Clearing the Clouds of Depression

One of the best elements of spring is sunshine and the warmth that accompanies it. Okay, that’s two best things, but they go together.  The return of sunshine and warmth also brings migratory birds with their sweet tunes, foliage revives itself from dormancy, and even people seem to reawaken with a bounce in their step. I remember in college when the sun and warmth finally became more consistent, the student radio station would play a host of songs focusing on sunshine — “Walking on Sunshine,” “Good Day Sunshine,” “Sunshine on My Shoulders,” “Here Comes the Sun,” and even “Blister in the Sun.”   Who knew that a little good weather could bring such bliss?

What if, however, the weather never changed?  What if the sky above was always grey, gloomy, and full of dark storm clouds?  Moreover, what if you found that this dull, gloomy weather persisted to follow you wherever you went?  Think of the first time you learned about constellations and identified the Big Dipper in the night sky - you thought if you ran to your friend’s house, you would see it differently or not at all, yet there it was shining brightly in the night sky.  Same with traveling to your grandparents’ house, vacation, etc., you could always find the Big Dipper on a clear night - always following you.  Well, what if the grey clouds consistently loomed over your head for weeks or months on end, and you stopped believing the weather would ever change?  This is often how individuals suffering from clinical depression describe their life. They wake up to grey clouds, they live the day with grey clouds, and they go to bed with grey clouds, the sky above never changes, the forecast begins to always looks the same: bleak. 

Mother Nature has learned how to deal with gloomy weather.  An intense thunderstorm is often followed by sunny skies and a bright, colorful rainbow.  Banks of accumulated snow are finally melted away with sunshine and warmth. We all may be subject to the whims of Mother Nature, but we do not have to be subject to depression.  Depression can be worked on and cleared away with a little ‘sunshine.’ Depression is treatable. The most well-known treatments are therapy, medication, exercise, and diet, often most effective in combination. While prescription medication helps deal with chemical imbalances, therapy is intended to treat the underlying issues and help determine if the body can learn or relearn to produce the necessary chemicals to send the dark clouds away.

Talking is a major part of therapy (often with the goal of increasing self awareness and emotional communication), but a therapist may also suggest some lifestyle alterations such as exercise, joining a support or therapy group, diet change, and so on. The most important thing is that if you or a loved one suffers from clinical, diagnosable depression, grey clouds overhead do not need to be the status quo.  Assistance is available to help clear the gloom and provide the opportunity for the sun to shine.

Jeff Grossman offers individual and group therapy in Nashville & Brentwood, Tennessee.