Research Paper Example on Depression

In life, we all fall into a pit known as Depression. Oftentimes it can be confusing and even scary, but we can overcome depression by first finding a way to motivate ourselves, seeking medical help and then not feeling pressured. Robert L. Leahy Ph.D. and Alina Tugendd guides the readers through this spout of depression by using their experiences and professional skills to guide any reader who stumbles upon their work.

Depression is a confusing condition that can drive someone in circles, almost like there is no way out. Seeking professional help, either by talking to someone or getting medicine can help, “...but things have improved a lot — antidepressants have helped — but being able to talk about it was the most healing aspect. Not doing well was something I thought I would die with.

“ (Tugend  18). The best we can often do is seek the help we need, either through medicine or a friend to keep our company. Tugend showcases this through her experience of going through depression by seeking medical help and social-personal help. Many are lost in the wave of depression and find it hard to climb out, but it is not a lonely road.

The most difficult part of depression is finding the motivation to get out of it. Depression can weaken someone’s mental state, not allowing them to move on but sometimes the only thing you can do is try to find a goal in it. Robert L. Leahy has stated that “We can add lack of motivation to this vicious cycle because when you lack motivation, you end up not doing the things that you need to do to build self-esteem, to overcome avoidance, to build your support network, and to feel effective so that you don't fall into a rabbit hole of hopelessness.” (Leahy 1), and “The more steps you take in the right direction, the more your motivation will build up, the more effective you will feel, and the less depressed you will feel. But it takes time.” (Leahy 1). Climbing out of depression takes time, it’s not a one step tutorial, but as you take that first step it will build more and more and you’ll feel free. The greatest enemy to depression is motivation, and to defeat it you have to build up to escape the cycle and fall back into the dark pit.

Even with all the ways we could help heal ourselves, we can't deny that depression is often caused by the environment around us and not the fault of the person, “Our outside environment can affect our mood. The dark reality of depression is that it is not caused by our own actions but by those around us.” (Leahy 15). Alina Tugend also has a couple cents on the idea of how the environment could affect our mood, “Fall semester, I was on probation because of my grades — it killed me. And at the end of fall semester I was suspended for a year. Coming from a family where education and excelling at school is so important, it was awful.” (Tugend 16).

Depression is not the result of our actions but the things that surround us are the effect of it. The outside pressures like school, work, family will keep pushing and pushing until we eventually break. Putting us into that state of pure depression, the only way to get out is to either have someone help you or escape it; just like how Tugend had dealt with her depression.

Depression is a daunting condition which requires the person’s need to motivate themselves, seeking the help they need, and releasing the pressure they are feeling. Robert L. Leahy uses his professional knowledge to help figure out a guide to depression while Alina Tugend relays her experiences and tells about how her ways both helped and not helped her.