Lift Depression With These 3 Prescriptions- Without-Pills | Susan Heitler | TEDxWilmington

Summary

The video addresses depression, likening it to the common cold of mental illness. The speaker discusses the widespread use of antidepressants and their potential drawbacks, advocating for non-medication-based therapies. Using a 'bump therapy' model, the speaker suggests identifying and overcoming life's challenges to alleviate depression. Through a case study of a client named Julie, the speaker demonstrates techniques for pinpointing problems, empowering oneself, and finding solutions. The emphasis is on self-awareness and proactive problem-solving as alternatives to medication for managing depression.

Takeaways

• 😔 Depression is common and can severely affect one's well-being, often referred to as the common cold of mental illness.
• 🧠 Depression should not be solely viewed as a chemical disorder treatable only by medication.
• 💊 Over-reliance on antidepressants is concerning due to potential side effects and dependency issues.
• 👩‍⚕️ Alternative treatments, such as psychotherapy and talk therapy, can effectively address depressive symptoms without medication.
• 🚧 Depression often stems from unresolved conflicts or unmet needs, referred to as 'bumps' in the road of life.
• 🔍 Identifying the specific 'bump' causing depression is crucial for effective treatment.
• 💪 Boosting one's sense of power and capability ('pumping up') is essential for overcoming feelings of depression.
• 🧩 Problem-solving from a position of strength can lead to more satisfying and effective solutions to the issues causing depression.
• 👩‍💼 The case study of 'Julie' illustrates how pinpointing the problem, feeling empowered, and solving the problem can lift the depressive fog.
• 🌞 The techniques discussed provide actionable, non-pharmaceutical prescriptions for alleviating depression and returning to well-being.

Q & A

Why do psychologists refer to depression as the 'common cold of mental illness'?

Psychologists refer to depression as the 'common cold of mental illness' because it is very common, much like how a cold is a common physical illness.

What are some signs of depression mentioned in the script?

Some signs of depression mentioned include feeling discouraged, having low energy, being self-critical, and feeling irritable with other people.

Why does the speaker bemoan the fact that many Americans take antidepressants?

The speaker bemoans the fact because antidepressants can have detrimental impacts on the body, make people drug-dependent, and they only help about 60% of people who take them.

What alternative to antidepressant medication does the speaker suggest?

The speaker suggests psychotherapy or talk therapy as alternatives to antidepressant medication, as there are many methods to improve mood without pills.

What is 'bump therapy' according to the speaker?

'Bump therapy' is a method where a person identifies a disturbing situation (the bump), figures out how to solve the problem, and moves on with their life.

What is the first prescription the speaker offers for dealing with depression?

The first prescription is to pinpoint the problem that is causing depression by identifying the 'bump' or the disturbing situation.

How does the speaker suggest individuals 'pump up' to deal with depression?

The speaker suggests taking deep breaths and visualizing oneself growing bigger, taller, and stronger to feel more powerful and capable of solving problems.

What was the specific 'bump' identified for Julie in the example provided?

Julie identified the 'bump' as feeling ignored and deprecate by her male colleagues during project manager meetings at her construction company.

What realization did Julie have about her colleagues during the visualization exercise?

Julie realized that her colleagues might feel intimidated by her because she recently completed a master's degree in construction management, and she might be coming across as showing off.

What are the three main steps in the speaker's prescriptions without pills?

The three main steps are: pinpointing the problem, pumping up to feel more powerful, and problem-solving to find a solution to the identified issue.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Understanding Depression and Its Common Misconceptions

The speaker discusses the prevalence of depression, comparing it to the common cold due to its widespread nature. They emphasize the importance of recognizing signs of depression, such as low energy and irritability. The misconception that depression is solely a chemical disorder often leads people to seek medical treatment and prescriptions, which can have serious side effects and lead to dependency. The speaker advocates for alternative methods like psychotherapy and highlights the need to address the underlying problems causing depression.

05:03

🔍 Identifying the Root Cause of Depression

The speaker introduces a three-step approach to tackling depression, beginning with identifying the specific problem or 'bump' that triggered the depressive episode. They explain that depression often makes it difficult to pinpoint the exact issue due to feelings of powerlessness. Using a real-life example of a client named Julie, the speaker demonstrates how to visualize and identify the troubling situation contributing to depression, in Julie's case, being undervalued at work.

10:06

💪 Empowering Yourself to Overcome Depression

The second step involves empowering oneself by 'pumping up' and regaining a sense of strength and confidence. Through deep breathing exercises, Julie is guided to visualize herself growing bigger and more powerful, which helps her feel more capable of addressing her issues. This newfound strength allows her to re-evaluate her work situation and recognize that her colleagues' behavior might stem from their own insecurities rather than her shortcomings.

15:06

🛠️ Solving Problems with Confidence and Creativity

The final step is problem-solving. With her new perspective and confidence, Julie is encouraged to think of practical solutions to improve her situation at work. She realizes that by speaking more assertively and explaining her ideas more clearly, she can earn the respect she desires without feeling threatened. Visualization exercises help Julie test out potential solutions and find a satisfying approach that lifts her depression, demonstrating the power of non-medical interventions.

Keywords

💡Depression

Depression is a mental health condition characterized by persistent feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and a lack of interest or pleasure in daily activities. In the video, it is described as the 'common cold of mental illness' due to its prevalence. The speaker emphasizes that while common, depression should be taken seriously as it can severely impact one's quality of life.

💡Antidepressants

Antidepressants are medications commonly prescribed to treat depression. The video highlights concerns about their widespread use and potential side effects, noting that while they help some people, they are not effective for everyone and can lead to drug dependence. The speaker suggests that there are alternative treatments available that do not involve medication.

💡Psychotherapy

Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is a treatment method for mental health issues that involves talking with a mental health professional. The video advocates for psychotherapy as an effective way to manage and overcome depression, offering various techniques and approaches that do not rely on medication.

💡Conflict resolution theory

Conflict resolution theory is the speaker's own theory on what makes people feel good or bad, particularly in relation to depression. It involves identifying and solving the conflicts or 'bumps' in life that cause distress. This theory underpins the speaker's approach to treating depression through problem-solving and empowerment.

💡Bump therapy

Bump therapy is a simplified name for conflict resolution theory, where life's disturbances are seen as 'bumps' on the road. The therapy involves recognizing these bumps, understanding their impact, and finding ways to overcome them to improve mental well-being. The speaker uses this concept to illustrate how to handle life's challenges without succumbing to depression.

💡Powerlessness

Powerlessness is a state often experienced by those with depression, where they feel small, insignificant, and unable to affect change in their lives. The video explains that feeling powerless can make it difficult to solve problems, and overcoming this feeling is crucial for mental health recovery. Techniques to 'pump up' and regain a sense of power are discussed.

💡Pump up

Pump up is a technique used to increase one's sense of power and confidence. In the video, the speaker describes exercises like deep breathing and visualization to help individuals feel bigger and stronger. This technique is part of the second prescription for overcoming depression, aimed at empowering individuals to face their challenges.

💡Problem-solving

Problem-solving is the third step in the speaker's method for overcoming depression. It involves identifying the specific issues causing distress, gathering information, and thinking creatively to find solutions. The speaker provides examples from therapy sessions to demonstrate how effective problem-solving can lead to improved mental well-being.

💡Visualization

Visualization is a technique used to mentally picture a situation or outcome. In the video, the speaker uses visualization to help clients understand their feelings and rehearse potential solutions to their problems. For instance, imagining oneself as bigger and more powerful helps combat feelings of powerlessness associated with depression.

💡Self-criticism

Self-criticism involves harshly judging oneself, which is a common symptom of depression. The video mentions how self-critical thoughts contribute to feelings of worthlessness and low self-esteem. Addressing and reducing self-criticism is crucial for improving one's mental health, as highlighted by the speaker's therapeutic approaches.

Highlights

Depression is often referred to as the 'common cold' of mental illness due to its prevalence.

Depression can feel as miserable as a common cold and can lead to more serious conditions if not addressed.

Recognizing the signs of depression is crucial, such as feeling discouraged, having low energy, being self-critical, and irritable with others.

A common misconception is that depression is solely a chemical disorder requiring medication.

While antidepressants can help some people, they are not effective for everyone and can have serious side effects.

There are many non-medication approaches, such as psychotherapy and talk therapy, that can effectively alleviate depression.

The speaker introduces their 'conflict resolution theory' or 'bump therapy' for managing depression.

Depression can often be triggered by giving up on something important due to feeling overwhelmed by a 'bump' or disturbing situation.

Pinpointing the specific problem or 'bump' causing depression is the first step to overcoming it.

Feeling powerless is a common aspect of depression, and building a sense of strength is crucial for problem-solving.

Visualization techniques can help individuals feel more powerful and capable of addressing their problems.

Understanding the dynamics of a problematic situation, such as feeling intimidated in a work meeting, can lead to more effective solutions.

Julie, a client example, learned to visualize herself as strong and capable, which helped her handle work conflicts more effectively.

By visualizing potential solutions, individuals can test different approaches to find the most satisfying and practical outcomes.

The speaker emphasizes the importance of using these non-medication techniques to lift the 'dark cloud' of depression and return to well-being.

Transcripts

Translator: Tanya Cushman Reviewer: Peter van de Ven

Depression.

Everyone, from time to time, feels down.

Psychologists, like myself,

sometimes refer to depression as the common cold of mental illness

because it's so common.

You know and I know that a common cold can make you quite miserable.

Common colds also can develop into sinus infections, pneumonia,

so pay attention when you feel the signs of depression:

discouraged, low energy,

self-critical,

irritable with the other people.

It's important to note, "Oh," -

just as you would if you had a fever -

"something's wrong here.

I'm just not my usual me."

Once you've noticed that, what are your options?

Well, unfortunately,

all too often people assume,

"Oh, depression is a chemical disorder."

Where do you go if you have a biological disorder?

You go to your physician.

What do physicians know how to do?

They know how to write prescriptions for pills.

Now, why do I bemoan the fact

that one out of ten Americans is taking an antidepressant?

Even worse, for women in the middle years, the 40s and 50s,

one out of almost four Americans are taking antidepressant medication.

These medications are not sugar pills.

They can have detrimental impacts on your body.

They also can make you drug dependent.

Opioids make you addicted.

The drug companies say antidepressants don't make you addicted,

and that's because of the definition of addiction,

which is "includes a craving."

Nobody wakes up and says,

"Ooh, I can't wait to take my antidepressant medication."

(Laughter)

They don't give you a high; they essentially numb you.

Now, antidepressant medications do help some people.

The difficulty is, number one, there's many people that they don't help.

They only help about, maybe at best, 60% of the people who take them.

Second, there can be serious side effects.

Google "antidepressant side effects"

if you want to scare yourself a little before taking them.

(Laughter)

The good news?

There's lots of psychotherapy, talk therapy, methods,

for getting rid of a down mood.

There's lots of prescriptions, or techniques, without pills

for feeling better.

So today, the particular prescriptions that I'd like to share with you

come from my own theory

of what makes people feel good and what makes people feel bad.

When I write books about it, I call it "conflict resolution theory."

To remember it in a more easy way, let's call it "bump therapy."

Here's why.

You're walking down the road of life -

maybe you're rushing along the road of life -

and you hit a bump.

So at that bump,

which is some disturbing situation,

you scratch your head and figure out what to do about it.

If you're lucky,

you get what you want and move on,

toodling on down the rest of your road of life.

But all too often,

when we hit a disturbing circumstance,

we fold.

We give up on what we want.

Sometimes that's a good idea

because there just don't seem to be any other options

or if the other other option is to get into a fight -

mmm, may not be worth it.

Giving up in response to something you want

triggers depression.

Okay, this model, this bump model,

tells us what we need to do to feel better.

Here's the bump.

We've gone into depression.

Back up.

Identify that bump and solve the problem in a new way.

Sounds easy, but not quite so easy.

Here's why.

When you're depressed, often you don't know what the bump was.

There's something about that dark cloud that surrounds you when you're depressed

that seems to block you from knowing what you gave up,

what was the hurdle you couldn't overcome.

So prescription number one

will be a technique for pinpointing that problem.

Here's another problem with depression:

when you're depressed, you feel powerless.

When we feel small and powerless,

it's pretty hard to think of ideas of what we could do to solve the problem.

Prescription number two - pump up.

I'll show you how in a moment.

Prescription number three -

now that you know what the problem is, the bump,

and you're feeling strong enough,

now problem solve.

Here's an example.

Let's welcome in Julie.

Julie is a recent actual client in my practice -

named changed, obviously, for confidentiality.

"Julie, what brings you in here today?"

Julie said, "Well, for the last four or five months,

I've been feeling so down.

I have no energy, I feel so discouraged, I am beating myself up all the time,

and unfortunately, I'm irritable with my husband,

I'm irritable with my kids."

"Hmm, sounds like depression.

Let's get to work.

Julie,"

Julie's sitting down,

"close your eyes."

I don't recommend this technique when you're driving, by the way.

(Laughter)

"Julie, close your eyes.

Allow an image to come up on your video screen in your mind,

your visual screen,

allow an image to come up of someone or something that you might be -

someone or something that you might be mad at, irritated,

a little piqued or seriously angry."

Not yourself, because when you're depressed,

almost all these people feel mad at themselves for this and that.

"Notice what comes up on your visual screen."

Julie thought for a bit, and she realized,

"Hmm, I thought I'd see my husband because I've been barking at him so much,

but actually what came up was the conference room at work."

"Hmm, what's disturbing to you there?"

"Well, I work at a large construction company.

I actually like the company a lot,

but when we have conferences with myself and the other five project managers,

I get upset every time.

I say something;

the other five, who are all men, ignore me.

Or instead of ignoring me,

they speak to me like I'm some kind of dummy, but ...

and deprecate what I say.

They point out what's wrong.

I just hate it."

"Hmm, what do you want in that circumstance?"

"I want to be heard; I want to be taken seriously."

Ahh, odds are pretty good

we've figured out what the bump was for Julie.

Still, there's one more question that's important to ask

to verify if this is the specific bump causing depression.

"Julie, as you look again at that conference room,

who looks bigger?

You or the other five project managers?"

Julie said, "Well, that's clear.

I look like a little girl,

and they look like big, hunky football player."

Now, "In fact," Julie said, "they're just kind of ordinary guys.

They're not in reality all that big,

but when I'm thinking about them right now,

I picture them really big."

Now we know for sure

that we've identified a depressogenic, depression-causing moment.

Depression is a disorder of power,

so if you feel small

and the other people or thing or event or whatever looks big,

that's been the bump that's knocked you down.

We've done prescription number one.

We've pinpointed the problem.

Prescription number two -

"Julie, take a deep breath.

(Inhales)

(Exhales)

With each successive breath,

feel yourself growing bigger, stronger, taller, more powerful.

How big are you now, Julie?"

Julie said, "I'm almost as big as the guys."

"Good," I said.

"You're going in the right direction.

Take some more deep breaths.

Grow bigger, taller, taller, stronger."

Julie smiled.

"My head is just about to bump the ceiling."

Ahh, we've accomplished prescription number two: pump up.

Prescription number three - problem solve.

Now, when you're trying to solve any problem,

usually you'll start

by gathering information about the relevant variables.

Then, you can think of creative solutions for what to do about them.

So I asked Julie,

"From that taller position, looking down on the other guys,

what can you see that you couldn't see when you were feeling so small?"

Julie thought for a moment.

"Oh my goodness," Julie said,

"I think the guys are intimidated by me.

You know,

recently I completed a master's degree in construction management,

so when I go to those meetings,

I try to contribute by offering ideas from what I've learned.

Maybe I'm even showing off a little bit.

But when I mention new ideas,

new ways to tackle problems that have come up,

they probably feel a little insecure, a little bit threatened."

"What else do you notice?"

"I notice -

I'm kind of listening to what I say -

my voice sounds like a little girl,

the way I've been feeling.

Even worse, I end each sentence with a question mark,

like I'm looking for their approval."

"Ahh, with that additional data, Julie,

what ideas come to mind of what you could do?

What could you do

so that those conferences would be more satisfying,

so you could get what you want, which is to be heard?"

Julie thought and said,

"Well, my first impulse is to just leave the company

and go to a place that respects me more,

go to a company where they are new-idea oriented."

"Hmm, what do you see when you visualize that solution?"

"Well, I see that with these skills, I could get a job somewhere else.

But I actually like that company.

It's also very close to my house.

I have kids at home. I don't want to be spending an hour a day in the car.

So that doesn't feel like a satisfying solution."

"Okay, one of the beauties of visualization prescriptions

is you can try out solutions.

So, Julie, let's try a different solution.

What else comes to mind?"

Julie said, "Hmm,

if I did this pumping-up routine before I went into the meeting,

I could just aim to speak louder,

speak more authoritatively,

speak with confidence,

like, 'I know what I'm talking about,

and I'm trying to be helpful to you here.'"

"Visualize what happens then."

Julie chuckled.

"That guy over there, no matter what I do, he's not going to listen to me.

But from this big position, I can see that's about him.

He's doesn't listen to anyone.

I don't need to take that so personally.

The others, though, they're paying attention.

They do seem to be listening to what I say.

Also, I see I could be a little more humble and patient

and say what I'm saying with explanations

so they don't feel so threatened

that what I'm saying is something they know nothing about."

"Hmm, how do you feel, Julie, as you look at that scene?"

Julie said, "Huh!

I still feel big.

I feel brighter. I feel lighter.

It's like that dark cloud of depression lifted like a fog on a sunny day."

Prescriptions without pills.

You can use these techniques as well.

Listen back to the video

and jot down the specific questions that I asked

for each of the three prescriptions.

That's your written prescription.

When you feel down,

remember,

life is not an endurance contest;

there's no need to keep suffering.

Use your prescriptions.

Pinpoint the problem, pump up and problem solve

so you, too, can return to the light of well-being.

Thank you.

(Applause)