Depression - the thing your brain decides when it's not going to win this one…

• Depression is not a chemical imbalance
• It is a more complex process leading to burnout and “giving up”
• We have control of it if we understand what is happening and reverse the decisions which our brain is making
• We are in charge, but may need some help to consistently reverse this process
• It is meant to be empowering and constructive.

Depression has become a topic we talk about all the time.

They talk about it in the classrooms at school, and they talk about it at a family event or maybe among your friends.

People think they understand what it is, although really what everyone seems to agree on is that it’s a general state of unhappiness that could require psychiatric treatment.

Everyone of course has mixed views on how good treatment is.

Is it terrible? It is bad but needed?

For many, depression is a sad subject that we accept is kind of part of life at times, and for some people more than others.

Now, you will have encountered different ideas of what depression is and its cause. Have you ever heard it referred to as a chemical imbalance? This suggests it is a problem in the brain where something is missing… a not so severe version of missing an arm or leg.

You may be interested to learn this isn’t true from the scientific evidence. Research found that depression is not a lack of a certain molecule, like having enough “serotonin”. Instead, we need to think about depression as an ancient mode of behavior we drop into when we feel threatened and defeated. We enter this state when we feel that undefeatable threat is not going away.

The reality is this “threat” could be anything in our modern world. A bad exam, a terrible relationship, a bad family situation, a frightening school. A demon from the past.

Once we decide the world has got us, we shut down. We float sadly through life, not daring to care, feeling we know for certain the result of any effort will be destruction. Although it may seem impossible, you can challenge this way of thinking.

The reality is you are not defeated.

Look at you! You are still breathing, going, moving, and whether you see it or not, there are those that really love you and are willing to support you as you grow to take on the challenges of this land.

It’s fine to get knocked down!

It happens to all heroes.

There is new and really interesting, promising evidence that this is the way depression works.

We know this because when we send electrical impulses to the area of the brain we think is associated with that defeated state the results have been incredible. If you are depressed, or know someone who is, there is hope!

Defeat is part of life.

And we have faith you will conquer what has for now has caused you pain.

Reach out for help – it is there. We are all there with you.