Hey everyone,
this week's video is something that I know a lot of us struggle with,
and that is depression. So we're going to talk a little bit about that and what we do.
So stay tuned.
[Kati Morton MFTI Healthy Mind, Healthy Body]
So like I said, depression affects a lot of us.
When I say a lot,
they estimate 19 million people in the United States alone
struggle with depression.
What is it? People throw that word around a lot:
"Ugh, I'm just depressed today..."
You know, we use a lot of terms without actually knowing what they mean,
and depression is honestly something that's considered a mood disorder.
Now what does that mean?
That just means that our mood is depressed,
as in, it's a down mood.
You know when sometimes we're feeling very excited,
we're very energetic and we don't know why but today's a great day,
and then we feel that way?
Right, when we're depressed we may feel tired,
we may feel achey, we may not enjoy the things we used to enjoy
like oh, your girlfriends call, some of your friends call and are like
"Hey, we're headed out to go out on this hike!" or
"Oh, we're going to go grab coffee!" and you used to always do that with them,
but now you either don't pick up the phone,
or it just doesn't sound like a good time.
Or you might even try to get yourself to go
and you don't even have the energy.
So those are some of the common symptoms of depression,
as well as even that feeling at night,
when we can't almost can't shut our brain off,
so we're tired all day long, and all we can think about is
"I can't wait to get back to bed, can't wait to get back to bed,"
and then we get to bed, and we can't sleep.
How annoying. Right?
And the cycle just goes and goes and goes.
Now, what do we do?
Because, to be honest, I would even venture to say,
and this is just my opinion obviously,
I would venture to say that everyone has had a depressive episode in their life.
We've had times when we feel down,
things get really stressful and we're overwhelmed,
so you're not alone. Don't think you're alone at all.
Like I said, 19 million is what they estimate.
And we all know they always underestimate everything, so,
you're not alone.
But now that we think we may struggle with it,
"yeah, I do feel kind of depressed and I do have trouble and I don't enjoy things..."
we need to find a therapist.
Now I know many of you feel like,
"I just don't know" or "that's expensive" or
"I don't know what to do." That's the first step I would take.
And I would look into options. I have a video
that I did, it feels like eons ago, about how to get treatment
when funds are low, and I know I talk about eating disorder
treatment in there, but I also talk about seeing a therapist
and getting them to work on a sliding scale.
So you might want to check out that video because
it can kind of give you some tips and ways to try to
get your need your needs met if funding is a problem
because all of us have to work on a budget.
Okay, so now we're going to go try to see a therapist.
Well then what? What if that's not enough?
We see them once a week and things aren't changing.
You may want to make an appointment to see your doctor or your psychiatrist,
because there medications out there that they say can help.
There are also homeopathic remedies,
there are things that we can do, right?
So don't feel like if therapy isn't enough and you feel a little better
but you don't feel quite back to normal,
don't feel like you're stuck. Okay?
That's one of the first things that we need to do.
And the thing that I tell my clients,
so if you come in my office and you're telling me these things
like "I'm really tired, and I don't enjoy anything, I was feeling overwhelmed,"
whatever it may be, however you present
and I think to myself "Well it sounds like they're kind of having a depressive episode
and they may have major depressive disorder" or whatever
What would I do? I would encourage you
to try and do the opposite of what your depression tells you to do.
Now a lot of what I do is externalizing the issue
so the depression, I would kind of give it its own identity.
It's this other thing. It's like this fog that rolls in and just hangs, right?
So what do we do about it?
Well, we need to force ourselves out.
So if you wake up on a Saturday and you're like,
"I would rather just stay in bed all day,"
don't do it! Don't listen to that depression,
it will keep you in it forever!
I would encourage you-text that friend, go out for coffee
make a plan. Make plans you can't get out of.
And I know you're thinking "Kati, that sounds horrible,
and I don't want to," but we have to fight back.
Because although depression can come and go,
when we just submit to it and submit to it,
it can get worse. Okay?
Does that kind of make sense? It's almost like anything,
If we just keep doing negative things and expecting a positive outcome,
that would be crazy, right?
So we need to start doing positive things in preparation for a positive outcome.
So let's call that friend. Let's vent a little,
let's cry, it's okay! Put on a sad movie, let yourself cry.
Put on some sad music. I honestly love that,
it feels so cathartic, it's just so good to cry sometimes.
So let yourself, but, once a week, this is my challenge to you,
once a week, let's talk back to that voice,
and let's do something that it tells us we don't want to do,
or we're too tired to do, or whatever.
Because we have to get out. We have to push ourselves.
You could have a good time. Who knows? Right?
But we don't know if we don't challenge it.
And otherwise, we're just listening to that nasty voice,
and it will just get worse and worse. Does that make sense?
So, find a therapist. If you have any trouble finding a therapist, let me know.
I can help for the most part in the States,
I can give you some websites to go to
and different ways to look up your insurance, and what you can ask for
because you could call your insurance
and they either e-mail you or actually snail mail, regular mail you,
a list of prescribers in your area,
and then all you have to be responsible for is a co-pay.
So there's a lot of things that we can do, and we can work it out.
So we'll find a therapist,
and then we'll probably go to our doctor or psychiatrist,
because we might want an antidepressant or some medication that could help.
And, we're going to force ourselves to get out.
Do something. I promise it will feel better.
It just feels good sometimes to just shower,
and to put on some clothes, like some jeans and a t-shirt,
and we walk to the coffee shop,
even though we don't really want to,
I promise you it will feel better just to take that step
because the more we stay in bed and the more we just
wallow in our depression, it will snowball on us
and we'll feel so caught up in it and we almost can't see out.
So while we can, let's get hold of it,
and let's take our lives back,
because we all deserve to have those happy moments, and to be excited
and to get out and have relationships with people,
because people love us and people care about us.
And we need to go out and enjoy.
So let me know, share your tips.
I love when people share what's working for them.
Like "Hey, when I feel really down and out,
and I'm really feeling bad about myself and just depressed,
I will do this and it will help." Let us know.
Because together, we can work together, and we can figure out what's helping.
Because I only have what's worked for me in my experience with my clients,
and me personally.
When I have a down day, what do I do? I call a friend,
I color sometimes, I'll watch a sad movie and let myself cry
and then I force myself out, I'll call a friend I'm going to go have dinner, whatever.
I'm making plans. And so, that works for me, but everybody's different.
So, let's share what works.
And don't forget to subscribe to my channel, because I put out videos every Monday,
and based on what you guys tell me you want to hear
and what different video topics you want me to cover,
I will be putting those out. So you want to stay tuned.
And let's keep working together let's help one another
towards a healthy mind and a healthy body.
[link to video "How to get treatment when funds are low"] ...was actually geared toward those particular types of treatment
and this is something that if any of my coworkers heard this,
they'd be like "I can't believe you said that!"
but it's not something they tell you about, it's not something they put on their website.
But they'll help you. I've even seen clients come through who are fully scholarshipped into the program.
If you need help and you can't afford it, they have money aside for that...
They know that that happens.
Subtitles by the Amara.org community