“Can you describe situational depression to me?”
Since my mother died, I've been really depressed lately and it's hard for me to get out of bed. Because I never had these symptoms before, my doctor says that this could be situational depression. Can you describe what this means?
4 Answers
It’s when your life sucks. Whether you married an abusive or neglectful person, work for an evil boss or hang around with friends who hurt your feelings, the treatment for situational depression is to change things that can be changed. I like the Serenity Prayer from Alcoholics Anonymous which states, “Lord, Give me the Serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the Courage to change the things I can, and the Wisdom to know the difference”. Psychotherapy (counseling or talk therapy) May be able to help you sort out what type of situational stressors you face, changeable ones (bad job- look for a different job) or not changeable ones (caring for parents who have a terminal illness- your bad luck will change after they die and instead of caregiver burn-out, you will be dealing with grief until this resolved over time). Sometimes an antidepressant such as Prozac, Paxil or Zoloft May help with depressive symptoms such as low energy, poor self esteem, messed up sleep or changes in appetite. For these medications, seeing a primary care doctor or psychiatrist may help. There are no pills however that can fix a bad marriage or an evil job. For these things, refer to the Serenity Prayer, which applies equally well to alcoholics and not-alcoholics alike.
Environmental and not genetic
Situational depression is wanting to shut down when life becomes unbearable. It can be if you lose your appetite, sleep too much or too little, etc. It is treated with therapy, support groups, and perhaps medication.
I would initially call it grief. Grief is expected and a normal process needed to heal. Usually grief should be over by 6 months. After that, grief has failed to heal and restore and has evolved into a depression that can be quite severe. At this point a combination of grief therapy and antidepressants usually works. Best wishes at this devastating time.
