Can you think your way out of depression? Does enough self knowledge lead to a realization that cures you of whatever it is that you just can't overcome?
In a recent New York Times article Dr. Richard A. Friedman discusses the limitations of insight in psychiatric therapy. His position is that an insight-oriented psychodynamic therapy may not actually "cure" the patient so much as the cognitive behavioral approach, which helps to reroute the channels in our brains to a more effective way of dealing with problems.
There was a portion of a book I was reading a little while ago called Buddhism: Plain and Simple by Steven Hagen. In it he describes a fable about a man who gets shot by a poison arrow. He calls a doctor to get it out and the doctor deliberates and wonders what kind of arrow is it? What kind of poison is on the arrow? Etc. What the man really needs, however, is for the doctor to yank that arrow out of his back before he dies. The lesson is that perhaps it doesn't matter what it is that's killing you, you just need to do what you need to do in order to survive. I guess you could argue that you need to know what kind of poison is needed for an antidote, but you get the point.
I've often felt as though thinking about my problems doesn't really do anything. I know what makes me depressed and I do think that helps because I'm more aware of any triggers and then I can figure out how to deal with myself. But I think Dr. Friedman's point is that all the self knowledge in the world might keep you from being depressed, but won't really make you happy. And don't we all just want to be happy?
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