Spiritual Wellness
"Fortunately, reactive depression is highly treatable, and the individual can get back to their normal life within a short period of time."
1 Kings 17: 6
The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
A person’s life can be full of negative events. The majority of those events are dealt with and put behind an individual, but sometimes a person can run into a situation or event that they just cannot cope with. This is when reactive depression, sometimes called situational depression, can appear.
Many negative events can cause reactive depression. A sudden death of a loved one or pet, a job loss or change, a divorce or relationship breakup, and even an unexpected rejection can all cause depression to occur.
Reactive depression can also appear after a long-time stressor becomes too hard to deal with anymore. For instance, if a boss is constantly belittling his employee and adding stress to that employee’s workday on a consistent basis, then eventually the employee may develop depression. It may suddenly occur after one wrong word or one wrong look. It doesn’t have to be an extremely negative situation that becomes too much. As the saying goes, it can be the straw that broke the camel’s back.
Everyone is susceptible to suffering from reactive depression, regardless of genetics, location, age, or gender. Even if you have never suffered from any kind of depression before, you are still susceptible.
There are, however, people who are more likely to suffer from reactive depression in their lifetime. A person who abuses outside influences, like alcohol or drugs, to cope with negative events in life is more likely to be unable to cope with a huge stressor.
Reactive depression does not exhibit many different symptoms than other forms of depression; however, the depression will usually lift after a small duration of time (a few weeks to a few months) and people will find themselves still able to perform daily tasks required of them in their depressed state. The biggest sign that an individual has reactive depression is that they were overcome with grief shortly after a traumatic or an upsetting occurrence and they have not been able to recover from that grief.
Most people find that they feel better once the strong negative emotions from the event start to lessen. This is when their coping skills reappear, and they are able to move on with their life.
Other people may need to remove the stressor from their life that ignited their depression. For example, if a boss was the cause of the depression, then changing jobs and acquiring a new boss may help the individual start to feel good again.
If an individual is not able to feel better on their own or remove the stressor, then therapy may be of benefit to them. There are a couple forms of therapy which can help a person overcome their depression.
1. Interpersonal Therapy – This type of therapy is a short-term therapy that puts its focus on relationships being the key to understanding and eliminating the depression. The result is an individual with more self-esteem and the ability to deal with other people on an improved level.
2. Cognitive Therapy – This type of therapy helps an individual develop positive ways to view and deal with everything around them, even themselves. The result is a change in beliefs and behavior that positively affects their thinking and life.
Ultimately, reactive depression usually occurs from an unexpected incident that is too hard to cope with. It can also develop after a long-time stressor that becomes too hard to deal with anymore. Fortunately, reactive depression is highly treatable, and the individual can get back to their normal life within a short period of time.
Spiritual Prayer
Lord, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord. Repeat them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy. God came from Teman, the Holy One from Mount Paran. His glory covered the heavens and his praise filled the earth. His splendor was like the sunrise; rays flashed from his hand, where his power was hidden. Plague went before him; pestilence followed his steps. He stood, and shook the earth; he looked, and made the nations tremble. The ancient mountains crumbled and the age-old hills collapsed—but he marches on forever. I saw the tents of Cushan in distress, the dwellings of Midian in anguish. Were you angry with the rivers, Lord? Was your wrath against the streams? Did you rage against the sea when you rode your horses and your chariots to victory? You uncovered your bow, you called for many arrows. You split the earth with rivers;
the mountains saw you and writhed. Torrents of water swept by; the deep roared and lifted its waves on high. Sun and moon stood still in the heavens at the glint of your flying arrows, at the lightning of your flashing spear. In wrath you strode through the earth and in anger you threshed the nations. You came out to deliver your people,
to save your anointed one. You crushed the leader of the land of wickedness, you stripped him from head to foot.
With his own spear you pierced his head when his warriors stormed out to scatter us, gloating as though about to devour the wretched who were in hiding. You trampled the sea with your horses, churning the great waters. I heard and my heart pounded, my lips quivered at the sound; decay crept into my bones, and my legs trembled. Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity to come on the nation invading us.