Medical Medium has some great insights into possible major causes of depression.  Today I will discuss traumatic loss.

Traumatic Loss:  examples include a family member dying; getting fired from a job; a spouse cheating on you; suffering an injustice where you decide the world is cruel; long-held plans being stripped from you; thinking you are going to die soon.

Every person reacts differently to these types of losses.  What really matters is the effect on YOU.  According to the author of this book, such traumatic emotions can damage brain tissue.  The emotional shock can actually generate an electrical jolt in the brain–it can be so intense that it actually switches off a part of the brain.  This shutdown is actually to protect the self from getting hurt too badly.  “Depression can result when a series of upsetting events over time prompts the safety mechanism to break down and go awry.”

When upheavals add up over time, the safety measures can stop functioning properly.  And this can lead to numbness–a very real symptom of depression.

If this sounds familiar to you, hold on.  There is hope.  “With proper nurturing, these safety mechanisms can restore themselves so that we’re able to experience life in an awakened state again, and to bounce back from unexpected events.” (p 184)

Whether you are new to this blog and the fact that healing is possible or not, choose one event in your life where you experienced traumatic loss.  Write about it–everything that will come out.  Then tomorrow feed by writing down 5 things that you learned from the experience.

Stay posted for part 2.  It matters!