Yes, it’s the Holidays, but that doesn’t mean it’s a time of comfort and joy for everyone…
Depression is soul crushing at any time of year. But the stressors that pour out during the holidays can magnify the misery. Here is Tom’s story about how holiday depression crushed his spirit. There is hope for relief.
Tom was finding the stress of the holiday season building inside him, till he felt he was reaching the breaking point. Holiday depression was crushing his spirit. With working at home, the noise of the family outside the study door, his reduced income indirectly related to the pandemic, and kids wishing for expensive gifts for Christmas, he was wringing his hands.
Add to that the car needed new tires, and now with snow on the ground, the risks were heightened all the more. He would have to get those tires.
And yet…this was the season of giving. A season of good will, and sharing cheer. Tom didn’t feel cheerful… He felt worried… and depressed.
In fact, he’d been depressed since the beginning of the pandemic…doctors had prescribed medicines that didn’t help. He felt trying to treat this was hopeless. It must just be this pandemic, and he knew there were people all over the world who had it tougher than he did.
And what about his job? Just how secure was it? His job required some creativity, and Tom didn’t feel creative. In fact, he felt like a rock. A smooth rock that lay at the bottom off a river, one that the trials of life rushing over him all the time had worn away his rough edges… leaving,…well, not much.
Tom had read that people everywhere were more depressed than they’d ever been, so what made him so special..? He’d just have to keep plodding, and try to get the gifts the kids wanted, and hope for the best.
Boy he could sure benefit from Sara’s presence right now. She’d always had a way of finding a silver lining that he could never see, God rest her sweet soul. He so needed her right now.
“Sara, why did you have to go..?? I need you. The kids need you!!”
Tom stood up, shuddered, and decided a quick walk to the mailbox might help his doldrums.
Good grief, he was talking to his dead wife now. He had to get a grip!!
As he walked through the kitchen, he grabbed an apple and took a bite. Ugghhh…not very good, so he chucked it in the trash.
Life tasted like sawdust these days.
Charlotte rushed into the room, and said, “Daddy, can I get a dress for the Winter dance at school? Pleeeeease…?” (Oh no…more expenses.).
Tom offered a weak smile, said, “Sure honey, but try to keep the cost down…” and shuffled back to his study. When it rains, it seems to not only pour but deluge. Holiday depression crushes your spirit.
Just as he sat down at his desk, he heard a shrill shriek, and adolescent male shouts. Oh no.
Tom ran downstairs, and saw quickly that the dishwasher was pouring soap suds into the floor of the kitchen and front hall. He called for, “Towels!! Lots of towels!!”
Kids came running with bath towels and hand towels and a mop. Before too long they had sopped up the water, mopped the kitchen, and started a load of towels to wash. He knew he needed to replace the dishwasher...sigh….
Back in his study, Tom noticed he had an email from his boss, asking that he call him. Tom’s stomach dropped to the floor. What could it be? He couldn’t lose his job, he just couldn’t. Not right now.
Like a man walking to the gallows, Tom picked up the phone and called his boss. The man answered the phone right off, and Tom braced himself.
“Hi Tom, thanks for calling me back. I have some news and wanted to give it to you right away, so you can plan.” (Oh no…plan… for unemployment?)
“That project you took Lead on last summer drew a lot of attention from the C suites, and they are very impressed. You’ll be receiving a bonus next week that I think will please you, and they’re prepared to offer you a promotion if you’re interested. It will mean more responsibility and higher pay that might help you get a sitter for your kids while you work. I know it’s been a challenge at home.”
Tom was numb. They weren’t firing him. They were giving him a bonus and a raise. What?
He was shocked.
But he gathered his composure and thanked his boss. Made an appointment to discuss the changes and demands of the new position, and hung up.
Then, he leaned over his desk and put his head in his hands. He would be able to get the dishwasher fixed AND put new tires on the car. Why wasn’t he excited? At least, relieved.
He felt nothing. Bland.
Even though things had a way of working out, it didn’t change the way he felt. He felt empty, flat, emotionless… hopeless. Why??
All he could think was, Who cares..? It doesn’t matter….
This time of the year is intended to bring people together, give a sense of joy and celebration. And it does for many.
But there are those, like Tom, who can’t experience much joy…or pleasure.
Those for whom holiday depression crushes their spirit.
Because the pathology of stress is such that it strips your ability to ENJOY. It all comes down to the dendrites and dendritic spines on the neurons in your brain…as well as the lateral habenula.
Stress pathology results in the thinning and pruning of those dendrites and dendritic spines, leaving them ineffective for transmitting signals effectively. The lateral habenula sports a mechanism that prevents your ability to feel pleasure, unless the cell bursting there is tamped down.
IV ketamine builds up the dendrites and they become dense and healthy, restoring the broad communication of signals around the brain, dendritic spines, proliferating them using BDNF (brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor).
At Innovative Psychiatry, we see people every week experience joy, hope, and resilience through IV ketamine treatment. Because of its broad action in the brain, ketamine is bringing relief of symptoms to so many who suffer from severe treatment resistant depression, bipolar depression, PTSD, social anxiety, suicidal thinking, substance use and alcohol use disorders.
When you come in for treatment, a white box may catch your attention where it graces a table. That little box is a powerful tool for keeping you safe and healthy while you’re with us.
Labeled Novaerus, this instrument uses plasma cell technology that processes the air in the room and destroys the DNA of viruses, bacteria, and mold — even COVID and its variants. All these pathogens are destroyed, leaving the air clean and pure for you to breathe, so relax.
Our air purifying technology was developed by the Department of Defense and NASA and is 99.99% effective in destroying viral DNA. Because we go to every extent to keep you safe, so you can focus on your treatment and get the most from it.
After all, you’ll be with us 6 or 8 times…maybe more…and you need the assurance that you’ll stay well while you’re here.
Treatment resistant depression can be devastating, but if holiday depression has crushed your spirit, call us.
Let’s talk about whether IV ketamine treatment is an option for you.
If it is, you need to give yourself the opportunity to live the best life you can live, while you discover, and enjoy being, your best self.
To the restoration of your best self,
