Cures for Depression

Why Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy Can Be One Of The Best Cures For Depression For Child Abuse Survivors

Pretend you're drowning in the ocean. There's a storm, the waves are coming down over your head 20 feet high and you're about to go under any second. You see a Coast Guard ship in the distance, and you start waving and shouting frantically. You really hope the first thing they throw you is a match so you can start a fire to warm you up.

Wait, is a match what you really need when you're drowning?

Being given a match to light a fire when you're drowning doesn't make sense. But you already know that. You want a life vest or a rope to pull you on board the ship. You don't want to drown. A warm fire might be helpful once you're on board, but not before.

Wanting to be rescued while drowning in the ocean is a little bit like suffering from depression if you're a child abuse survivor. You already know what the problem is - you feel sad. You feel empty. Maybe even a tad helpless. You already know how you want the problem to end too. You need some tips to beat depression. Better yet, you'd like someone to hand you a rope labeled cures for depression so you can pull yourself out of the storm.

This is where cognitive-behavioral therapy comes in.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a term that encompasses a wide variety of therapies with similar approaches. One of the great benefits of cognitive-behavioral therapy is that it focuses on changing specific behavior and thought patterns to alleviate problems. This means that the therapist will work with the client to achieve certain goals and work on specific coping and behavioral skills to deal with problems.

If you're a child abuse survivor, it is likely that not only do you have a number of bottled-up emotions, you probably engage in specific behaviors and patterns of thinking that can be contributing to depression. That's why having the support of a cognitive-behavioral therapist can be very effective at treating depression in your case.

Can I just pop a pill and make the blues go away?

Now you may be thinking that you need anti-depressants because your depression is caused by genetic or biochemical factors. You might. That's a decision that you should make with a trained mental health professional. Depression is a complicated animal that can be caused by many factors. But the reason I'm harping about cognitive-behavioral therapy is I know from personal experience how helpful it can be in adjusting thinking and behavioral patterns that contribute to depression in child abuse survivors. Going back to the drowning analogy, an anti-depressant without the support of a therapist is like giving you a match without pulling you to safety first. The anti-depressant will be helpful, but it will be most useful to you once you're in the optimum environment to use it in.

This is what cognitive-behavioral therapy can help you do. Your cognitive-behavioral therapist will work with you to teach yourself new thinking and behavior patterns and help you let go of the old ones caused by past abuse. They will help you let go of unresolved grief caused by past abuse. This is like giving you the rope to pull yourself out of the ocean. You may spend one session telling your story and receiving support. The next session you might come up with strategies for setting healthy boundaries with your abusive parents or you may work on dealing with social anxiety. By dealing with some of the "mental" or non-chemical factors and getting support, you're now in the optimum environment to begin using anti-depressants if you need them.

The science is in, and CBT is one of the best cures for depression.

The good news is you don't have to take my word for it. There have been numerous psychological studies showing how effective cognitive-behavioral therapy can be in treating depression. For instance, a study by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Tennessee found that CBT was at least as effective as medication in treating depression¹. The fact that CBT doesn't involve medication means you're guaranteed not to have the side effects that can be associated with drugs, making it a safe and natural cure for depression.

The bottom line is, if you're drowning in a sea of depression, arm yourself with one of the most effective tools you can find. Get a rope labeled cognitive-behavioral therapy. It's one of the best cures for depression around.

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