It seems bizarre to me that a number of people seem to very strongly believe that anxiety and depression are always meaningful. My first therapist told me that anxiety was like a sign post directing me towards my needs. This was a terrible thing to say to me. I've also come across a number of books that say more or less the same thing.
I'm not saying that there aren't external factors that contribute to anxiety and depression, but whatever one is feeling anxious or depressed about isn't necessarily related to those factors. Stress is a trigger for OCD, for example, but when I find myself obsessing, it's not like I obsess about what I'm stressed out about. Trying to find meaning in my obsessions is generally disastrous.
I understand where this idea that anxiety and depression are meaningful comes from. We live in a society where antidepressants are frequently prescribed and we are told that antidepressants are necessary to fix chemical imbalances in our brains. More are more people are taking drugs.
The people who believe that anxiety and depression are meaningful are responding to some of these disturbing trends in the over-medicalization of mental illness. They see finding meaning in anxiety and depression as an alternative to blindly popping pills.
But there's a third alternative I think. We can recognize that anxiety and depression arise from a number of complex factors, which include, but are not limited to:
1. Some sort of life situation or problem--that is, the anxiety and depression is meaningful
2. A structural or chemical issues with the brain
3. A lack of exercise or good food or sleep
4. An excess of caffeine or other substances that exacerbate anxiety
5. A health condition--thyroid hormone imbalances are linked to anxiety and depression, for example.
Just because we recognize that anxiety and depression sometimes are not meaningful doesn't mean that popping pills is the only answer, either.
I'm not saying that there aren't external factors that contribute to anxiety and depression, but whatever one is feeling anxious or depressed about isn't necessarily related to those factors. Stress is a trigger for OCD, for example, but when I find myself obsessing, it's not like I obsess about what I'm stressed out about. Trying to find meaning in my obsessions is generally disastrous.
I understand where this idea that anxiety and depression are meaningful comes from. We live in a society where antidepressants are frequently prescribed and we are told that antidepressants are necessary to fix chemical imbalances in our brains. More are more people are taking drugs.
The people who believe that anxiety and depression are meaningful are responding to some of these disturbing trends in the over-medicalization of mental illness. They see finding meaning in anxiety and depression as an alternative to blindly popping pills.
But there's a third alternative I think. We can recognize that anxiety and depression arise from a number of complex factors, which include, but are not limited to:
1. Some sort of life situation or problem--that is, the anxiety and depression is meaningful
2. A structural or chemical issues with the brain
3. A lack of exercise or good food or sleep
4. An excess of caffeine or other substances that exacerbate anxiety
5. A health condition--thyroid hormone imbalances are linked to anxiety and depression, for example.
Just because we recognize that anxiety and depression sometimes are not meaningful doesn't mean that popping pills is the only answer, either.
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