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- Queen Elizabeth Health Complex
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514-482-3327
Depression
What is depression?
Depression is an intense sadness often associated with a sense of loss or inadequacy. Clinical depression can be debilitating and is characterized by several of the following symptoms:
- Depressed mood most of the day nearly every day
- Loss of interest or pleasure
- Significant weight loss or weight gain (5% of body weight)
- Insomnia or oversleeping
- Moving in a significantly agitated or slow manner (observable by others)
- Fatigue
- Feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt
- Diminished ability to concentrate or indecisiveness
- Recurrent suicidal thoughts
Depression is highly prevalent in our society – in fact, it has been referred to as the “common cold” of emotional difficulties. Taking into account all ailments (physical and psychological), depression ranks among the most costly to our society.
What causes Depression?
Genes and stress are known causes of depression. However, these factors do not fully explain the onset of the most common type of depression.
- - In at least 60% of identical twins one individual will suffer from depression but the other will not
- - Only about 10% of individuals who experience stressful events equivalent in severity to those experienced by the average depressed person become depressed themselves.
- - Depression is more prevalent in more affluent countries than in less affluent countries.
These findings provide evidence that although genes and stress can contribute to the onset of depressive episodes, depression is highly related to maladaptive interpretations of life circumstances.
How can Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy help for depression?
Cognitive/Behavioral Therapy is clinically proven to be an effective treatment for depression!
Therapy for depression focuses on helping you change the maladaptive interpretations that are largely responsible for your sadness. Therapy helps you to become aware of your negative thoughts and teaches you to replace them with more adaptive interpretations thus breaking the cycle of depression. Given that interpretations/thoughts are highly related to behaviors, therapy also focuses on helping you become implement actions which fight against depression. In fact, recent research is suggesting that certain behavioral changes are as effective for alleviating mild/moderate depression than altering thoughts or even taking medication!
In order to reduce the possibility of relapse, interested clients can engage in a more in-depth examination of the roots of their depression. This type of therapy helps clients to identify the foundation of their persistent negative interpretations. Patterns of maladaptive interpretations result from a set of core beliefs often based on negative early experiences. For example, highly critical parents or disinterested neglectful parents behave in ways that are harmful to the mental health of their children. Such parental behaviors can be understood by children as representing the truth about who they are, namely, that they are inadequate or unworthy of love. Although such interpretations are faulty, the roots for a negative interpretational style begin to take hold. Eventually, a sense of inadequacy and low self-worth become core beliefs which set the foundation for depression. Therapy encourages you to challenge the legitimacy of these negative core beliefs - it targets the foundation upon which your daily negative interpretations eventually cause depression. It is important to understand that this more in-depth type of therapy is not required for your mood to improve. However, a good understanding of why you’re depressed may help you to avoid future episodes of depression.
Lastly, for clients who are interested, beliefs and behaviors associated with happiness are discussed and encouraged. The goal here is not simply to reduce sadness but also to move towards what makes you happy - in doing so, depression is less likely to recur.
In sum, therapy for depression focuses on changing your current maladaptive interpretations and behaviors which have caused and continue to maintain your depression. For some clients, a more in-depth analysis of the roots of depression, and/or an examination of what makes them happy can also be beneficial components of therapy.
If you feel depressed, a professional at the Montreal Clinic for Therapy Services can help.