Until we can find out for certain what chemical changes occur when someone becomes depressed, and find out what triggers them, we will not even begin to be able to discover whether one can prevent depression. As with a tendency towards anxiety, it does appear that some people are more inclined to become depressed than others. We cannot say, however, that anyone has actually prevent depression until we are able to expose people to its causes and observe their minds and bodies resisting it as a result of some kind of preventive action. Nevertheless, if we consider what depressed people regard as the causes of their illness, it may offer some guidance as to possible preventative measures.
What are the ways for the Prevention of Depression?
Prevention of Depression -through the way we think:
We already know that two people can experience identical events and yet one may become depressed as a result whereas the other does not. The only difference between them is the way in which they think about what has happened and how it affects them. The way we think affects the way our body behaves and this inturn influences the way we feel.
Depression Prevention – through the balance theory:
Whether it is treated or not, depression seems to disappear quite suddenly. It may take weeks or over a year, but it happens. It may come back if the conditions which caused it are repeated, but it seems that the body adjusts itself to the imbalance in the system and rights itself – untill the next time.
Prevention of Depression -through the state-dependent theory:
It has been found that we remember incidents according to the way we felt at the time. This is called state dependent memory, and it means we do not remember the past in neutral terms, seeing both sides of any situation. The rule is therefore to try and allow yourself to see something positive in everything. If you find something positive in even the worst that befalls you, then you have cracked it!
Depression Prevention -through the acceptance theory:
We only have the power to control our own thoughts and actions. No matter how much we try and control others, we cannot. We must accept other people just as they are; it is upto them to change themselves if they want to. Nobody has the right to control another. The only possible exception to this is a parent’s right to hold control of a child in trust untill that child is able to take over. What we have to learn is acceptance.
By Teena Jain
