NEUROPLASTICITY AND DEPRESSION (“A GUIDE TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION” by Marina Oppenheimer

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As per the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, depression is the leading cause of disability in the U.S. for ages 15 to 44.3. Major Depression disorder affects more than 16.1 million American adults, or about 6.7% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. Although the precise genetic make-up of depression is unknown, there are many theories that try to explain the role of the brain in the etiology of this disorder. Most probably however depression is a multifactorial syndrome where not only genetics but also environmental factors play a role. This is where neuroplasticity plays an important role in the treatment of depression. If we are able to transform our negative thoughts into thoughts that are more resourceful, we will be able to rewire our brain connections; in other words, by changing our thoughts we can feel and behave differently. Those thoughts that fuel our despondency by focusing on what we have lost can be replaced by thoughts that generate our capacity to enjoy what we do have. By learning new ways of coping with adversity, we will discard our lifetime habit of resorting to thoughts of hopelessness. Our negative thoughts will be replaced by a more optimistic view of life and the world. In other words, cognitive therapy will teach us how to accept reality as it is and to understand that this difficult moment too shall pass. This is the way that neural connections in our brain will go from being pessimistic to understanding that things happen for a reason, and that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. In other words, the desperation that fed our depression will be transformed into hope for the future. Simply put, our work in therapy will be to change the way we think, and by modifying the way we think, our feelings and behaviors will follow suit. For example, instead of becoming convinced that I will never be able to meet friends in my new neighborhood, I will understand that making new friends takes time and patience. For those of us who do not respond well to medication (approx. one third of patients), cognitive therapy can be a wonderful resource that will help us overcome our despondency by learning a new way of understanding life. Let’s remember that sadness only lasts a certain time, while depression is a suffering that never ends. Coping with depression means learning how not to allow our pain to control our life indefinitely.

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