Depression? Freeze, Frisk and Flip!

 


Nightline, Mind, Samaritans, CALM, CALL… do they ring a bell (no pun intended)? These are mainly listening services provided by volunteers to other individuals who feel troubled, generally. A kind of psychological breather, for the one who feels choked due to any reason under the sky. So, what are they worried about? Well, there could be emotional issues like a break-up, peer pressure, high expectations or ones with academic roots, financial woes or a physical ailment. If the person often feels sad or loses interest in leisure activities, or in life, they could be experiencing a mild, moderate, or severe form of depression. It is actually alarming that every 4th student reports symptoms of depression, and every 10th one gets thoughts of committing suicide.


Hence the relevance of such initiatives, to reduce the mood disorder. It is important to know that one of the causes of depression is cognitive in nature. It means, depression commences at the mental level, which starts showing when a person becomes indecisive, their attention waivers, their concentration declines, or they get repetitive negative thoughts (for instance death, suicide or self- harm). Aaron Beck, the father of Cognitive Therapy has explained depression through the Cognitive Triad which is a part of the Cognitive Model of Depression, i.e., when a person entertains three types of negative thoughts about (1) the self, (2) the future, and (3) the world, they lead to depression. For instance, at a time when the pandemic of COVID-19 is globally escalating, an individual affected by the negative triad would opine about self, “My immunity is low and I will be an easy victim of it”, the future would be interpreted as, “The picture is very dark and dreary and I will be doomed forever due to rising unemployment”, and the world as it would be seen with a jaundiced eye, “ It will end soon and we all will die”. This thinking indicates catastrophising when a person expects a disaster to happen and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Furthermore, the person gets the feelings of hopeless and helpless since they cannot control what is happening in the world, or the uncertainty related to future events. It makes them withdraw within. And this is how it becomes a vicious cycle, and the person keeps getting deeper into the depressive marsh.




The big question is: can we crack the NUT ourselves? Or kill the dangerous ANT? Confused? NUT stands for Negative Unconscious Thoughts, and ANT denotes Automatic Negative Thoughts which can result in Depression. I have experienced that a three-step recipe can work wonders: Freeze. Frisk. Flip. (does that remind you of making a pudding or baking a cake or flipping a pancake?) Freeze and become aware of thought by understanding it properly and it's meaning. Frisk it from every angle to see if it is negative or positive? If positive, embrace it. If negative, flip it and replace with more positive thoughts.  Let’s say, you think: “I do not like my batch mates”. Freeze and understand why do you dislike them? Is it because they are snobs, self-centred, unhelpful, or bragging types? Secondly, is the thought negative? Yes. Thirdly, how to flip it? Use opposition thinking. Replace with a much better and affirming thought which focuses on the silver lining, like “Each of my batch mates is unique, and most of them are good”.


In the end, I would say that it is better to kill the ANTs as they emerge, there and then. This is something we can try ourselves by incorporating the three steps as a habit, as the routine thoughts, fill our minds. Untreated depression can change the brain over a period of time; the brain suffers from inflammation and can give rise to diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. Like a physical wound gets infected, when not treated. But, if depression gets worse, one must not hesitate from seeking help from professional mental health Institutes, like Psycho-Social Support and Mental Health Services  (PSSMHS) Helpline service of NIMHANs (National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences)—as I am aware of it, in India.



Comments

  1. Unknown4 August 2020 at 06:31

    Good info for youngsters!👍

    ReplyDelete
  2. Riya Jain6 August 2020 at 03:26

    Well written and explained ✨

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ravi Arora15 August 2020 at 08:36

    Well said and very relevant for today's depressive scenario.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Unknown25 December 2020 at 21:50

    Informative

    ReplyDelete
  5. PUSHYAN JINDAL25 December 2020 at 22:03

    A really great article for CA Students as well as CA Professionals who are one of the worst victim of depression nowadays.

    ReplyDelete

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