Causes Of Depression
Research indicates most adult depression has its cause in childhood abuse. It we were abused as children there is a direct link to adult depression. Abuse can take many forms including emotional; physical; intellectual and sexual. Often these forms do not occur in isolation. That is, if we are physically abused as children we can also be emotionally and intellectually abused.
It is important here not to rate abuse styles. Physical abuse is not necessarily worse than emotional abuse. The major factor to take into account is the consequent effect on the victim. On the surface we can think that physical abuse can be worse than, say, emotional abuse, because we can often see the effects of the physical abuse. In it’s most extreme form there can be broken bones, bruising and other horrible pieces of evidence. Not to minimize physical abuse here, it is also important to see the other forms of abuse as potentially just as destructive.
Years of intellectual abuse can leave the victim devoid (absent) of decision making abilities; unable to take on responsibilities in the work place; not able to secure long term relationships and unable to make every day decisions that keep us healthy and alive. In a nutshell all forms of abuse should be treated equally with the premise that it is wrong and ultimately destructive.
In one of my previous articles I spoke of how if we are used to being treated in a certain way it can become quite normal for us and ‘comfortable’. For the abused child who has never known any other form of treatment, thinking of other ways to be treated can be quite foreign. The child may present as unhappy; withdrawn or even violent in their own dealings with others, particularly peers. Their behavior will ultimately be familiar and comfortable for them. If left unchecked this behavior firms and becomes their way of being – normal and again ‘comfortable’, well into adulthood.
Despite the dysfunctional behavior of abuse being familiar and comfortable in adulthood, it is not uncommon for such a person to be depressed. The victim as a child has grown to be the perpetrator as the adult. Again the perpetrator may exhibit this abuse in many ways – overtly or outwardly, (such as the perpetrator of domestic violence or perpetrator of emotional abuse etc), or they may exhibit covert (inward) exhibitions of abuse (such as marrying an abuser and perpetuating or maintaining the abuse they experienced in childhood). We can operate as an adult as a victim of abuse or oscillating (swinging) between victim and perpetrator. Despite all the outward appearances of coping adequately as an adult (holding down a job, having a long term relationship etc), the person may well be depressed.
By understanding patterns in our behaviors and how they re-occur in a cyclical nature, we can take hold of them and start to change them. This is how we can take control of our lives and in this case turn abuse and consequent depression into a thing of the past. It is possible and can free us to enjoy a quality of life we may have thought once not possible. Knowledge is power and by understanding how we operate as individuals, can help us break free of binding ways that we may have once seen as normal or just our lot in life with no other option.
Mark Lockyer is a qualified Social Worker and Teacher with extensive experience in the mental health field. He is also the creator of the web site http://www.about–depression.info/
