NEGATIVE EMOTIONS: PART 1

Everyone gets sad. When people feel sad, they may feel down in the dumps, bummed out, discourage, gloomy, and miserable. Being sad after losing a job is a normal reaction to loss.

Sometimes people become depressed, which can be more severe and longer lasting than sadness. When people feel depressed, they may feel very unhappy and have a lack of energy most of the time, not enjoy the things they used to enjoy, perhaps have insomnia or sleep too much, and have an inability to concentrate and think straight.

 

Depression can be a natural reaction to traumatic or intensely emotional situations. It is normal to become depressed after a Spouse dies or someone learns that he or she has cancer. Similarly, depression can be a natural reaction to situations when the physical body is out of balance. Thus, depression is an expected side effect of withdrawal from alcohol and other sedative drugs. At the same time, some people who are not having problems in their lives will experience depression (often very severe). In this situation, the depression may be because the physical body is out of balance in another way: there is an imbalance of brain chemicals.

 

No matter what causes it in an individual, depression can range in severity from mild or moderate to severe. Importantly, depression can be a very serious problem. Equally importantly, depression can be treated effectively.

 

SYMPTOMS OF SADNESS AND DEPRESSION

 Sadness and depression are similar. In both situations, people don’t feel happy. But compared with sadness, depression lasts longer, is more severe, has a greater effect on people’s ability to function, and is more dangerous.

 

SADNESS:

Most people become sad after a traumatic or emotional difficult, such as losing a family member or a job. They may feel temporarily weighed down with grief or loss. They may feel hopeless for a while. Their interest in pleasurable activities may diminish somewhat. They may experience short term problems with sleeping, or they may sleep too much. They may have trouble concentrating for several days. Sadness usually lasts for a few days or perhaps a bit longer. In general, sadness does not dramatically affect people’s ability to function at home and at work.

 

DEPRESSION:

People can become depressed in response to traumatic or emotionally difficult situations or because certain brain chemicals are out of balance. People with depression often feel depressed most of the day, most days of the week, for weeks, months or even years at a time. Depressed people often feel overwhelmed with grief, loss, and hopelessness.

  

Depressed people often have a difficult time concentrating and making decisions. Many will experience significant problems sleeping, while others may sleep too much. Most depressed people experience drastic decrease in their physical and emotional energy. Some depressed people become very agitated and anxious. Depressed people may feel worthless. They may feel extremely guilty about minor things. They may think frequently about death or suicide. In fact, they may attempt suicide or end their own life during a depressive episode.

 

Depression can range in intensity from mild to severe. Severe depression is a serious problem. It can strongly interfere with people ability to function properly. Also, depression increases the likelihood of suicidal feelings and suicide. But the good news is that treatment works.

 

ALCOHOL, DRUGS, AND DEPRESSION

 Alcohol and other drug use can cause periods of depression. Alcohol and medications such as sedatives, sleeping pills, and barbiturates are depressants. As the name suggests, depressant can make users depressed while using them. Stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine may make people excited while they are high, but that high is typically followed by a crash that includes depression. Then, the person often uses the drug again to overcome depression, and this cycle can lead to addiction.

 

Some people may start to drink and use other drugs because they are depressed. These people “self-medicate” their periods of depression with alcohol and other drugs, and later become addicted. Even sadness can lead to drug use for some people because they cannot tolerate being sad. One important aspect of recovery is to learn the ability to tolerate negative emotions like sadness that are a natural part of life.

 

Some people live in harsh and difficult circumstances. They may live in abusive relationship or poverty, and they cannot imagine a way out of their circumstances. Some people have never experienced success in solving important problems. They may feel hopeless and give up trying to change things. They may begin by using alcohol and other drugs as a way of coping with their hopelessness, but they end up being addicted.

 

People who drank and used drugs to self-medicate their feelings of depression need to pay special attention to their feelings in recovery. For these people especially, normal feelings of depression may emerge during recovery and may become triggers for drug use.

 

Most people will experience depression during drug withdrawal. However, people who were depressed before they began drinking or using drugs will probably have a more severe and longer lasting episode of depression during and after withdrawal. Some of the symptoms will be the result of withdrawal, and some may be the result of preexisting depression. People who suffer from both addiction and depression may need treatment for both problems.

 

TREATMENT FOR DEPRESSION

Depression (including withdrawal-related depression) is related to an imbalance in certain brain chemicals. For some people, the imbalance in brain chemicals is caused by intense periods of stress and trauma. For others, the imbalance in the brain chemicals is the result of long periods of drinking and drug use. For still others, the brain chemical imbalance may be due to genetic or biological factors. The brain simply does not reproduce the natural chemicals it needs in order for a person to feel good.

 

There are certain medications that are very effective in helping to restore brain chemical balance. These medications, called antidepressants, are not mood altering and will not jeopardize sobriety. In fact, they can strongly support sobriety. They can be an important part of recovery from mood altering drugs. For many people, antidepressants make recovery possible.

 

Although there is a biological basis to depression, there are important psychological and social aspects as well. Therapy can help people identify circumstances that may cause, worsen, or prolong depression, and it can give them skills to avoid these circumstances and make the symptoms less severe.

 

Take a brief moment watch a video on mental health disorders and learn how small steps can make a big difference.

Click on the link below.

Mental health disorders and challenges of care

#socratesepistles