Why the assumption of depression as a phase is false

Image source: health.harvard.edu

In the early 2000s, emo bands were a thing and a lot of teenagers had started dressing up differently. They had been strongly influenced by bands like My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, The Used, and other bands in the genre. But many years later, these same fans changed the way they looked. One could say that the emo look was just a phase, a state one can outgrow over time. According to Dr. Curtis Cripe, the opposite is true with depression, because depression is not just a phase.

Depression is an actual health issue: a mental health issue. You don’t tell a cancer to stop spreading or a headache to go away. The thing with depression is that it’s not just about looks; people need to go beyond what they see. Sure, depression can manifest physically (an overall look of tiredness, poor grooming, etc.), but forcing a person suffering from depression to change will only make matters worse.

Depression needs to be handled with precision. Focusing on symptoms like the inability to do certain tasks or certain changes in behavior does not address underlying causes like pain or abuse. As for the person suffering from depression, his or her struggle is within. Still, this does not mean that they have to face it alone.

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To assume that depression is just a phase is false. Depression has been around for a long time, and the idea that it’s just a phase has already been debunked. In a way, calling it a phase oversimplifies the condition and can hurt those who suffer from it. Dr. Curtis Cripe says that seeking professional help is always the best course of action when dealing with this debilitating mental health issue.

Dr. Curtis Cripe is a multidisciplinary neuroengineer and aerospace engineer whose diverse background includes software development, bioengineering, addiction recovery, psychophysiology, psychology, brain injury, and child neurodevelopment. For more reads on depression and other neurological illnesses, visit this website.