What if… invite depression for tea?

The autumn season is conducive to depressive moods, since autumn symbolizes the period of harvesting the last harvest and the transition to the dark half of the year. At the same time, a new cycle begins in the fall — the academic or working year after the holidays. On the one hand, autumn forces you to engage in routine activities, on the other hand, fallen leaves around and cloudy weather encourage you to think about the frailty of life.

In psychology, there are two main approaches to working with depression. The first of these is aimed at eliminating symptoms, which is achieved by working with the client’s negative thoughts, beliefs and attitudes that encourage depression, as well as behavioral patterns that maintain depression. Such work may be accompanied by observation by a psychiatrist and taking antidepressant medications. By eliminating the symptoms, a person regains the ability to do something, function in society and adapt to the world.

But, from the point of view of analytical psychology, eliminating symptoms is not enough. You need to understand what is causing the problem. After all, the resulting depression symbolically indicates some deep process in the client’s unconscious. This could be an internal conflict, a longing for a more authentic life, unrealized potential rushing out. It is important to listen to this process and understand what it wants to tell us.

Therefore, in analytical psychology it is customary not to eliminate symptoms, but to dive into their depth. Jung wrote…