Depression
Depression
Nowadays, although there are serious forms of what we might call “ailments of the soul” (formerly known as melancholia and now reduced to the term depression), it is also true that any passing sadness, fatigue, or emotional slump is often perceived as a matter that must be urgently treated to prevent it from getting worse.
Depression seems to be everywhere. According to statistics, 95% of people experience at least six episodes of sadness or a lack of self-confidence every year. If each of these episodes is treated as a disease, it should come as no surprise that depression diagnoses are increasing more and more. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 5% of the world's population has experienced or will experience a depressive episode in their lifetime. The most alarming aspect of this situation is the vast consumption of antidepressant drugs.
In his work The Imaginary Invalid, Molière already put forth something similar: people are convinced that feeling sad is a sign of illness, and they are persuaded to take medicine. What was once considered simply a bad time, a difficult period, or mourning a loss is now categorized as an “illness.” This view of depression, as it is interpreted today, reduces human emotions to a mere pathological problem.
People today tend to perceive themselves as a machine: if something goes wrong, it is considered a “breakdown” that requires an immediate solution. The idea that we all have the right to be happy, even if that means resorting to pills, has become widespread and seems like a modern version of science fiction.
However, treating depression solely from a biochemical approach is part of the problem. On the other hand, those who argue that depression is the result of modern individualism or social pressures make highly valid sociological analyses, but fail to recognize that the word "depression" encompasses a diversity of emotional states, as countless as the unique lives of the individuals who experience them. This general term avoids reflecting on the fact that depression can often be a response to experiences such as loss, loneliness, a feeling of detachment, or emptiness, which are unique to each person. When it is persistent and interferes with everyday life, it may be a good idea to go to a psychoanalyst's office to see someone you trust to share your discomfort.
Therapy for depression
Instead of understanding depression as something uniform, psychoanalytic therapy seeks to explore each case in a particular manner, considering that emotions are unique to each person as are the causes and the mental processes involved. Psychoanalysts do not seek to give a universal definition of depression, instead they help patients work to discover and shape their unconscious knowledge that speaks with their symptoms, which can be highly varied: irritability, feelings of emptiness, reluctance, sadness, etc.
As Jacques-Alain Miller, the founder of the World Association of Psychoanalysis, highlights, people become depressed when they avoid facing their truths. In order not to fall into depression, people must accept and confront those truths. This is the most effective way to overcome sadness.
Treatment for depression
In our psychoanalysis practice, treatment for depression focuses on the patient being able to talk about any of the issues that affect them and cause deep sadness. We offer a safe space for patients to freely explore their thoughts and emotions. The therapeutic process is gradual and respectful to each person's pace. In times of great difficulty, the psychoanalyst is there as a trusted support in the individual's life.
During psychoanalytic work, we will focus on what patients want to say about themselves, their experiences, and the meanings they attribute to certain aspects of their life and the lives of those who matter to or affect them. This involves exploring any aspect of their life in a confidential setting, where patients are invited to speak freely, with no pressure to be clear, construct a narrative, or make immediate sense of what they are expressing.
Little by little, through the patients’ own words, surprising new aspects can emerge. This can transform how patients understand something about themselves or their past experiences. When certain senses become empty, they often take along some of the pain, suffering, and sadness associated with them.
A problem that previously seemed to have no way out can become a possibility for a small solution, allowing patients to discover a different and more joyful way of living.