Depression in Plain English

Depression, mild or sever, is on the rise worldwide. Why? Contribution from pressure from work, speed of life, finances, family issues, and societal/technological changes add to our ability to cope with and effectively process the mental, emotional, physical, and psychological demands on us. The good news is that these are triggers that can be eliminated.

The purpose of this blog is to share the techniques and tips that have worked for me and others I know who live with depression and their loved ones who support them.

Depression SWOT Analysis

One of my special talents (no big head here just historical evidence) is translating and adopting seemingly unrelated concepts to solve problems. This is the context for sharing how I used a traditional business tool SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats) to assess and plot a path out of depression. First off, using business tools for mental health is a great thing because it allows for taking the illness into a more pragmatic framework than traditional therapy approaches. Secondly, business concepts are known to many so there is an innate comfort in relating to them. Third, using a tool that is not psychological in nature may help put more emphasis on problem solving than illness identification. What I mean by this is a different viewpoint that focuses on current practices and options moving forward. So lets begin. SWOT is a staple of competitive analysis tools in business. You can read a good writeup here: https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newTMC_05.htm My ado...

Early Signs of Depression

I often wondered if I was born with the tendency of depression. I asked my Mom last night what she could remember about my behavior that would be an indicator of depression. Here is what I learned: Age 3 Mom's spontaneous hug and kiss attempt often resulted in my response: "Mom don't kiss me" I earned the label "moody" which stuck with me 'till puberty. My parents dismissed this sign and attributed it to me being independent, smart, opinionated and the likes. Age 5 I was often found as a center of attention 'lecturing' others. I used my wit and reasoning ability to keep people at arms length. Age 7 First grade offered another platform to perfect my craft distancing myself from others. I used every opportunity to show that I was different than the rest both in mental abilities and behavior. While I loved the 'admiration' of my peers, I was also bored with them. I was seeking adult acceptance. Age 8 In an attempt to wri...

Digging out of the Depression Hole - Acknowledge

I'm back after many months to share the journey to digging myself out of a period of deeper than usual depression. I hope that these posts will help some of you in your own journey. I want to emphasize that deep depression is not something that happens at the time of causes. It is a result of prolonged and piled up unresolved emotions and feelings. Being functional keeps many of us dealing with the root causes when they occur. Therefore, do not try to find causes of depression in current situations, the damage happened in the past. I wrote this as an 8-year-old: I have everything but I am just not happy. Well, you may have everything okay right now but the past has caught up with you. Like when I had cancer... I was taking the treatments like a champ but 6 months later I fell into a deep depression. Emotions have a lag time. Depression is not new to me as I have suffered it my entire life (at least all of it that I can remember). Naturally, I've d...

Depression Road

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