The Effects of Depression on the Brain

Most people have a basic understanding of what depression is. But, fewer recognize that it’s far more than just a “feeling.” Depression is a mental health condition in every sense of the word. So much so that it actually has a direct impact on the brain.

When you’re dealing with depression, especially on a long-term basis, it can change the way your brain works. It can even change the size and certain structures within the brain. That might sound scary. But the good news is that with the right treatment, you can fight back against depression. The brain is resilient and can eventually go back to being completely healthy.

In the meantime, it’s important to understand the effects of depression on the brain. Maybe you’ve been putting off getting the treatment you deserve. Or, maybe you know someone with depression, and you’re trying to understand what they’re going through.

Whatever the case, let’s take a closer look at some of those effects and how much of a harmful impact depression can have on the mind.

Parts of the Brain Shrink

Again, the idea of your brain “shrinking” at all might sound scary. But, certain areas do tend to decrease in size when depression takes hold. The hippocampus is especially impacted. It’s the part of your brain responsible for learning and memory. Other areas that can shrink due to depression include the prefrontal cortex, the thalamus, and the frontal cortex.

What causes these areas to become smaller? When you deal with depression, you experience a chemical imbalance caused by an increase in cortisol. Cortisol is often known as the “stress hormone,” and too much of it can wreak havoc on your body. Too much of it can cause weight gain, high blood pressure, and fatigue. Too much cortisol in the brain also serves as a roadblock to neuron development.

Not every area of the brain shrinks due to depression. While some parts get smaller, the amygdala gets larger. It’s the part of the brain responsible for emotional regulation. An enlarged amygdala can lead to mood swings, hormonal shifts, and difficulty sleeping. Unfortunately, all of those things can end up making your depression worse.

Cognitive Issues

In severe cases of depression, people can experience lower cognitive functioning. This is due to long-term cortisol exposure. When the development of neurons is slowed or stopped for an extended period of time, the person dealing with it can start to experience memory issues, difficulty concentrating, and executive dysfunction.

Changes in Brain Communication

Long-term depression can also impact the circuitry of your brain. Your brain has to communicate with itself effectively and the rest of your body using various circuits. When those circuits are disrupted for any reason, including depression, your emotional responses can become worse.

Again, that, unfortunately, causes a vicious cycle that can make your depressive symptoms become worse.

What Can You Do?

With the right treatment, your brain can return to a healthy state no matter how long you’ve been dealing with depression. But it’s important to read that again. The right treatment is necessary. Depression is a very common mental health condition. It’s also often very manageable but not something you should try to deal with on your own.

One of the best things you can do to fight back against depression is to seek out professional help. Therapy is the best way to get to the root cause of your depression. Once you know where it stems from, you can work from the ground up to beat it. A therapist can also help you learn how to manage your symptoms each day and find some peace and comfort instead of hopelessness and sadness. Reach out to us to learn more about depression therapy.

Your Postpartum Eating Disorder Doesn't Have to Be A Silent Struggle

Article by Tyler Francischine on Giddy

Key Points

• The stress of the postpartum period combined with the diet culture messaging on social media can lead to harmful behaviors.

• Women can experience birth trauma or unanticipated deliveries, leading to feelings of powerlessness and depression.

• Early detection and medical support are crucial for effective treatment and recovery.

Click here to read entire article.

Click here for more on depression therapy.

It might be a quarter life crisis…Or just the stirring in my soul (John Mayer/Why Georgia)

A quarter life crisis isn’t a myth. For many young adults in all parts of the world, the quarter life crisis is unquestionably real. Experiencing a quarter life crisis is natural, developmentally appropriate life stage development period in which values, purpose, meaning and goals are measured against societal expectations, family pressures, internalized perfectionism, peer reinforcement, and financial pressures.

While a crisis of confidence can be uncomfortable, confusing, chaotic, and even even scary, experiencing a personal crisis is often a sign that we are growing. In crisis, the mind is busy and engaged, working hard to integrate past and present information. As a result, we experience the sensation of distress. Put more simply, we experience crises when our brain involuntarily goes into overdrive in an attempt to help us understand and accept that we are growing and changing. 

It can be difficult to know what to do during a crisis, especially if it is your first time experience of one—which is often the case for those in quarter life crises. You may be feeling lost, confused, and overwhelmed. You may feel alone and misunderstood. Thankfully, you aren’t actually alone—there are millions of young people, all over the world, who are going through a parallel experience, whether they are speaking about it at brunch or not! If you’re in quarter life crisis, there isn’t anything wrong with you. You’re not weird, and you are not losing your mind. 

Although it may be hard to believe, being in crisis is not a hopeless situation. There are many ways to help yourself during this stressful period. 

Here are a few:

1. Every day, reserve one full hour for personal time. Use this hour for self care activities, rest, your favorite hobbies, reading, journaling, or watching a movie you love. Make sure you choose activities that relax you and whatever you do, do not try to be productive during this time :)

2. Talk to someone you know and trust about what's going on. Keeping your crisis a secret will only cause you to feel worse. Talking to someone who loves you and understands you can be very helpful. Sometimes people don’t want to open up to others because they don’t want to risk feeling embarrassed, criticized, or judged. Remember, you won’t feel better if you do this alone. Asking for help means you’ll feel better, sooner. So don’t delay! Asking for help requires courage, yes. But there’s not much to fear if you ask for help from the right people. A good rule of thumb: list some people you have known for a long time. Circle anyone on that list that routinely behaves respectfully towards others, frequently offers their support, and refrains from judgmental language. These are the qualities of safe, trustworthy people—the right people to ask for help. People to contact for help might include an old beloved friend, a person you met a while back in a support group, or a helping professional such as a licensed psychotherapist, a counselor, or a religious authority figure. If you can’t find someone to talk to, try asking a medical professional to guide you to people who can listen, find a peer support group, call 211 and explore their resources, or call a local or national crisis support hotline. Try to find a couple of people who can help you. Create your own personal support network!

3. Write down your thoughts and feelings that are coming up during this time. Writing out your thoughts can help you process your emotions and help you release any thoughts that seem stuck on repeat. Additionally, writing about your experience can help you brainstorm new thoughts to replace old, unhelpful thoughts. Writing it all out can also help you identify new ideas you can try out to help yourself feel better.

Affirmations:

Listed below are some affirmations which may be helpful to any young adult and older adults experiencing a personal crisis. Reading these affirmations can help individuals ground themselves and cultivate a sense of clarity, hope, and increased stillness of mind. At Lift Wellness Group, one of our therapists recommends writing down one or two affirmations in a journal or on a sticky note placed on your mirror or refrigerator door.

• I am strong and capable of change. I welcome change in my life.

• Change isn’t comfortable, but it’s ok to be uncomfortable sometimes. I will feel comfortable again.

• If I feel scared, it’s okay. I can let myself feel my feelings. My feelings are not facts.

• Feeling my feelings will not harm me.

• I am capable of doing hard things. I can be proud of my efforts.

• I will always try my best. My best will look different from day to day, and that’s okay.

• It’s ok to not have all of the answers. I have faith that I will find the answers when the time is right.

• I will show myself gentleness, kindness, and compassion. I let go of any unhelpful self criticisms.

• I am willing to trust the process.

• I can always ask for help. Asking for help is good self care.

• Nothing lasts forever. Everything is temporary, including this experience.

• I know that right now, I am growing. Growth is good.

• It’s ok to have growing pains. This a good opportunity to care for myself. 

• I can remind myself that my feelings are not forever.

• I can’t fight the waves of the ocean, but I can learn to surf.

• This too shall pass.

It’s important to practice being patient with yourself as you navigate this tricky time. It’s also a good idea to pay attention to how long the crisis is for you. If it seems like you’ve been in crisis for a long time, it’s probably worth seeking out a mental health professional for some extra support. At Lift Wellness Group, our team of licensed counselors and psychotherapists are ready, prepared, and available to help you. Remember, help is just one phone call away.

Contributed by Errin Gaulin and Mary Dobson

Click here for more on depression therapy.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

We at LIFT are surely not among the only folks who kept the holiday decorations up quite late this year. In fact, one of our clinicians set a probable record with her tree taken down on Martin Luther King Day!

For those facing eating disorders, let’s celebrate a win: you’ve officially made it through the media’s annual January fixation with fad diets and special gym promotions!

Yet, once the festivities of the holiday season are truly behind us, and the winter chill sets in to stay, many of us begin to dread the cold and darkness that will linger on for just a few more months. While it’s typical to dream of spring in these times, there is a difference between anticipating the sun’s return, and the beginning of seasonal affective disorder.

What is Seasonal Affective Disorder?

Do you notice your mental health declining as the days get shorter and the temperature drops? How about sadness when you go to work before sun rise and leave work after sunset? Do you notice this pattern every year between mid-October and early March? During this time, it is common for those who impacted by seasonal affective disorder to have the following symptoms: depressed mood, hopelessness, low energy, social withdrawal, weight fluctuation, and, withdrawal from activities. The difference between seasonal affective disorder and major depressive disorder is that these symptoms naturally dissipate during the spring and reappear in the fall.

How can you cope?

There are several strategies you can use while feeling the effects of seasonal affective disorder and worsened disordered eating.

1. The winter months do not have to be isolating; one strategy is to make time to for family and friends! With more technology than ever before, your loved ones are a FaceTime call away. There are game apps you can use if you can’t have fun with your favorite people in person as well as Zoom dinner parties. LIFT offers both virtual and in person peer groups, and both offer opportunities to meet new connections and build community with like-minded people. Or, you can set up a game night with your friends, an outdoor movie, a firepit, or a potluck!

2. Speaking of potlucks, be sure you are fueling your body with nutrient rich foods and staying hydrated. A symptom of seasonal affective disorder can be a change in appetite. Consuming the right foods can improve mood as well as making sure you get the right vitamins and minerals in your body and reducing malnutrition. For more help, consult with a dietician.

3. Grab Vitamin D whenever and wherever you can! Once winter starts, it feels like it lasts forever, but every now and then we get a beautiful day. Whenever you can catch that picture perfect day, soak up the sun! Exposure to light and naturally occurring vitamin D from the sun reduces symptoms of seasonal affective disorder. Although daylight is limited in the winter months, get as much natural light into your home as possible. Take advantage of that time to read a book in the sunroom or sit at the table with a cup of coffee and let the sun shine on you as you take the first sip. If you can get outside, go for a walk with your favorite podcast. And if you’re physically active, skiing, snow-shoeing, ice-skating, and forest bathing are wonderful ways of getting endorphins while absorbing some much-needed Vitamin D in nature- a double benefit!

Brene Brown said it best when she said shame needs three things to survive: secrecy, silence, and judgement. If you feel like you need additional support during the winter months, make an appointment with a therapist to process what you are feeling. Give yourself some grace and practice self-care during the winter months!

Contributed By Kimberly Neat, LPC, with Mary Dobson, LMFT

A Therapists’ Reflections on The Rich Significance of The Film ‘Groundhog Day’

Today, February 2, 2021, is Groundhog Day!  

Did you know that some therapists prescribe watching the film, Groundhog Day, to their patients? I feel that it’s one of the most perfect movies and definitely in my personal top 10 (fun fact: I went to college with Bill Murray’s son/have met Mr. Murray, and he is as awesome IRL as he is on screen.) 

Therapists love the movie Groundhog Day because the supernatural time loop serves as a perfect metaphor for how many patients experience and describe their real lives: trapped in routines of jobs and relationships that don’t satisfy, passing the time perfunctorily but profoundly unhappily. 

In the film, Phil alternatively resorts to hedonism, gluttony, sloth, criminality, drunkenness, depressive episodes, and even suicide to cope with the redundancy of the inane boredom of his existential meaninglessness. 

Gradually, Phil begins to take an interest in others. He develops an appreciation for art and beauty through classical music, ice sculpting, and acts of service. Initially even his good deeds are motivated by selfish motives (impressing Rita, who he’s fallen in love with in the time loop,) but along the way the exercise of free will transforms him into a genuinely good person. Then, one morning, Phil wakes up, and his world has finally changed. He's crossed over. One could even say he has awakened, or achieved enlightenment. The meaning of life has become apparent to him, and so his days become colorful and vibrant. He has found purpose in (accidentally) discovering that the degree to which life is worth living is in direct proportion to the amount we create value in our own soul’s maturation, and the extent to which we touch souls around us. 

Therapists love this analogy because prior to their self actualization, our patients often describe life (particularly in a pandemic!) as a repetitious treadmill. And, it can be, when living at surface level. Yet frequently after working with a therapist, exploring deeper facets of the psyche, and uncovering your unique purpose, every seemingly mundane day can feel like a creative adventure, an opportunity to make a difference, impact a life, and generate good karma. 

My favorite takeaway from Phil’s evolution is that he is time and again presented with the exact same day, and the very first time he's presented with it, it's the worst day of his life, yet by the end of the movie, we see that (while it's the exact same day,) somehow it is the best day of his life. 

This secular message is timeless: every day is a gift. How you view it, how you use it, is what shapes and determines your destiny. Every day, no matter what monotonous tasks it contains, can be the best day of your life. One day at a time, in dedicating your life to a purpose greater than yourself, you can and will create a beautiful life worth living. 

We hope you can revisit and reflect on the rich meaning of this great film with some popcorn and cocoa on this snowy winter evening! 

Happy Groundhog Day!