Depression

Depression varies widely in different individuals.  To deal with depression, it’s essential to understand how it affects a specific person. That means exploring both of how the depression came about and how it manifests in the present.

Depression leads to a loss of vitality, as Jungian Analyst James Hollis tells us:

“Think of what the word means literally, to de-press, to press down.  What is “pressed down”?  Life’s energy… is thwarted, denied, violated… Life is warring against life….”

In situational depression, the individual is thwarting her- or himself.  He or she needs to explore how that happens.  What within the person holds them back?  Often, incorporating unacknowledged parts of ourselves into our conscious awareness can have an important role in lifting depression.

Jungians see depression as rooted deeply enough that mere attempts on the part of the conscious ego to “stay happy” or “keep positive” won’t be enough.  Something deep and fundamental must change within us, to move us on.

Individual therapy that keeps bringing the individual back to his- or herself and his or her own story and unique being can make a vital difference in dealing with depression