3 ms·

The previous paragraph makes a note on that: "The issue as I see it in a lot of cases, is one of not being open enough about the root of the problem with yours

The previous paragraph makes a note on that: "The issue as I see it in a lot of cases, is one of not being open enough about the root of the problem with yourself and others. Sometimes they don't even really know! (Usually younger people)" If you genuinely don't know, then you need to figure that out, asap. That's what happened to me pretty early on in life, I actually went to my parents one day and musingly said 'I am not happy, I don't know why'. Acknowledging that there genuinely was a problem, was an important step, because then I read all sorts of books and at least did surface level things like 'being more positive' - gleamed from that famous Dale Carnegie book. It didn't do anything overnight but it got me to open my mind to a wide array of ideas I hadn't considered before - some of them counter-productive, others quite good. To think that there isn't a root for depression is to basically admit defeat. I recognize that there may be great comfort in going 'well, that's just how I am, not much I can do' but that's the type of mentality that leads down the dark road of despair - if you think you are powerless to change it, then you are quite likely to end up in a place where you are pretty fkd.

mercer 11y ago
One difficulty with 'root causes' is that this is very often considered to mean 'things that happened in your past,' whereas the root cause could also be biological factors, environmental factors, or 'faulty' thought patterns. Focusing on 'things in the past' too much can keep you from seeing other possibilities. Unfortunately psychoanalysis is still quite popular, and as a result too many people remain stuck in endlessly probing their subconscious where CBT or another approach might help them instead.
DanBC 11y ago
> To think that there isn't a root for depression is to basically admit defeat. No. It's to accept that depression happens for a variety of complex reasons and to simplify it to some mythical root cause is not in anyway helpful. This root cause stuff sounds like traditional psychoanalysis which has been pretty much totally debunked as useless now. People are much better off ignoring root cause and focussing on treatment. The article mentions two evidence based therapies - CBT and DBT - neither of which ask people to look for a root cause.
- alexashka 11y ago
  Maybe root was the wrong word to use - I didn't mean some singular event that happened to you. It takes 2 seconds to recognize that that makes no sense. By root I mean by changing one aspect of your life - you'll see considerable results. There may be 2-3 root causes, maybe even FIVE! Point is it's not insurmountable. If you talk to people who were depressed and aren't anymore, they won't claim it was alchemy that fixed it. More likely, they'd attribute it to feeling empowered, rather than helpless and being a victim. As a personal example - I know a lady who was deeply depressed, food disorder, alcohol problems, a lot of stuff. Everybody was at a loss for what the fk to do about it. Then comes my friend who happens to really like her. Guess what, they're engaged and she's doing A LOOOOOT better. Why? Because now instead of feeling like her life is over and that she's worthless, she can see that what she wanted (family and kids and being loved) is not some unattainable dream. She got some professional help for her disorders and while it's a long road ahead, she's in a different place. So while there's many things left to unroot, ONE root of finding somebody who she can see a future with, is giving her the motivation to get better. These are the kinds of stories that make a lot of sense - finding something to look forward to AND feeling like you can get there, along with some help in terms of logistics goes a long way. I went off on a tangent there but I'm all for CBT or whatever other techniques. Point is - if you don't have a conscious break-through of recognizing what the problem was and how you're fixing it and WHY it's working, you are still lost. Just that you're receiving some mythical help at the moment.

mercer 11y ago

One difficulty with 'root causes' is that this is very often considered to mean 'things that happened in your past,' whereas the root cause could also be biological factors, environmental factors, or 'faulty' thought patterns. Focusing on 'things in the past' too much can keep you from seeing other possibilities. Unfortunately psychoanalysis is still quite popular, and as a result too many people remain stuck in endlessly probing their subconscious where CBT or another approach might help them instead.

DanBC 11y ago

> To think that there isn't a root for depression is to basically admit defeat. No. It's to accept that depression happens for a variety of complex reasons and to simplify it to some mythical root cause is not in anyway helpful. This root cause stuff sounds like traditional psychoanalysis which has been pretty much totally debunked as useless now. People are much better off ignoring root cause and focussing on treatment. The article mentions two evidence based therapies - CBT and DBT - neither of which ask people to look for a root cause.

alexashka 11y ago
Maybe root was the wrong word to use - I didn't mean some singular event that happened to you. It takes 2 seconds to recognize that that makes no sense. By root I mean by changing one aspect of your life - you'll see considerable results. There may be 2-3 root causes, maybe even FIVE! Point is it's not insurmountable. If you talk to people who were depressed and aren't anymore, they won't claim it was alchemy that fixed it. More likely, they'd attribute it to feeling empowered, rather than helpless and being a victim. As a personal example - I know a lady who was deeply depressed, food disorder, alcohol problems, a lot of stuff. Everybody was at a loss for what the fk to do about it. Then comes my friend who happens to really like her. Guess what, they're engaged and she's doing A LOOOOOT better. Why? Because now instead of feeling like her life is over and that she's worthless, she can see that what she wanted (family and kids and being loved) is not some unattainable dream. She got some professional help for her disorders and while it's a long road ahead, she's in a different place. So while there's many things left to unroot, ONE root of finding somebody who she can see a future with, is giving her the motivation to get better. These are the kinds of stories that make a lot of sense - finding something to look forward to AND feeling like you can get there, along with some help in terms of logistics goes a long way. I went off on a tangent there but I'm all for CBT or whatever other techniques. Point is - if you don't have a conscious break-through of recognizing what the problem was and how you're fixing it and WHY it's working, you are still lost. Just that you're receiving some mythical help at the moment.