How Olympian Elizabeth Manley Beat Depression Without Medication

The pressure of competing took its toll on Manley, which caused her to suffer from depression and that disorder led to other problems.

“I completely physically broke down. I lost all my hair and gained a tremendous amount of weight,” she said.

Because of the strict rules of the sport, Manley couldn’t take anti-depressants to manage the disorder and had to find another way to deal with her depression.

“I sought out professional help, and did many, many treatments of talk therapy,” she explained. “What talk therapy did for me was it helped me realize the signs of getting too overwhelmed, overloaded and I could back off and take care of Liz.”

Manley is proof that those suffering from the disorder can beat the battle with depression without taking a pill. Researchers at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health have found that a form of talk therapy called Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is just as effective as an anti-depressant.

Patients were treated with CBT or the drug Paxil and then had their brain activity measured.

The CBT treatment had positive effects on the areas of the brain that control memory and emotion, while the medication affected the area of the brain that governs motivation, but both treatments helped to improve patients’ depression.

“With talk therapy I overcame it and had the wonderful Olympic dream that everybody remembers Elizabeth Manley for in Calgary and have had a happy life ever since,” the skater said.

What Is Depression?

People suffering from depression may experience a number of emotional and physical symptoms on a daily basis that can have a big impact on their work and personal relationships.

Depression, often called major depression by doctors, is more than a feeling of unhappiness; it’s a mood disorder that can pose a significant mental health problem.

What Are The Symptoms?

According to the Mood Disorders Association of Ontario (M.D.A.O.), the symptoms of depression include:

  • Persistent sad or empty mood
  • Feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, guilt, pessimism, or worthlessness
  • Substance abuse
  • Fatigue or loss of interest in ordinary activities, including sex
  • Physical symptoms that don’t respond to treatment
  • Disturbances in eating and sleeping patterns
  • Irritability, increased crying, anxiety and panic attacks
  • Difficulty concentrating, remembering or making decisions
  • Thoughts of suicide, suicide plans or attempts

What Causes Depression?

There are a number of factors that can play a part in depression, including family history and genetics, stress, psychological or emotional vulnerability to the disorder or biological factors including imbalances in brain chemistry and in the endocrine/immune systems.

According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, depressive symptoms can sometimes be the result of another illness that shares the same symptoms, such as lupus or hypothyroidism. Depression can also be caused by an illness itself, such as a stroke.

How Depression Affects Different People:

Men

According to C.A.M.H., depression can be a little harder to spot in men because they typically have a higher rate of feeling irritable, angry and discouraged.

Women

C.A.M.H. estimates that major depression can occur in 10 to 25 percent of women – almost twice the amount than in men. The increased incidences of depression in women could be attributed to hormonal factors, particularly during menstrual cycle changes, pregnancy and postpartum, miscarriage, pre-menopause and menopause.

Children

A youngster who is depressed may pretend to be sick, refuse to go to school, cling to a parent, or express concern that a parent might die. Older kids tend to sulk, get into trouble at school, be negative and feel misunderstood. Because behaviours vary from one stage of childhood to another, it may be hard to tell if a young person is depressed or just going through a temporary phase.

There Are Different Types of Depression

C.A.M.H. lists the following:

Seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.): This type of depression is usually affected by the weather and time of the year.

Postpartum depression: This occurs in women, following the birth of a child. About 13 per cent of women will experience this type of depression.

Depression with psychosis: In some cases, depression may become so severe that a person loses touch with reality and experiences hallucinations (hearing voices or seeing people or objects that are not really there) or delusions (beliefs that have no basis in reality).

Dysthymia: This is a chronically low mood with moderate symptoms of depression.


What Is Cognitive Behavioural Therapy?

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, a type of psychotherapy, can help many people struggling with depression to deal more effectively with this problem. People learn to recognize that their thinking styles can contribute to the sad moods and despair that characterize depression. With time, they come to see alternatives to what their minds habitually tell them.

Courtesy of CAMH


Popular Misconceptions

Myth: People should just get over “the blues” and get on with their lives.

Fact: While it can go into remission, depression generally won’t go away without help. Telling people to ‘get over it’ could just make them feel worse because they know they can’t.

Myth: I’ll never feel normal or well again.

Fact: With the proper treatment, including drugs or therapy, most people can resume the life they once knew before depression literally darkened their door.

Myth: Depression is something that shouldn’t be talked about openly.
 
Fact: It’s the first sure step in helping ease the problem by bringing the feelings to light.

Myth: If a friend or family member confides their depression, you shouldn’t betray their trust by telling anyone about it.

Fact: Depression can make you feel not only hopeless but powerless to find the help you need. Sometimes outside intervention is the best answer.

Myth: If someone threatens suicide, they’re just being melodramatic.

Fact: While it’s possible such threats are being made for other reasons, if you’ve seen signs of depression in the person issuing them, you should always consider them serious and try to get the person help as soon as possible.

Source: Centre For Addiction and Mental Health

For more information on depression, visit the following websites:

CAMH

Depression Canada

Mood Disorders Society of Canada

 

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