Depression (major depression)

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• October 30, 2011 2:45 p.m.

  Gratitude is only one element of the Seasonal Affective Depression Disorder 'cure'. Every day I awaken to the reality that there are seven elements (get that all you numerologists) that are required for inclusion into my day IF I want to beat SADD w/o inviting the medical monster into my world.

  - Pam

• June 9, 2011 7:58 p.m.

  If I had yo define depression, I would say its anger turned inward. Its a rejection of oneself, in sliced or in whole. I was ready the Bible one day and I had an awakening. I was reading Job. 40 Plus Chapters of him debating his friends. In the end, God called him righteous. That set me free in some way. Job was mad. He was mad and exclaimed his pain and sorrow and everyone told him he was wrong. But in the end, God said "you have not been right in what you said about me, as my servant Job was." Incredible!! In other words, all those doubting voices that try to invalidate your pain are wrong. That thought gave me a lot of peace.

  - ap

• March 11, 2011 2:05 p.m.

  I hadn't really considered the benefits of keeping a gratitude log or journal but that's a great idea. It gives me a stockpile to draw from when I'm wondering what the heck I have to be grateful about. Im grateful for this little article and also that I took the time to look here!!

  - Mike

• February 8, 2011 3:58 p.m.

  I feel grateful for my children and extended family. When I am depressed, I worry unduly about them and feel bad that in my depressed state I am not there for them like I want to be. When you are depressed you may know you have things to be thankful for, but it hurts that you can't fully appreciate it. That is part of the pain.

  - Sarah

• December 3, 2010 5:16 p.m.

  I've been putting effort into finding the good, seeing all my many blessings for ~ a month. At first I felt some positive effects. Then I realized or remembered this was a problem in the earlier period of the Dep. And still now, crappy 15 years later it still Hurts. Yes, I know I am blessed in so many ways. Somehow the years of this dreadful Darkness have oddly helped (or forced) me to find many seemingly small, little things to be thankful for i.e i can get up out of bed, i can breathe w/o diff., a phone call, a snowflake... My point is this: Every blessing, Every positive, goodness in my life...YET look at me! The pain and suffering is suffocating and crushing. SO much Sadness Heaviness in my heart!--What kind of pathetic being is miserable in the midst of such blessings? What good are the beautiful leaves of Fall to one who sees no color? What good a bountiful feast to one who cannot taste? Sorry, sorry for being so negative. Good things aren't suppose to hurt! I scream inside no one hears. What is the Point of an endless list of Gratitudes when your brain is boken in that the feelings which should accompany will not come, but in thier place longing and grief? "No greater grief than to remember days of joy when misery is at hand." (Milton)

  - susan

• November 18, 2010 5:24 a.m.

  I am grateful I asked for help. I am grateful that people do care. I am grateful that I now look upon life not as the dead end that I thought it was, but as an adventure.

  - Cat

• May 23, 2010 11:01 p.m.

  When a person is depressed it is hard to think of anything you are grateful for. Many times depression is due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, rather than it being situational ( or due to a particular event or way of thinking). Sometimes no matter what you try to think about or feel, the depression is there. often medication ( and yes, some talk therapy) are the only ways to help it. Lots of people will never be able to stop taking their medication or the depression will occur......it is a disease, like high blood pressure or diabetes, that must be controlled by medication in many instances. I know......I have been on antidepressants for about 15 years, and will probably never be able to stop them. That's just a problem my brain has, and unfortunately my daughter has the same problem. It is what it is.

  - mary

• April 18, 2010 3:07 p.m.

  Each day I write 5 new items I am grateful for and it helps me focus on the good and helps block the depression I experience. Running water! The tree outside my window!

  - Elaine

• February 4, 2010 2:24 p.m.

  I just found this blog re Gratitude as an antidote for depression. I am a recovering alcoholic, so I am familiar with the making of gratitude lists for sobriety. Here goes: I am grateful that I am sober and have sober friends; My son is sober and working his program; My daughter is in Alanon and woring her program; I can work on my physical recovery from back surgery; I have a therapist who is good and a doctor to consult with about medication; My dogs; I have health insurance; I can search for solutions to my depression and anxiety; I have a computer and a home and enough food to eat. Ess

  - Ess

• January 26, 2010 3:39 p.m.

  I like the idea of "3 things to be thankful for". Journalling almost every day has been helpful for my blue moment times and the action of thinking about and writing down just 3 sounds good. Not 33, just 3. Often my feelings will be different after a short but honest paragraph about my feeling or thoughts. Seeing a competent counselling professional has also been helpful, particularly one who has helped me struggle through thinking out what I think is happening and what I might want to happen. I have gotten a lot out of growth or listening type groups that commit to "what is said in the group stays in the group." I journal several scriptures from a daily planned schedule and write down one or two things that stood out for me. Nothing dramatic. Just another practical action step. There are days, but at 73+ years I think of myself as a grateful person. Thanks for all the helpful posts.

  - David

• January 17, 2010 5:12 p.m.

  Lisa - I think I might know how you feel. I feel guilty if I don't feel grateful. I know that I have a lot to be thankful for but in my darkest moments I feel nothing - not a spark of gratitude. Then I feel intense guilt that I am such an ingrate. It just goes round and round in a circle. It scares me.

  - ruth

• January 15, 2010 10:38 a.m.

  ok the problem is this: as a kid i was often told that i was ungrateful and bad, for example when i said that i don't like school very much. i was told that crying and feeling sad or being ill was a bad thing cause i should be grateful and compare to children starving in africa. as an adult i tried to be grateful, when i was depressed, but it didn't lift my mood, i rather felt worse, cause not only i was depressed, but feeling bad also meant that i was a terrible, ungrateful person.

  - Lisa

• January 12, 2010 3:40 p.m.

  Thanks E, for your kind words. I have recently been to my internist, and went over some of these issues. She gave me a 2 month sample supply of Lexapro. After reading on the internet of all the side effects, not to mention the dependency (and cost) I decided not to go there. They're still sitting in the medicine cabinet The anxiety comes and goes. At times it comes over like a dark cloud. Then there are times when I'm really feeling up and confident. Just thought I'd share this. Thanks all for taking time to read this boring account of the life of a film producer. Ronald

  - Ronald

• January 4, 2010 3:02 p.m.

  Dear Ronald, something about your post touched me, and I'd like to comment. I'm sure I won't be able to convey this as articulately as I'd like, but perhaps it would help to try to tell yourself that the situation you find yourself in is not your fault; sometimes things simply don't work out as you had hoped. Have you talked at all with your wife? That might help, too. My grandmother recently passed away and for the last years of her life suffered from depression. I, too, find myself struggling with depression and anxiety, so I understand the feeling of being overwhelmed. I think it's no small step that you took in posting here, and I hope that in talking to others, be they family members, friends or medical professionals, and being good to yourself, you'll find some relief. Best wishes, E.

  - E

• December 22, 2009 10:11 a.m.

  Wow! At 72, I find that I'm going through depression, that is so severe, that I simply don't know how to deal with it. I think that one of the reasons, is that I managed to convince my wife to leave her great job in Chicago, move to to SW Florida with me, where I would continue my special event video business. We bought a rather large home, (Fortunately we have a very small mortgage.) My wife did secure a job with a developer, but he went belly up. My video business here, (in Fla) is almost non existent. I'm still doing some business in the Chicago market, but that is extremely slow. Every day I'm blaming myself for the situation I've put us in. That's about all I can say at this time, as I've never admitted this extreme guilt I feel before. Don't even know where this message will be seen. I will however stay tuned to this blog page. Ronald

  - Ronald

• December 17, 2009 4:04 p.m.

  Before you get into major depression, you set up negative thought patterns to get yourself there. Being grateful is one way of developing a more positive thought pattern. People who suffer from depression often have beliefs they learned from parents, religion, community, even the workplace, such as, no matter what you do, it won't work out. Suffering is good, it builds character. Never smile too much, it is undignified. Being sexual is sinful. Don't compliment a child, it will go to her head. Pride in your accomplishments is sinful. There is no such thing as working too much. Self sacrifice is good. These types of thoughts can build a depressive character. What took a lifetime to build, is difficult to change, thus people with depression have trouble getting out of the pit. Lots of small steps such as being grateful for three things a day, is good. I like "do something that scares you every day." I pick something that's been making me anxious, and I finally do it, and boy, do I feel good afterward. Even something as silly as blowing the money for new tires, because I'm scared to spend the money. Little steps help break down the barriers to happiness and good mental health.

  - Susan

• December 16, 2009 10:20 a.m.

  I checked this suggestion out because I'm a therapist working with several people who suffer from depression. I sympathize with those who commented on the difficulty of seeing anything positive when in the depths of depression, but I don't think this was meant to be a panacea for this serious illness. Rather, it could serve as an adjunct to professional treatment options and is something simple that can be done easily by anyone. Research has shown that our thoughts DO affect our emotions. Why not give this a try and see what happens?

  - Wendy

• December 14, 2009 12:52 p.m.

  Regardless of what one should be grateful for, When depression hits you feel greatful for nothing. That is why people would rather die. I don't think that it is easily understood if you have not been severly depressed. The way to fight depression is not to read the bible or write down what your grateful for, If you are severly depressed, call your doctor, get enrolled in therapy with professionals, call a crisis hotline or go to the Emergency Department.

  - No name given

• December 4, 2009 9:59 a.m.

  Why do you ask for comments and then delete them? This is my third and it will probably be deleted also. How do you decide which ones you keep and which you delete. It seems my depression isn't very important. I have been a Mayo Clinic patient for many years so am I to be grateful that my comments don't count?

  - Ferne

• December 3, 2009 3:48 p.m.

  When I feel "Down" or "Blue" I think of Psalm 42:5-- Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

  - Rose

• December 3, 2009 2:53 p.m.

  You can be grateful you have something warm to wear, for a smile from someone, for how dinner tasted. It is good to be reminded of these even if it feels like you are trying too hard. I appreciate that this tip is something concrete and simple - write down three things once a day. Much more do-able than "get more exercise" or "reach out to others" or other vague bits of advice. In the bleak tunnel of depression I need advice to be this specific.

  - Susan

• December 2, 2009 8:53 p.m.

  I clipped part of an article many years ago and still have it hanging on my calendar. "What is not in the language will never be in the mind, and what is not in the mind will never be in the structures" This was meant for a very different subject- sexism. But I feel it can be translated to fit this article in the Mayo Newsletter. If we translate our feelings, or what we would like to be our feelings, to paper then perhaps the writing and the seeing in black and white the things we should or want to be thankful for, will create in us the real feelings of thankfulness. If that makes any sense at all.

  - Phylis

• December 2, 2009 1:45 p.m.

  I think this is very good advice for people whether they are depressed or not. Although it may not seem logical, changing our actions will often change our thinking patterns.

  - SR

• December 1, 2009 4:38 a.m.

  My depression was lifted when i started reading my KJV Bible. I found Christ, (not religion) and my depression is gone. Christ died for those who need a savior, those who are not well. The well do not need a physician. I found a preacher that teaches Christ alone. Not what I can do for Christ but what Christ did for me. If you want to have total peace listen to Henry Mahan on Audio Sermons.

  - Ginger

• November 28, 2009 3:37 p.m.

  I don't see it, sorry.

  - Amm