression can feel like a "deep, dark place," said Steve Brannon. But with a variety of pathways to recovery, hope is never out of reach — even during the toughest times.

Society often views depression in extremes, said Brannon, state director of Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Tennessee, as depression is often seen as an untreatable illness — or not as an illness at all. Depression should be taken very seriously, he said, but it shouldn't be approached in a "fatalistic" manner.

"Depression is treatable, and it responds quite well to treatment," Brannon said.

Describing depression as the "common cold of emotional mental disorders," Paul Deschenes — clinical psychologist and director of counseling services at Union University — said most people experience depression at some point in their life.

Deschenes said depression can be caused by a variety of factors, including the weather or the loss of a loved one. Because depression can be genetically based, it has the potential to be passed from one generation to the next, Brannon said.

In many cases, feeling depressed is normal, as no one is happy all the time, Deschenes said. What is not normal is when the grief and sadness continues indefinitely and begins to interfere with major areas in a person's life — signaling a more significant form of depression.

"They might experience things like negative thinking, self-criticism," Deschenes said. "They might experience feelings of hopelessness. Some people have thoughts of self-blame, and generally the thinking gets very negative, pessimistic. They might see the glass as being half-empty rather than half-full."

Symptoms

Additional symptoms can vary and even seem contradictory, Brannon said. Some people develop an increased appetite when they are depressed, while others may lose their appetite. Some people may sleep more often, while others experience insomnia. Some people may voice their thoughts of hopelessness, while others may not say a word.

Brannon said that a person with depression may stop bathing or using proper hygiene, and he or she may stay in the same clothes for weeks at a time. Deschenes also noted that a person may feel a loss of energy in accomplishing everyday tasks, as well as experience a decreased sex drive.

People who are depressed are more likely to develop other health conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, Brannon said. Their lifespan also can be shortened up to 25 years.

"It might affect their relationships," Deschenes added, because people experiencing depression often decline invitations for social engagements or drop out of church. "Ultimately, left untreated, some depression might get so bad that it turns to suicide."

Deschenes said a depressed person often wants to sit at home and be alone with their thoughts, which can fuel negative feelings. As a result, he said people should get out of the house and begin taking small steps to return to a healthy level of functioning.

Steps forward

Picking up an enjoyable hobby or volunteering can help ease depression, Deschenes said. Because depression can cause distorted thinking, spending time with positive people can halt irrational and harmful thoughts as well.

Exercise also can help people overcome depression and could be as effective as medication in some cases, Deschenes added. In addition, he encouraged people to return to church if they have stopped attending, as a person's faith speaks to issues such as hope.

"Whatever help an individual goes for, we recommend that folks not only be very religious about medication but also go to counseling," Brannon said.

With new medical treatment options introduced regularly, Brannon said treatments can include transcranial magnetic stimulation, in which part of the brain is stimulated with magnetic waves. While the success rates can vary, he said the results have been encouraging and the technology is expected to continue improving.

Brannon added that people with depression should develop a support group. The individuals who form a person's support group need to check up on how the person feels emotionally, know whether the person is taking his or her medication and be available to talk whenever the person may need them.

The support group also needs to be able to recognize the symptoms of depression, as well as know when the depressed person is in need of medical attention, Brannon said.

Suicide

Noting that teenagers and the elderly are more susceptible to suicidal tendencies, Deschenes said people should not be afraid of causing a suicide by asking if someone is suicidal. If someone is hinting at suicide or displaying suicidal tendencies, he said family and friends should approach the situation seriously and take the person to a mental health professional.

People also should not think that a suicide is inevitable for someone experiencing suicidal thoughts, Deschenes said. Most of the time, a person averted from a suicide attempt and helped by professionals can regain and lead a normal life.

"When people get into a deep, dark place like Robin Williams did, trust seems to go away," Brannon noted, as a dangerous sign of suicide is when a person stops trusting others to help them manage their depression. "It is times like that the support network has to realize that they can't help this individual they love — they need someone to call."

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which can be reached at , is a valuable resource for people contemplating suicide, Brannon said.

Support group

Brannon noted that Jackson also has a mood disorder support group, called "A Better Tomorrow." Meeting at 6:30 p.m. each Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church, the group provides encouragement, education and information services for people with depression, as well as their family and friends.

The group often becomes like an extended family for members, Brannon said, as people with depression can understand what other group members face.

"It's something about being understood that's healing in itself," Brannon said. "That is so valuable for someone living with depression. You can't put a price on that."

To learn more about the Jackson depression support group, visit the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Tennessee's website at dbsatennessee.org. The alliance also can be reached at .

Reach Beth Knoll at . Follow her on Twitter @merribethknoll.

What to know

• The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which can be reached at , is a valuable resource for people contemplating suicide.

• Jackson's mood disorder support group, called "A Better Tomorrow," meets at 6:30 p.m. each Monday at St. Mary's Catholic Church. The group provides encouragement, education and information services for people with depression, as well as their family and friends.

• To learn more about the Jackson depression support group, visit the Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance of Tennessee's website at dbsatennessee.org. The alliance also can be reached at .

Steve Brannon(Photo: Submitted)


Paul Deschenes(Photo: Submitted)


0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author - 

    S.L. Brannon D.Div..

    Editor: numerous contributors are personally invited.

    Archives

    April 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013

    Categories

    All
    AARP
    Action Alert
    Action-alert
    Advocacy
    Affirmation
    Affordable Care Act
    Allen Doederlein
    Alternative Medicine
    Bad Law
    Bad-law
    Barber Bill Proposal
    Bipolar
    Borderline Personality Disorder
    Bp Magazine
    Branding
    Budget
    Caregivers
    Compassion
    Co Occurring Disorders
    Cooccurring Disorders
    Coping
    Crazy
    DBSA
    Dbsa Tennessee
    Dbsa-tennessee
    Dc
    Dc95f383fe5b
    Death
    Deaths Of Thousands
    Demi Lovato
    Democrat
    Denial
    Depression
    Dual Diagnosis
    Education
    Elected Officals
    Elected-officals
    Forced Commitment
    Grieving
    Health Care
    Health-care
    Health Care Law
    Health-care-law
    Health Reform
    Health-reform
    Help For Depression
    Homelessveterans
    Homeless Veterans
    Hopeworkscommunity
    Huffington Post
    Hurts Most Vulnerable
    Hurts-most-vulnerable
    I'm Here
    Immoral
    Jobs
    Larry Drain
    Leading Researchers And Clinicians
    Legislative Bill
    Legislative-bill
    Malpractice
    Mc Donaldsa18086f9b6
    Medicaid-expansion
    Medications
    Medicine
    Memorial
    Mental Health
    Mental Health Care
    Mental-health-care
    Mental-health-day-on-the-hill
    Mental Health In Tennessee
    Mental-health-in-tennessee
    Mental Health Services
    Mission
    Money
    Mood Disorders
    Moving Backwards
    Moving-backwards
    Murphy-bill-proposal
    National-institues-of-mental-health
    New Laws
    Outstanding-performance
    Parity
    Patient-protection
    Peer-specialist
    Peer Support
    Peer Support Centers
    Peer-support-centers
    Personal Stories
    Personal Story
    Personal-story
    Petition
    Petition-to-save-service-centers
    Politics
    Prejudice
    Proposed Legislative Bill
    Proposed-legislative-bill
    Protected Health Information
    Ptsd
    Pushing Back Against Stigma
    Recovery
    Republican
    Resilience
    Resulting In Death
    Scientific Advisory Board
    Self Advocacy
    Self Help
    Senator Murphy
    Silence
    Social-security
    State Organization
    Steve L Brannon
    Steve L Brannonf11c90eedf
    Stigma
    Suicidal Ideations
    Support Groups
    Teens
    Tennessee Department Of Mental Health And Substance Abuse
    Tennessee-department-of-mental-health-and-substance-abuse
    Tennessee Government
    Tennessee-government
    The Leading Patient Directed National Organization
    The Leading Patientdirected National Organizationf0151a2bc0
    Themighty.com
    Therapy
    U-s-congressman
    Vanderbilt-university
    Veterans
    Veterans-employment
    Victimized
    Vulnerable
    Washington
    Wrap-training
    Youth

    RSS Feed
Proudly powered by Weebly
Photo used under Creative Commons from DominusVobiscum