Depression Coping Strategies: Using a Film (American Splendor) as a Point of Departure to Learn More About An Important Mental Health Issue

Posted by Caitlin Trumbo
December 12, 2007

What is depression? Depression is defined differently depending on the type of depression defined, because you can give a single definition including both major types. The National Institute of Mental Health has examined many different types of depression. Two of the most common forms of depression are major depression and dysthymic disorder. Major depression, interferes with a person’s daily life and does not allow a person to enjoy activities he or she once loved. Dysthymic disorder is a long-term illness that is similar to major depression but less severe. There are also several other forms of depression that occur in certain circumstances. One is psychotic depression, which is a major depression including delusions and other expressions of non-reality. Another form of depression is postpartum depression, which is commonly found in new mothers about a month after having a newborn child. Last, is seasonal affective disorder or SAD, which occurs in the winter because there is less natural sunlight and causing a depression that lasts for just those few months. I am going to give a short explanation of some of the causes and symptoms of depression so that it can be better understood, and then apply that knowledge in a discussion of the film American Splendor (2003).

Depression does not have one universal cause. Causes can include “genetic, biochemical, environmental, and psychological factors” (“Depression”). There has been research showing depression is an illness caused by the brain. MRIs taken from people suffering from depression have been shown to look and function differently. Often severe loss or stress can cause a person to suffer from depressive episodes (“Depression”). Symptoms of depression vary from person to person depending on the type of illness the person has. Some common symptoms are: frequent sadness and anxiety, pessimism, feeling helpless and unimportant, irritability, fatigue, loss of interest in enjoyable activities, insomnia, change in appetite, and suicidal thought or actions (“Depression”).

Using the knowledge I gained about depression, I was able to look into my movie, American Splendor, with greater detail and understand its psychological dimensions better. I believe both of the main characters in the movie, Harvey Pekar and his wife Joyce Brabner, suffer from a type of depression at some point in their lives together. It is clear from the survey of types of depression I described above that Joyce Brabner suffers from depression during the times she would lay in bed for hours and not move. She wants to sleep and do nothing else during these depressive episodes. I feel Harvey Pekar suffers from depression when he is first diagnosed with cancer. He feels like giving up because cancer has somehow taken over his life and he can not do anything else but go through the treatment in attempt to minimize the cancer. Each of the characters is able to cope with their depression in their own way. The question is, “what is the most effective method for dealing with depression?”

There are many ways to cope with and possibly overcome depression. In the movie, Joyce was able to get out of bed and do something with her day when she heard about children overseas in Israel who need help. She feels she could make a difference in children’s lives by taking a trip to Israel, and that motivates her to do something. After Joyce makes the trip, the audience sees she is smiling again and enjoying life.

Harvey takes another approach to overcome his depression. Throughout the movie, we see Harvey loves to write for comic books. When he is diagnosed with cancer, Joyce begins a new comic book with an artist she knows, anticipating Harvey’s participation at some point in the project. As she suspected, Harvey accepts the fact he has cancer, and is able to take over the comic book. In the comic book, he writes about his year with cancer. The title of this comic book is “Our Cancer Year,” it was a joint project of Harvey Pekar and his wife. This project allowed Pekar to remove himself from his cancer treatment and write as if it is not happening to him, but happening to the character in his comic book. Once the comic book is being written we see a change in Harvey because he is now able to enjoy his life more—and the more creativity that sustains him. The common thread for both characters is their depression appears to be diminished when they find something making them feel useful and important in their lives.

Harvey PekarIn the movie we see these two ways people cope with depression, but there are many more. In one article I found eight tips for living with depression. They are: join a support group, reduce your stress, improve your sleep hygiene, improve your eating habits, learn how to stop negative thoughts, beat procrastination, get a handle on your household chores, and learn how to forgive. Each tip helps cope with depression in a different way. Joining a support group can help because you are able to meet and exchange with people who can understand, support, and listen to you. Another tip stems from the fact that long-term stress is connected to depression because it affects the neurotransmitters in your brain. Your mood can be improved by getting more sleep because sleep and moods have a direct correlation. Even though stopping negative thoughts seems simple, it is easier said than done. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, which changes a person’s normal pattern of thinking, offers one strategy for preventing persistent negative thoughts. Cognitive Behavior Therapy is based on the idea our thoughts cause our feeling and behaviors, as oppose to external influences. The last tip in the list, learning how to forgive, can allow us to let go of anger and frustration and lift our spirits (“Top 8 Tips”).

Social interactions can also play a huge part in coping with depression. A study by Dr. Martin Seligman and Ed Diener showed happier people are more social. They split up 222 college students into three different groups. The groups were either overwhelmingly happy most of the time, overwhelmingly unhappy most of the time, or those whose moods fell within an average range. The professors then had each of the students write down their mood each day for one semester. The students were supposed to write down if there were other factors affecting their mood, such as exercise or religious activities in their day. When analyzing the data the researchers found the happiest people did not have a significant difference in the amount of exercise or participation in religious activities. However, they were more sociable, more outgoing, and had stronger relationships with friends. While analyzing the data, it was also found people who were the happiest still did feel some instances of sadness but were able to handle and cope with them better (“You’ve Got to”). If a person who suffers from depression were to try to become more social by talking to people they may not normally talk to, that may build up self-esteem and allow the person to feel better.

Another way to overcome depression is to reduce stress. Stress can be extremely hard on those who suffer from depression because it can trigger or prolong the duration of the depression. Ways to cope with stress are generally quite simple. First you must identify your stressors, which is everything that creates stress in your life. Next, you must go easy on yourself because being a perfectionist will cause more stress when the goal is not met. Another way to cope with stress is to plan ahead. Know your stressors and avoid them to protect yourself. Last, learn how to relax because some stress is not avoidable. Using relaxation methods and meditation can help a person relax and let go of the stress (“Recovering”). Once a person’s stress level is reduced, they can enjoy activities more because they don’t have something bothering them at all hours of the day.

Most Americans know a healthy diet and good nutrition can prevent or reduce the risk of many illnesses and diseases. Good nutrition can also play a large role in depression. It is suggested in order to protect mental health a healthy diet should be followed (“Healthly Eating’).If a person is depressed, eating an unhealthy diet can make that person feel even worse. If they begin to eat better they may begin to feel better. Suggestions for improving a person’s diet are: eating regularly throughout the day; choosing less refined high sugar food and drinks and more wholegrain cereals, fruits, and vegetables; including protein at each meal; eating a wide variety of foods; including oily fish in diet; maintaining a healthy weight; maintain an adequate fluid intake; and only drinking alcohol within recommended limits. A person suffering from depression should see improvement in their mood if they apply these tips and other coping mechanisms (“Healthy Eating”).

Another effective way to cope with depression is to exercise regularly because exercise releases endorphins, neurotransmitters that create feelings of wellbeing. In one study, the effects of a drug and exercise were compared. This study used 156 men and women over a 16 week period that were diagnosed with depression and divided them into three groups. One group was given antidepressants, another group was put on an aerobic exercise program, and the last group was given antidepressants and put on the exercise program. Results from this study showed that all participants in all groups improved, but the ones taking the antidepressants improved the fastest. It was also shown that 68.8% of people in the combination group, 60.4% of the exercise group, and 65.5% of the medication group were no longer clinically depressed (“Depression and Exercise”). These statistics show regular exercise can be just as effective for treating people with depression as medication can be.

The cognitive cycle is clear. When a person with depression thinks negatively, they throw themselves into a continuous downward spiral; not only does depression cause people to think negatively, but negative thoughts also allow depression to continue and possibly worsen. In order to break this cycle, a person must replace their negative thoughts with realistic ones. One way to replace negative thoughts is to think outside yourself. A good example of this is when people criticize themselves about their weight or other features on their body. By asking themselves if these negative comments were appropriate being said to another person, one who suffers from these negative thoughts could realize they are not productive being said internally. Another way to replace negative thoughts is to keep a “negative thought log” so that whenever you think of a negative thought it can be recorded in your notebook for reference later. Next, you can replace negatives with positives, which means for every negative thought you must think of a positive one. Last, you can socialize with positive people (“Recovering”). By replacing negative thoughts, a person is able to break the cycle of negativity and allow positive things into their life.

Many people with depression do not have motivation and retreat into themselves because that seems to be the safest and easiest way. To break that cycle, Dr. David D. Burns suggests a person keep a daily activity schedule. In order to do this, each day a person must write what they want to accomplish during each hour of the day and then at the end of the day write down what they actually accomplished. Dr. Burns also suggests people plan fun activities as well as needed activities because many people who suffer from depression do not think about planning fun activities (Woolston). It is also suggested a person score their activities “on a scale from 0 to 5. Something really fun or challenging gets a 5; anything dull or simple gets a 1 or 0. You can set different goals you want to reach each week, raising them slightly each time” (Woolston). Using this technique allows a person to become motivated again and helps a person overcome depression one small step at a time.

Harvey and JoyceI believe if the characters in the movie, Harvey Pekar and Joyce Brabner use these eight tips given they would be much more successful in overcoming their depression. Each of these tips is able to help out a person in a different way, and each is effective in its own way. After looking at the types of depression and the ways each character was able to overcome them, I have come to a conclusion of to which type of depression each character may have had. I believe Joyce Brabner suffers from dysthymia because she is not always depressed, she has her moods where she would not do anything but lay on the couch, but then she would also have her days where she is up and being productive. On the other hand, I believe Harvey Pekar suffers from major depression because he is depressed throughout most of the movie. He hits peaks of depression during his separation with his wife, being kicked off The David Letterman Show, and being diagnosed with cancer. Even when his life seems to be going great, he is still somewhat depressed and down in spirits. Therefore, from this evidence it is plausible Harvey Pekar suffers from major depression.

Some coping strategies for depression are ineffective—and can even do harm. People may choose what is called a distraction method, which does not bring the person closer to their goal of overcoming depression. It has been proven that men are “more likely to cope with depressed mood through distraction methods such as playing sports, engaging in hobbies and substance abuse” (Kelly). In contrast, “women use more emotionally focused coping such as crying, seeking social support and dwelling on the causes and implications of their depression” (Kelly). When using alcohol or illegal drugs, a person is coping with their depression, but that coping mechanism will not lead them to a life without depression; instead, it could lead them to more illnesses and addictions because of their dependency on outside substances that are unhealthy for the body. Then they become “dual diagnosis” person who suffers from depression and a drug or alcohol abuse problem.

One last way to overcome depression is by medication. Medication allows for another variable in overcoming depression. The side effects of many medications may cause more problems then solutions though. Medication are prescribed with precaution due to adverse health effects.

The movie, American Splendor, provides a starting point and a point of reference for two forms of depression, and gave me a more specific, concrete vision of depression to build upon. After researching coping strategies to deal with depression and their effectiveness, I have come to the conclusion that in many cases a person would be able to cope with depression without resorting to medications and possible complications. Also I learned a film can provide an effective and compelling presentation of depression in films, as well as point of departure for further reflection and study of this pervasive mental health issue affecting so many in our society.

Works Cited

Fall 2007

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