Why is it so hard to manage depression, even though one might have studied depression, and knows all of the right things to do?

Because often in life there are many situations we can't control and we are often trying to juggle and manage multiple areas of life simultaneously; our professional/academic life, our social life, our health. You may know the right things to do but it can be difficult incorporating them daily into your life and take a lot of time and stress as you make the change. Life gets really busy and hectic, so it is important to have self-compassion and understanding towards yourself as you try to manage your depression plus everything else. Plus, depression affects energy, motivation, and concentration, making managing anything hard and stressful. But it can be done with practice and time.

The problem is that its never easy to be thinking clear and on level mind when we're in a situation ourselves. Even the strongest break, we break so we can be stronger than we were. No matter how nonsensical it sounds. Thats the fact of life. Nothing is permanent. It might help to recognise what mood youre in and distract urself out of it. So u can always ponder abt whats keeping u down when youre heads clear and free. Or, you could drop by 7cupsoftea and let souls with neutral and good intentions help clear your thoughts so you'd find an answer sooner. :-)

To truly understand depression, you must learn it from your experience. Relating is a part of understanding your depression and taking the necessary steps to overcome it. Learning is part of the journey, but experience is a whole new perception on depression.

Depression is a hard thing to deal with. Even if you know what to do it can be hard to change the way that you feel, you might even think that it is impossible. Depression is insidious. It affects not only your mood, but also your ability to feel, think, and function. It blunts sensations of pleasure, closes off connectedness, stifles creativity, and, at its worst, shuts down hope. It also often causes deep emotional pain not only to the person experiencing it, but to that person’s close family and friends. “It’s not what people think, an act of laziness or a lack of will for change,” says E. Mollie Kashuk, a 21-year-old college senior in Claremont, California. “Instead, it’s genuinely believing that change is not possible for you. It’s genuinely believing that you’re stuck in an overwhelming darkness that will never go away.”

Personally I feel its harder to help yourself when you have depression, I can help others but struggle to help myself. I have read so much about depression myself and can understand a lot of it. Usually surrounding myself with positive people benefits my health, most of the time I am surrounding by negative which doesn't help the brain to relax. Focusing on learning to love and appreciate yourself is another thing that is good but that takes a lot of brain training. Listening to people on here and making a positive impact on others is also an advantage as its one of the qualities I doubted myself with. Focus on you, the people who care about you, we can fight depression, we are in control.

As a teacher and coach, I am a lifelong learner. Books are indeed my "drug of choice!" LOL. And I have tried to read my way out of depressed feelings. While it has been over 40 years since I was in and actual diagnosed depression, there have been times in my life when I have experienced depression. And my best thinking got me there. Staying in my own head (a VERY dangerous neighborhood to be in,) I couldn't read or think my way out. Whether in therapy with a qualified therapist, or just having the opportunity to talk with someone who would listen empathically, I have always found it better to discuss my feelings. Just getting them out of my head (and not only by journaling, although that helps,) has made all the difference for me. Sometimes, we feel like we are all alone in the world in how we feel. And that can be a very dark, scary place. Sometimes, we just want to crawl under the covers and not come out again. And I get that, because I have been there. It's then, that I have forced myself to talk with a trusted friend first to know that I am not alone in the world, that has made the next step and the step after that possible. And it was once shared with me, that if I was the first person ever to feel that way, all of the help and support in ways of support groups, individual and group therapy, and anonymous listeners like Pineapple Support Group would not exist. That landed with me.

The reason it is so hard to manage depression even though one might have studied depression and knows all of the right things to do is that some times it is hard for people to take their own advice they can give great advice but when it comes to there own life they seem to have a hard time living by the advice they give. Some times they are in denial about having a problem because they feel that they know all about this subject and shouldn't be having these problems and forget they are human to have issues and problems just like every body else.

Depression changes the way people think and feel. If you are depressed, and you lack the motivation to seek help or do the things you KNOW will help you, it doesn't really matter if you have studied depression or not. If you don't have the motivation, and if the disorder is clouding your thoughts, you can't use the information you have sometimes. In my case, I have depression, and I "know" a lot about it. When I'm having a really bad day it's like I can't use the information because it's hard to think- it's hard to do things. Depression is a serious disorder. THANKFULLY there's a lot of things you CAN do. Just because managing depression is difficult, does NOT mean it's impossible :)

Depression, even though well researched and documented, is still a personal experience that can not be managed through just theoretical and practical knowledge. Depression affects all aspects of being which in many cases will lead to the feeling of uncertainty, loneliness, feeling out of touch or detached with oneself and one's physical and social environment and perhaps not feeling much at all. These feelings can not be helped or be fixed through self-management. It is important to realize that there are times in which external help will be needed.

That is an excellent question. Sometimes there are factors that one does not even realize. For instance If one is Gluten intolerant or has an unknown food allergy ... It can create brain fog, depression, aches and pains, just feeling ill constantly. I believe every individual with depression needs to evaluate their entire well being.. right down to the food we eat ... So many factors in why we are depressed - realize it - but cannot help ourselves. Someone needs to come up with a whole evaluation process in one's being... right down to the food we intake - medical - relationships - how we were raised ect...

This question is one I have asked myself a lot. As a Neuroscience major in undergrad, I feel like I had thoroughly studied and understood depression from an academic lens. As a mentor and supervisor of undergraduate students, I had referred and counselled countless students with depression and other issues surrounding wellness and mental health. But suddenly, when I moved away from home and began grad school in a lonely and unfamiliar place, I experienced a mild depressive episode. I barely ate, barely left my bed, and barely kept up with school. I made excuses to my friends as to why I couldn't see them, and to my family I lied saying that I was ok. I wasn't ok. There were dark places of loneliness that no amount of academic foresight could have prepared me for. Depression knocks you off your feet. Knowing how it worked biologically didn't help. Knowing that I needed to seek help didn't help. Depression seemed to suck away any care I had towards the things that I had previously learned. Not only did my depression isolate me from the people I loved, but it also isolated me from the things that I knew. Knowing that I had to do certain things but lacking the motivation simply made me feel overwhelmed with feelings of inadequacy, sending me spiralling into further depths of self-blame. Knowing what depression was academically did not prepare me for what it was in reality.

Depression is a state of mind and has many facets. It may be caused by so many factors so at times the apparent factor and real factors are not clear. Another thing is that the state of mind in depression is such that one is greatly negative in approach to things which makes things difficult. Therefore it might be a bit difficult for one to overcome depression without support from another person. The support could be in various forms.

Alas, depression is a human emotion, not a controlled event that happens in a science lab that you can manipulate and subdue by knowing the right formulae to execute. I've seen many of the best psychologists and therapists who have had their fair struggles with this emotion. Nevertheless it only motivates them more to help the people in need more compassionately when they seek them.

Knowledge doesn't neccessarily equal power. Knowledge in action is power. So one might know a lot of things, and maybe also do all the right things. But we shouldn't forget that emotions are not known to be rational at times. So in the end it takes you more of a strong will!

When we have depression even though we know what to do, sometimes we can still have trouble doing it and need help to do so

Motivation. It's hard to get motivation when you're depressed, you know what you need to do to get help for it. But you make excuses or don't have the motivation.

Depression is a personal thing. It makes us feel vulnerable and alone. It will always be able to get us even if we know everything about it. But you can get better. Reach out for help. We all need help sometimes. It is okay. And always remember you are beautiful the way you are.

Depression effects each person differently ,It is important you talk to someone just because someone has studied depression it doesnt mean the person cant seek help to sometime you need someones help dont be ashamed 1 in 3 people suffer with depression at some point in their lives

Everything is easier said than done. Just because you can help someone with a certain condition, doesn't mean that you can help yourself alone. Maybe you can look into another option such as counseling or self-help guides.

Its hard to manage depression at times even though you have a PHd degree. The point is simple, no matter how much you study about a topic your feelings emotions and most of all thinking always astounds you. It is not always possible to overcome it. Remember even a doctor encounters with medical issues though he is a specialist.

knowing about something and being in what you have learnt about is two different things. it's safe to say that we know what we would do if we were in someone else's shoes but with ourselves it is difficult to distance yourself away from yourself which adds to the difficulty

Depression basically kills your motivation to do anything, so you can know what all the right things to do are, and not feel any motivation to actually do them. Further, the things you have set in your mind as "the right things to do" may be things that have worked for others, but they may not be what works for you. Just because a friend fights depression by going jogging, doesn't mean that this is going to help you, and if you try and it doesn't work, it may make it feel hopeless, when really, it's just the one thing you tried that didn't work, and trying a different thing may work wonders.

Because the person in that situation has not yet gotten rid of the source of depression, which is counterproductive or negative beliefs.

I could have written this question myself. I understand. You know why it happens but you can't help it. All I can is that if it really is more than sadness and is depression, it is a brain function. You can retrain you brain or you can get help from a counselor or medical professional if you choose. This is your choice but I understand have been there. Now, I feel great. There is hope. Don't forget about hope even though you feel really bad now. I understand this but you are not alone and there is always hope.

Dperession isent a problem you can just take away per say but it is a medical condition. Some people can handle it without meds but most people need them.

Mental health, like physical health, changes from person to person and no two cases of depression will present the same. Not to mention, depression can take the energy and motivation out of a person, so said person can "know all of the right things to do" but that won't help them get up and do it when all they want is to stay hidden under their blanket. Depending on the case, depression can also eliminate a sense of self-worth and confidence, making it a challenge for the sufferer to believe they do actually know "all of the right things to do" and put it into action. Of course, we can't forget the stigma still attached to mental health. Being told by those you care about over and over that your illness isn't valid, or not doing said "right things" out of fear of being found out to have depression and getting judged, can be damaging.

Depression is a tricky matter and everyone handles it in different ways. everyone is programmed different and handles things different. what works for one may not work for anyone else.