In my many years of wandering the net and meeting folks there are a vast number I have met who suffer from various levels of depression.  I think we all know now that the net is a great place for people who normally have trouble fitting into mainstream society… those who suffer from fears, phobias, and depression… to meet others of their kind as well as taking on extended identities to engage in normal or fantasy chats.  Personally I think the psych community has been slow in exploring what theraputic advantages the Internet might have in helping those with mental problems to face the world a bit.  But by and large, it’s still a difficult world for someone who does face the inner turmoil on a daily basis.

If you have read my site you will know that I mention much about the evolution of our species and the instincts that make us do what we do to survive in this world.  I discuss at length about the levels of our survival processes as being ‘needs’ to satisfy, using the theories of Abraham Maslow.  In one section I do draw a parallel that even those who are diagnosed depressive also find ways to adapt to survive, albeit subconsciously for most.  But the mind and body does adapt fairly well, many times painfully.

One day I was watching a TV program about wilderness exploration and survival techniques.  As my mind wandered along the lines of ‘survival’ it suddenly dawned on me that although what I was watching were ‘physical’ survival techniques that there also was an adaptation and re-focus with the mind as well.  I began to apply certain relationships with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (food, shelter, etc.)  based on a survival situation.  I began to formulate my own theory as a possible therapy for those within certain depressive states. 

Much depression from a real life trauma (with exceptions of course) centers around the individual having self-esteem issues, levels of guilt, and feelings of dread and anxiety.  They personally adapt to compensate for those severe behavioral mood swings by using self-inflicted pain, engaging in enhanced sexual activity, being reclusive from society, and many times engaging in disruptive activities that draw attention to them as a form of communication to their plight as they typically are unable to verbally communicate.  But what if they are placed in a relatively solitary environment and their physical survival is somewhat dependent on their own abilities?

Well, for one thing their mind would have to do a complete re-focus to their immediate situation... to address the immediate need to meet the challenge of survivability.  Food, shelter, and adapting to your surroundings suddenly becomes paramount in the thought process.  Since much of mental illness is trying to cope and adapt to thoughts and feelings as they relate to everyday life, being placed in a ‘survivor’ situation removes that ’everyday’ coping element from the mind and replacing it with a completely new environment.  Suddenly existence is not dependent on how guilty one might feel or how one might want others around them to perceive their own personal suffering.  There is no audience… no one to communicate to using behavioral extremes, like attempting suicide or throwing temper tantrums.

What I am suggesting, in theory, is that if you toss a diagnosed depressive person into the wilderness for a period of time with only the basics and maybe a manual for survival, that it just might provide a level of re-focused therapy to aid in them coping once brought back into society.  Of course the practical side of that in reality would be a bit removed.  But there are monitored situations that can be achieved.  Most all of us have heard of the self-esteem bolstering results of those Outward Bound wilderness treks.  Those programs offer survivor-like situations in many different environments.  Their design is to bring us back to our collective human roots in nature… working either individually or as a small team to conquer true physical and mental heights dictated by the environment.  There’s little room for nurturing thoughts of feeling sorry for yourself or dwelling on traumas that originated in a seemingly different world.

I’ve used the analogy of Tom Hanks in the movie, Cast Away as a typical survivor situation.  In the end, after four years on the island, he understood better his true role in civilization… and what was truly important to him in life.  I think that kind of realization might serve as a catalyst toward effective mental therapy with many depressed folks.  After all, in many cases it’s been something within civilization to begin with that traumatized them in some form.  Heck, for all we know some depressive folks might prefer living in the wilderness.  Just food for thought.