Depression and Therapy

OK, so I have now watched Prozac Nation. The film was intriguing to me because I find the psychology, interaction, thoughts, and portrayal of people fascinating in movies whether they are happy, depressed, angry, or indifferent. I think that Christina Ricci's character was a little over-dramatized for what the average depressed person acts like, but I felt that her thoughts and some of her actions were brutally accurate.

The movie offered a greater insight into the mind of a depressed person. We all try to understand and say things like, "It will get better, just wait it out" or "Just be happy." But, what we need to do is support the person unconditionally, encourage them genuinely, don't offer fake colloquialisms that only sour things, listen, listen, listen, and maintain patience. Maybe I will begin to figure out better solutions to assisting someone who is depressed or to counseling them, but the counseling part is more complex than I desire to detail here. I will sum that up by saying depression can be intricate to treat depending on environment, genetics, substance abuse, hormones, past history (medical, psychological, physiological, etc), so much.

Next on my list is to read Undoing Depression to understand better how to work most effectively with someone who is depressed. I leave you with this quote from Prozac Nation between Christina Ricci and her therapist played by Anne Heche because I want to be a sensitive and real therapist who can create an atmosphere of comfort and healing for my clients, while equipping them personally with the skills to develop a better life, and not simply dole out medications, answers, and textbook treatments. I want to offer the possibility of empowerment, healing, not being along in one's pain, and the instillation of hope.

Therapist: "We're not talking about your family. We're talking about you."
Client: [thinking..."I'll give her that much-- I'm the problem. I worry about being in therapy. I worry about not being in therapy. I even worry I'm not entertaining enough for Dr. Sterling."]
"I just keep thinking if I could just be normal, you know, if I could just get out of bed in the morning everything would be ok."
Therapist: "What do you think normal is?"
Client: "Most people they cut themselves, they put a Band-Aid on. They just keep going."
Therapist: "And what do you do?"
Client: "I just keep bleeding."
Therapist: "So you think being normal is just having a wound, putting a patch on it, and just going on with your life?"
Client: "Isn't that what living is? You just keep going no matter what happens."
Therapist: "Is that the way you want to live?"