I’m excited to present today’s blog in collaboration with BetterHelp.com, a website that provides online counseling and advice for those with mental health needs.
HIGH FUNCTIONING DEPRESSION
Although the holidays are usually full of merriment and music, for many people, the glow is much dimmer, the melodies nearly silent. Although you may not recognize it by the looks of them, nearly 5 million Americans suffer from high functioning depression (see the infographic below).
So today, you’ll find BetterHelp.com’s concise and useful infographic for recognizing and dealing with this relatively prevalent mental illness (for more information on depression, check out their other articles here: https://www.betterhelp.com/online-therapy).
For more tips on dealing with wintertime woefulness, check out my previous article: Beat Back the Blues.
Best Regards,
jdt
Psychophilosophy to Ponder: Often, sorrow during the holidays comes from missing something we once had (e.g., the comfort of a close family member, the festive warmth of the season, winter break). Instead of dwelling on what you wish you had, try to focus on being grateful you were able to have that experience at all. Whether the people or times you miss were fleeting or enduring, you were never guaranteed that experience in the first place; in which case, having it at all is something to appreciate.
Anonymous
Cynic me, Jake. Of the industry of psychotherapy… Oh, do get treatment. And pop some Prozac too. No, methinks the great problem isn’t psychological, it’s existential. If say, we all ate more bananas as we contemplate being but three years away from Trump’s second term, etc. it would no less therapeutic.
jdt
Thanks for the comment, and I understand your cynicism. Moreover, I agree with you that many anxieties today emerge existentially from our self-aware nature, but there is something to be said about the physical/biological aspects of anxiety and depression. Although Prozac, as you mention, focuses on the symptoms of these illnesses, it can be used in conjunction with or separate from talk therapy–which it itself often focuses on the existential concerns you suggest as the root cause. Good point!