Woman's Guide to Overcoming Depression

Archibald Hart

Description

Depression in women is epidemic. It's particularly frustrating for believers who are told that Christians shouldn't feel depressed. What is a biblical perspective on depression? What causes it in women? How do you treat it? A Woman's Guide to Overcoming Depression is an up-to-date and comprehensive resource for women experiencing mild to moderate depression. It addresses types of depression, proven treatments, strategies for wellness, and God's plan for wholeness. Hart and Weber redeem depression as an opportunity for growth and change, helping readers not only to find healing but also to build resilience. A practical and inspirational resource, this book contains exercises that encourage proactive, intentional living. A special chapter for loved ones and friends helps those readers better understand depression and how to be supportive.

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 01 novembre 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781441202093
• Langue: English

Extrait

A W OMAN S G UIDE T O O VERCOMING D EPRESSION
A W OMAN S G UIDE T O O VERCOMING D EPRESSION
Archibald Hart, Ph.D. Catherine Hart Weber, Ph.D.
2002 by Archibald Hart, Ph.D., and Catherine Hart Weber, Ph.D.
Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com
Spire edition published 2007 ISBN 10: 0-8007-8758-7 ISBN 978-0-8007-8758-5
Previously published in 2002 under the title Unveiling Depression in Women
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic, photocopy, recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture is taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked NASB is taken from the New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
This book is lovingly dedicated to all the young girls and women in our families: Kathleen, Catherine, Sharon, Sylvia, Nicole, Ashley, and Caitlan
C ONTENTS
Introduction
Part 1 Understanding Depression in Women
1. What Every Woman Should Know
2. Recognizing Depression
Part 2 Causes of Depression in Women
3. Depression Risk Factors
4. Loss and Depression
5. Stress, Anxiety, and Depression
6. Depression and the Life Cycle
Part 3 Getting Help and Healing Depression
7. Counseling Therapy
8. Antidepressant Medication Therapy
9. Natural Complementary Therapy
Part 4 Strategies for Overcoming Depression
10. Strategies for Recovery
11. Caring for a Woman Who Is Depressed
Notes
Resources
I NTRODUCTION
Chances are, you ve been touched by depression in some way. It s an epidemic, after all, especially among women and children. In fact, every fourth woman around you has the potential for becoming seriously depressed; if you re that woman, you only have a one in three chance of getting the help you really need. Too many women will suffer alone unnecessarily, hoping somehow they ll snap out of it.
Whether you re that woman with firsthand experience of depression or simply close to someone who fights it, there s no need to feel alone or helpless.
This book can help you.
It s an updated, comprehensive, practical resource and guide that shows, explains, and gives tools for overcoming and building resistance to mild to moderate depression. Along with the latest medical, psychological, and practical information, it offers a biblical approach and our prayer that through a proper understanding of God s divine plan for your health and wholeness, you ll discover complete healing.
Keep in mind that if you or someone you know is experiencing severe clinical depression or has been depressed for some time, it s important to get competent, qualified professional help to determine the cause and severity. Counseling, along with possible antidepressant medication, social support, and a wellness lifestyle, will be essential for a full recovery and for preventing a relapse.
To help you each step of the way, this book aims to keep things simple and give you just the information you need. In fact, if you re too daunted right now to even delve into the entire book from front to back, start just with this summary. You ll find the chapters supporting these summary points are full of more detailed and useful help.
1. Depression is treatable! See chapter 1. Get help as soon as you can. The longer you wait, the harder it gets.
2. You need not be alone-talk to someone you trust. Encouragement, support, and help can be found when you confide any thoughts about how you re feeling.
3. You can know the severity of your depression and determine its type. Take the depression quiz in chapter 2; if your depression is moderate to severe, seek professional help immediately.
4. You can understand the underlying cause(s) of your depression and what it may be signaling to you. A thorough medical and psychological evaluation will help determine risk factors, and chapters 3 to 6 address these.
5. You can know the most effective treatment options for you, whether it s counseling and psychotherapy; antidepressant medication therapy for moderate to severe and long-term depression; or other natural complementary treatment options and remedies, including wellness lifestyle choices for preventing future depressions. See chapters 7 to 10.
6. You can get treatment-and quickly. Your doctor or a friend can help if you ve experienced depression symptoms for more than two weeks, if your depression is affecting your life in negative ways, or if you are having thoughts or feelings of hurting yourself. Call a suicide hotline or have someone take you to an emergency room if you are not able to go yourself. Always remember: Your problem might be physical and easily treated.
7. A professional counselor can help you on an ongoing basis by helping you discover and heal some deep-seated emotional hurt, or more positively aligning your beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors.
8. You can receive a complete medical examination that rules out other possible physical or medical conditions that could be causing your depression. Your doctor can give you the appropriate referral for treatment of any underlying physical problem.
9. A positive support system is just a phone call away. Family, friends, your church community, and others close to you can take you to appointments or help you with the necessities of daily living. Take advantage of this as it will help you find connections during this painful time.
10. You can take small steps every day that move you toward strategies for recovery. Chapter 10 guides you through practical resources for overcoming depression and for wellness living. We also equip you for the roadblocks to your recovery.
11. You can learn how to live with a woman who is depressed. Tools in chapter 11 show you how to be helpful, as well as how to care for yourself.
Finally, know that this guide aims to help you become knowledgeable enough to be your own health advocate. We ll guide you through getting the professional help you need, as well as taking care of yourself and making healthy lifestyle choices. And the result is something you can take heart in: With each new thing you learn, test, and try, you will be on the road to recovery and building your resistance to future depressions.
P ART 1 U NDERSTANDING D EPRESSION IN W OMEN
1 W HAT E VERY W OMAN S HOULD K NOW
Why are you downcast, O my soul, my inner self ?
Why are you so disturbed and disquieted within me?
I choose to put my hope in you, God, to wait expectantly for you, and I will still praise You, my help, my Savior and my God.
O my God, my life is downcast within me, and it is more than I can bear; therefore I will earnestly remember you!
Prayer inspired by Psalm 42:5-6
Nena is the envy of many. A charming, warm, and happy forty-two-year-old, she completed college with top honors and took up teaching as a career. She can sew, crochet, cook, bake, paint in watercolors, and enjoy a good laugh. She is a very good mother, wife, neighbor, and Christian, and is highly sought after to be on every church committee imaginable. Outwardly, there is nothing wrong with her life. She is adored by a doting husband and lovingly respected by her two teenage children, a boy and a girl.
But the outside doesn t always match the inside. One day while getting out of bed, Nena felt something wasn t right. At first, she considered it a mild case of the flu, but things got worse. It wasn t the flu at all.
A profound state of fatigue had overtaken her, and it continued to the point that mornings brought an endless fight to get out of bed. Nena had once been an early riser, often going for a jog with her husband before getting the kids ready and off to school. But now that seemed impossibly far away. She would just lie there, feeling that her arms and legs couldn t respond to her wishes.
Nena also noticed that she was somewhat irritable and would burst into tears at the slightest provocation. Throughout the day, she would find herself overcome with intense sadness she couldn t explain. There was no reason for it. Her life was so perfect. She tried not to alarm her husband and kept much of what she was feeling to herself. At times, though, he would ask her if everything was okay, and she would reassure him that it was, saying something like, I m just feeling a little under the weather. Must be a touch of the flu.
Nena tried to force herself to do things. She continued teaching, though it was becoming more difficult each day. She d collapse on her bed the moment she arrived home and increasingly did not have meals prepared on time. She withdrew from the family. Finally, her husband sat her down and expressed concern about the changes he had seen taking place over the last few months. Nena conceded something was wrong.
It was the family doctor who diagnosed Nena s depression. He d known her for a long time and immediately noticed the change. It was something in her eyes.
By clinical standards, Nena s depression was mild. Despite becoming somewhat incapacitated by it, she was able to put on a brave face to the outside world. None of her friends realized she was depressed, and only those as close as her family had wondered if something was wrong.
Her treatment was quite straightforward. A medical evaluation showed that she was in perimenopause, a time when estrogen levels begin to decline, and a family history revealed that her mother had suffered from a severe menopausal depression which had never been treated. Her doctor referred her to a psychologist for counseling, and after consu