When depression strikes so does the inner urge to lay in bed, sleep through the day, call in sick for work, avoid people, and avoid normal activities that have provided you in the past with interest, pleasure, meaning, and social connection. Giving into this urge is the factor most responsible for perpetuating depression. Mental health professionals should use behavioral activation with depressed patients, which means encouraging them to return to normal activities at normal levels to their maximum tolerance. Following the urge to drop everything and just lay in bed strips the person with depression of all the work, social, leisure, athletic, and recreational activities that made life worth living. A return to activities should be combined with psychotherapy and antidepressant medication. CBT, psychodynamic therapy, trauma-informed therapy, ACT, and humanistic/existential therapy are all very effective for depressed persons depending on which one they best respond to. Up until very recently neurologists recommended that persons with a significant concussion should get plenty of rest in a darkened room and avoid stimulation. Now neurologists have reversed this advice based on their new understanding that failure to challenge and stimulate a concussed brain puts it in worse shape than promoting healing. If you are a loved one or friend of a person who has become depressed and is taking the path of extra sleep, inactivity, and social avoidance, please talk to them about the great healing benefit of returning to normal activities in a phased, reasonable way. A helpful, well-tolerated way to start is daily walking with a friend, especially in a natural setting. Meeting a friend for coffee or tea is another good way to start getting out of the house, socializing, and experiencing the rewards of company, friendship, warmth, support, and empathy from your friend.
, just as the number one cause of chronic PTSD is taking every measure possible to avoid memories, flashbacks, nightmares, and reminders of the traumatic event. Mental health professionals should use behavioral activation with depressed patients, which means to encourage them to
