For example, when a person is experiencing low levels of energy and motivation, loss of interest and pleasure, or fatigue, these are considered to be symptoms of the category of depression.

In the predominant biomedical system, these are seen as related to a person’s biology—fixed and predetermined.

However, when this kind of state is explored within the wider context of a person’s life, elements of a subjective sense of loss or a situation that is felt to be unbearable, deep down, are usually found. Perhaps the person has not been able to reverse this situation.

When we look at mental distress from that perspective, loss of motivation and low levels of energy can also be a way in which the organism removes itself from the situation that it does not know how to handle anymore. The subconscious seeks to protect itself, and if it has exhausted all “rational” options, it can resort to other means.

This is a very different perspective from the position that sees this state as a malfunction, an inherent characteristic of an organism that is fixed.