It would be next to impossible to dissect a person into all the individual components which may contribute to one’s depression. We are biological beings. We are social beings. We are affected by our hormones. We all have a past possibly filled with both joyful and traumatic events. We also have genetics  to consider. Perhaps our mother or father had a mood disorder. We are behavioral beings reinforced or punished for our responses and reactions to our environment. As humans we also come loaded with biases, prejudices or attitudes regarding life's challenges which may or may not be beneficial for our mental health. Any one of these elements may affect or be affected by our depression. In addition we are cerebral beings. We think. We have thoughts and cognitions. And some people say that these thoughts can have a profound effect upon our mood. This is why cognitive therapy  is so popular for the treatment of depression. In this post we are going to be discussing one particular type of harmful cognition:

All or nothing thinking.

Depressed or not, we may all be guilty of all or nothing thinking from time to time. This is the type of thinking where one leaves no room for choices. There are only extremes and no middle ground.

Here are some examples of all or nothing thinking:

• I have had a bad time with several therapists therefore NOBODY can help me.

• I have tried a couple of antidepressants and they didn’t work. NO medication can help lift my depression.

• I had a fight with my boyfriend and best friend. NOBODY loves me.

• I have had three episodes of depression. I will ALWAYS feel depressed.

• I was abused by my boyfriend, girlfriend or spouse. ALL (men or women) are abusive.

• I was let go from my job. I will NEVER find another job.

• I have faced some difficult life challenges. NOBODY knows my pain.

• I had a bad experience with medication side effects. ALL medications are harmful to everyone.

• I have experienced severe depression. My pain is the WORST and NOBODY can relate to my experience. I am all alone in this.

See the pattern? It is certainly easy to get into this mindset particularly if you have depression. The depression feeds these types of thoughts and these negative thoughts feed your depression.

So why do we do this all or nothing thinking?

I have a personal theory on this. Remember Lucy from the Peanuts cartoon and her interactions with good ‘ol gullible Charlie Brown? Lucy would play this “game” with Charlie Brown where she holds a football for him to kick. But each time he tries to kick it she whisks it away at the last minute and he falls flat on his back. “Aaaargh” Charlie Brown groans as Lucy smirks. Life is kinda like Lucy at times. You really want to trust that things will go well. But sometimes the football is whisked away leaving us wincing in pain and also angry that we trusted things might go well.