210-Playing Offense With Depression

Giving Voice to Depression

Depression, as anyone with it can tell you, can seem to come on with no warning or trigger. One minute you can feeling pretty good, and the next you might realize your mood has drastically changed, you're uncharacteristically angry, very sad, numb or even thinking about death. There are also times when you may feel it "coming on," the way you feel early symptoms of another illness. And that's the time to start pulling out tools from your mental-health toolkit to try to stay ahead of it, or reduce the depth of the slide into depression's dark pit. In this episode, cohosts Terry and Anita talk about "forecasting" depression. Just like we pack a sweater or umbrella when weather is likely to change, we can do the mental equivelant when conciously heading into a time that we know will be difficult. This was not a theoretical discussion. It was rooted in Terry's decision to start therapy in the months preceeding her mother's recent death. This 19-minute episode could empower you to "forecast" mental-health challenges and take steps to protect yourself.