If you think about depression, it seems like a very maladaptive trait. Why would our human organism have adapted a mechanism that causes an otherwise functional human to just stop functioning? Wouldn’t that have been bred out of our genes?
Unless there it serves a purpose.
I wondered about this many years ago, and I started looking into it. There is a theory that I read which changed the way I thought about depression and has been very valuable to me.
The theory is that depression exists as a mechanism to force us to stop traveling down the wrong path. Sometimes we get so fixated on a particular course of action, that we ignore all warning signs that we should change course.
According to this theory, depression is a neurological mechanism to force us to stop working and to think about our course, as well as to make it painful enough to pursue a difference course.
This theory changed my life. Once I saw depression as a warning sign, and not some kind of malfunction, I would respond to it by examining my situation and seeing what needed to change. Sure enough, after a bit of a rest, I would execute a new set of actions to change the situation, and the depression would pass.
Consider this the next time you fall into depression. Take a break to reevaluate. There will be aspects of your life that feel unbearable. Change them. Your mind knows what you must do. Listen to it. You possess more inner wisdom than you think.
I’d be open to talking things through with you to get you on the right track. Click here to schedule a call. You are meant to do great things. Let me help you take the first step.