Depression Caused by Thought Overload
by Greg Moler
allthatcounts.com
Summary: A form of depression caused by runaway thoughts can be cured by
simple behavior modification.
There is a form of depression that afflicts adults. It is caused
by a psychological security mechanism that they use when cut loose from the
security of their childhood. This page describes the symptoms of this
depression, explains the cause, and offers a cure.
- When you wake up in the morning, you do not open your eyes
and ears to your surroundings. Instead, your actions
feel automated.
- You feel as if you are on a train track and cannot get off.
- New situations can put you into a panic.
- There is no "now" to your life.
For every thing you do, you have already planned what comes
later.
Think back to your childhood. You lived only for the moment.
Each thing you did was all that existed. Life was a series of adventures,
but the series was transparent because all that mattered was the current
adventure. Your senses were acutely tuned to all your surroundings.
When you enter young adulthood, you lose the protection
of your parents. Faced with sudden loss of security, you find substitutes.
One of the security substitutes can lead to runaway thoughts and
depression.
Your security becomes future plans. No longer is there any
"just now" to your life, but "after this, then...." The future is what you
hang on to. You cannot, for example, just drive somewhere: you drive
somewhere "and then..."
But this can lead to a chain reaction. If the fact that something
comes next is comforting, then how about after that? ...and after that?
This is the beginning of thought overload, when life is so scheduled that
your mind connects every action with another, and you get trapped on that
train track, getting confused and overwhelmed by it all. The body reacts
by saying, "enough is enough"---and you enter depression.
How many volumes of Existentialist philosophy can be condensed into
a simple statement: for a feeling of security, people abandon the "now"?
You need to get off the track. You need to say "time out".
Nowadays, whenever psychological cures are considered, the subject
of drugs comes up. There are various helpful drugs: I am familiar with
amitriptyline, known by the brand name Elavil. Most people think of
amitriptyline as an antidepressant, but it is also a sedative.
The effect of taking amitriptyline is to shut down your runaway thoughts
for a while. However, I do not promote the taking of drugs, as it frequently
leads to habits or even dependence.
There is another way. It can be frightening, as you will have
to abandon your "future plans" security.
Do this. Lie down, relax. Try to clear you mind of all thought.
It may not be easy, but try it.
Then do one thing. It does not matter what--go to the store, wash
the dishes, etc. And put this into your mind: This is all there is.
Nothing comes later. Reality is condensed into one thing:
"There is only now".
You will be nervous, even scared. Your eyes, which have been fogged
over, will see things you haven't noticed before. You will hear things you
have previously ignored. The sky, the trees, the air you breathe will all
come alive again.
You can be a child again!