When most of us are faced with depression, whether it’s a friend, a family member, or ourselves, the first approach most professionals will take is the pharmaceutical route.
To be sure, there are a great many antidepressants available, and many are very effective… but for those of us who prefer not to use such medications, or have found them ineffective, cognitive therapy for depression can be an excellent substitute.
Even when medications are working well, we may also benefit greatly from some added cognitive therapy, for depression is a many-faceted issue that often needs to be addressed from several angles.
While the prevailing notion among many psychiatrists and mental health professionals is that depression is caused by faulty brain chemistry, the brain is not entirely out of our control. By understanding the thought processes that impact our happiness, we can learn – quite deliberately – how to avoid those processes and lead better lives.
Cognitive therapy for depression is not magic, nor is it an archaic approach; self-awareness, in all its forms, can only improve and enrich our lives. It can be likened to the old joke about the visit to a doctor: “Doctor, it hurts when I do this.”
“Well, don’t do that!”
Once you begin to achieve an awareness of the thoughts and beliefs that are leading you to feel depression, you can actively avoid those thoughts and beliefs. Cognitive therapy for depression is nothing more or less than an education in the way your own brain operates, and which thoughts and beliefs “hurt” – making you depressed.
An understanding of why we are depressed, and how we can overcome those impulses and instincts that lead us to unproductive behavior, often proves to be the missing factor that leads us to happier and more fulfilling lives.