Accepting sadness, the first step to overcome a depression

When we talk about mood disorders, it is necessary to differentiate where the line between the pathological and the normal.

Difference between joy and sadness

Normally we people live under a balanced mood and in harmony, what theorists have called euthymia. Euthymia is a state of mind in which a some stability, but with its ups and downs. It is what we call happiness and sadness:

• When a rise in our mood We call it joy or euphoria. But when the euphoria turns pathological we call it mania.
• Instead, when they occur low in our mood We call it sadness. This sadness can when it is prolonged in time or becomes pathological, producing discouragement and despair in the person. Chronic sadness invades his internal world, boycotting different areas of his life and personality to a greater or lesser extent.

Next, we will focus on depression or low moods and their effects on people:

Have depression

The degree of depression is difficult to measure. Although there are elements that describe it and that can help classify the type of depression, it is still subjective. Contrary to other diseases where tests can be used to obtain reliable and objective results. A very important fact is that depression it does not affect all people the same. Each individual manifests depressive symptoms that must be examined in a particular way along with other aspects of the patient's personality and personal life. However, if you want to discover tips to manage your emotions You are interested in reading, Psychiatrist Graduated in Medicine and Surgery.

The idyllic lives we show on social media

Recently, I read the case of a famous American television presenter who had asked her followers to give her they will send a photo that they had posted on their social networks in which they look happy despite having a bad time. The presenter was surprised by the avalanche of cases received. In some cases, the difference between what you wanted to show and what was really lived it was very different. The fact of want to give an image, whether in social networks or outside of them, contrary to what one really feels can have a defensive character. One can decide not to admit the sadness in which he is mired because he considers (consciously or not) that adopting the opposite attitude this will goEither she feels guilty for feeling sad, or because she has read a book that has told her that her happiness depends only on her and she feels responsible.

4 Ways to deal with it

The fact that depression is a subjective experience it means that each individual relates to it in a different way.

• Some people will ask for help right away.
• There are those who decide don't talk about it and live with that feeling, perhaps out of modesty or fear of being stigmatized.
• There are people that deny having a depression and they try to hide it, adopting an attitude contrary to their feelings.
• Some people is not aware of having a depression because there are other symptoms of a more symptomatic nature that mask the depression.

Consequences of not accepting depression

When you have a chronic feeling of sadness that lasts for months, the cost of normalizing or hiding it can be very high.

• First of all, we consider that it is very important to stay alert to messages that one receives from a society that constantly sells recipes to easily and quickly achieve happiness. It is important to be very critical of these messages and take into account that happiness comes from being able to reach a certain degree of balance and the absence of conflict. For that it is important know yourself in depth, not only in the intellectual sense "I am like this or like that" but also in an experiential sense, that is, becoming familiar with one's own way of feeling, speaking to oneself, relating to others, understanding why one he sees himself as he sees himself, understanding how one perceives others and the world and why, etc ...
• Second, it is important to be clear that not always the will can do everythingor, sometimes there are internal forces: conflicts, unconscious fantasies, difficulties in modulating emotions ... that override our will and dynamite our vital evolution. In those cases it is important. Look for a good psychotherapist, well trained, capable of understanding the idiosyncrasy of our experience and accompanying us in a psychotherapeutic process that helps us harmonize the aspects of ourselves that are in conflict.

• When you have a chronic feeling of sadness that lasts for months, the cost of normalizing or hiding it can be very high.
• The fact of wanting to give an image, whether in social networks or outside of them, contrary to what one really feels can have a defensive nature.
• It is very important to stay alert to the messages that one receives from a society that constantly sells recipes to achieve happiness easily and quickly.

Enric Artés Specialist in Clinical Psychology Teladoc Health Consultant Psychologist