Bless You…
If you are suffering from mild to severe depression with a non-medical cause, — Bless You!!
(I know, I know, “Say What??!!!”)
Well, first of all, even though I am not a medical professional, nor do I pretend to be, and even though none of the things that were effective in my case may help YOU at all, my experience has led me to believe that simple depression CAN be deleted with nothing more than a consciousness shift!
A friend of mine, who had extensive nursing experience in a respected “Psyche Ward” once described to me the horrors suffered by those with severe depression caused by medical/genetic issues. At the time I was struggling with my own issues which were nothing more than erroneous thought patterns as I like to call them now. That’s when I realized how blessed I was to have a problem I could actually do something about!
I was NOT helpless!
Suffering is, of course, a normal part of the human experience, but there is no need to suffer unnecessarily! With all the technology and vast store of information available on the subject today, Depression is a VERY unnecessary condition!
If you are just beginning to realize you might have a problem with Depression, your first step should be to get evaluated by a mental health professional!!! DO NOT ASSUME YOU CAN SELF-DIAGNOSE AND/OR MEDICATE!!
If your doctor recommends medication, by all means follow his recommendations!
The purpose of this blog is to merely give you a different perspective, and a few tips that helped me.
One of those tips, given to me by a Doctor friend of mine was this: “You cannot count your blessings and be depressed at the same time!”
Of course, being my ususal hard-headed self, I tired to prove him wrong, mainly because at the time, I had not yet realized that my depression was largely a result of thought patterns I had chosen.
Yes, I should have known better! 
At first, I couldn’t think of a single blessing.
My next thought was: “Ok, that’s ridiculous, being alive to think, even if it is something negative, has to be a blessing doesnt it?”
Then I realized that I was basically healthy, at least physically.
And that I had a lot of friends who cared deeply about me.
Oh, and a good set of job skills…
a wonderful childhood…
Parents….
Sister…
OH! And Dang It! I’m Smiling…. (That’s not supposed to happen while I’m busy being depressed!)
I Challenge You!!
Count your blessings and be depressed at the same time! If you can, You REALLY DO need to see a health professional.
In any case, BLESS YOU!
David.
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Helping One Another Become the Best They Can Be….
They say that in order to help someone else, you have to first be able to help yourself.
Knotty Theory that……
So of course I had to Go back and evaluate.
Have I become the best I can be? At least up until this point? I know that I will strive to improve until the day I die, but how have I done so far?
I guess a little introspection is a good thing from time to time. Looking back, I find much to be thankful for, many blessings that have come my way in the past year. And to be honest, these blessings were only possible because of the change in my mindset, and attitude. Amazing isn’t it, how the things we wanted all our lives cannot be ours until we change into someone who will be able to accept, care for, and value our dreams once they become reality!
Of all the things in Life that I really, really, wanted; the one thing I would have given everything else up for, was Love! Someone who really and truly loved me for Me, not what they could get from me!
I remember 1st Grade….Crayon valentines sent across the room to Debbie. Giggles at the water cooler. Playful slaps on the cheek from the Nancy who really liked me, but could have never told me so.
Anita who was so shy and quiet, but whose whole family loved me in their own quiet way.
Things progress, time passes, this rock speeds ever onward, exponentially accelerating it seems. Days and years begin to blur.
Some things stand out, but the day-to-day, where the little choices are made begins to lack significance. A certain quality is lost. What once had such clarity as a child, today is humdrum.
Oh Well!
And so… I begin to sink into the everday blandness that becomes adulthood:
Seventeen years of marrige to the wrong person.
Twenty-one years of a career that provides me with some of the rewards I need, but includes much I do not.
Everything is direction, and mine isn’t the one I want….
A phone call. My Mother, whom I love so much, is in the Hospital.
A few months later I am sitting under a canvas awning as they lower all that remains into the earth. My face is carved in stone, but I am quivering like the last leaf of the season, as I sit with my arms wrapped, one around my Father, one around my sister.
My mind screams in unbelief: “They’re putting my Mother in the DIRT!”
That was the day the Universe shifted on it’s axis for me. Nothing ever would be the same again.
More fun…. Grandpa followed Mother, Grandma followed Grandpa. My wife follows someone else into our bed while I am on a business trip.
My mental state follows the leftovers into the disposal, and on into the sewer.
Then in the middle of it all, someone says to me: “You don’t have to fear those things anymore, they will never happen again!”
No, those words didn’t change my life, but they deflected my thinking just a bit. Just enough that I could listen to my heart telling me that I could use this opportunity to start over and get it right this time! The thing that made the words significant was the speaker had already turned their own life around….
Phase II. I begin the long journey back into the daylight. Once there, I begin to ‘help myself’ to a few of the valuable resources this world has to offer! They are everywhere, but you can’t have them until you want them!
Hundreds of books, conversations, advice, self-analysis, and instances of good fortune later, I now have the Love of My Life, The Home and Family I couldn’t survive without, and a continued stream of blessings that you have to be open to in order to receive.
I have helped myself, now, how may I help you? D
Overcoming Depression with St John’s Wort
In my ongoing research into Natural methods for overcoming depression, I have found a lot of useful information.
The Black Dog Institute is attached to the Prince of Wales Hospital and affiliated with the University of New South Wales.
One of such is their fact sheet on the use of St John’s wort, and it’s effects. (read it here)
Personally, I have used St John’s Wort for several years with varying benefits. It is no ‘cure-all’, but it does have some beneficial effects.
However, like any other herbal medication, it need to be used with some caution. It apperars that mixing it with doctor -prescribed medications may have adverse effects, as it can amplify the side-effects of certain pharmaceuticals.
Basically, St john’s Wort acts as a Serotonin Uptake Inhibitor, but is not beneficial to people with Melancholic (or genetic) Depression.
Consult with your Doctor for more information on whether this treatment would be beneficial to you or not.
Why NATURAL Anti-Depressants?
When I understood I had to begin overcoming depression, one of the first things I bean to look for, was a method of overcoming depression naturally.
One of the biggest controversies today is ‘Natural vs. Pharmaceutical’. Of course there are well educated, well respected, advocates on both sides of the fence.
I am not an expert or professional in either field. My intention is solely to share with you what worked for me, and why I made the choices I did. If you are on a doctor-prescribed medication, and you are achieving the results you desire, by all means – continue it!
However, if you are still searching for more information, perhaps there will be something you can use in my story! To get a better understanding of what happened to me, it would be helpful to start with the post “Overcoming Depression”.
One of the primary reasons I began to try vitamins, herbs, and other supplements, was the side effects connected to the prescription my doctor gave me. Mine were relatively mild, but if you read the list of ‘adverse reactions’, they range from the unpleasant to the downright scary! Another reason I didn’t like the SSRI the prescribed for me was the seeming lack of effectiveness. I have lately discovered that this feeling was more than imagination! Read the Article!
Aside from the physical reactions, I hated the disconnected feeling I had everywhere I went. I had progressed from mental distress to no longer caring. Neither is a state that adds anything to the quality of your life, and my search was about finding a joyous and peaceful state of mind.
I understood that on a cognitive level, my depression was a pattern of thoughts leading away from the state of mind I wanted to achieve, but that there was a physiological aspect also. Just because I wanted to experience a joyous mental state did not mean it was possible to ‘will’ it into existence. And, I wanted to overcome depression naturally, rather than walk around like a living zombie!
A friend of mine in the medical community suggested I try a herb known as St. John’s Wort. I had heard of it’s positive, mood enhancing properties for some time, but hadn’t personally experienced them. At first, they helped, but I sensed there were other times when they merely amplified my sadness. That was just MY particular experience. One thing about ANY product, is that everyone’s experience is different.
I DID find that St. John’s Wort used in conjunction with Omega-3 oils had a more positive effect on my mental state than either used alone.
I had some success drinking green tea, and taking green tea extract in capsule form.
However, the most benefit of any one particular experience has been in the form of a Bi-directional herbal tonic.
That’s when I discovered a whole new field of research involving Herbal Remedies.
There are lots of natural way to overcome depression, but one of the best ways I have found to date is through the use of bi-directional herbs.
NATURAL Anti – Depressants
In order to more fully understand this article, it would be helpful to read the first post in the series, “Overcoming Depression”
In reference to overcoming depression, I thought I would include this link to supplement the section on Physiology.
5 – HTP, The NATURAL Anti – Depressant and Weight Loss Supplement « Fit Tip Daily
There is a definite connection between Seritonin levels in the brain, and what we do with our bodies. In this case, put into our bodies!
Not only should we avoid certain things, such as smoking, excessive alcohol, etc., there are supplements we can use to improve our moods as well.
Bidirectional Herbs are another avenue that has worked well for me. Not only have they improved the ease of maintaining my mental state, I have experienced numerous physical improvements also.
Things like:
- Lower blood pressure
- increased energy levels
- better skin and muscle tone
- improved cholestrol levels
- hair and nail growth
- better immune system function
For a complete set of articles on the scientific validation of Bi-Directional Herbs, Go Here.
There is also good information about nutrition and immune system function at: Dr. Bruce Fife’s Blog
When I was deeply involved in overcoming my depression, I discovered I had to make changes in my body as well. I cannot stress the importance of this enough!
Remember, Cognition AND Physiology!
Perception
Our world is determined by our perception.
In my previous post, I wrote that a depressive believes his negative state of mind to be ‘Reality’ based on his negative perceptions. This is because everything we see is filtered through the lens of our perceptions.
Merriam – Webster defines ‘perception’ thus:
- 1 a: a result of perceiving : observation b: a mental image : concept
- 2obsolete : consciousness
- 3 a: awareness of the elements of environment through physical sensation <color perception> b: physical sensation interpreted in the light of experience
- 4 a: quick, acute, and intuitive cognition : appreciation b: a capacity for comprehension
Nowhere in this description do you find the phrase: ‘absolute reality’. Yet we commonly accept our observations to be reality. We observe, construct a concept based on our incomplete data, form an assumption, and call it reality! When this observation is made a second time with the same conclusions, (which is likely, seeing it now has a ‘history’ in our consciousness), it is well on it’s way to becoming a ‘core belief’.
I imagine that it’s the “quick, intuitve, cognition” that gets us in trouble most of the time. ‘Snap’ judgements, without thinking things through, will only further seperate us from reality. How many times have we found ourselves in an argument, only to discover we misunderstood the person we are arguing with?
We have a built in tendacy to think everyone percieves things the same way we do! For instance, I used to answer direct questions very literally. My first wife was very Indirect. She would ask: “Do you want to take out the trash?” (meaning, of course, ”please take out the trash.”) Unfortunately, my mind percieved the question literally, which was: “do you want to take out the trash?” My answer would always be No! You can imagine where that led us!
When I finally realized what was going on, I explained it only to hear: “Oh you know what I mean!” Actually I hadn’t. I had been trying to figure out why anyone would want to take out the trash!
That automatic assumption that everyone percieves reality the same as ourself, just reinforces our belief that what we see is reality. Therefore we begin, deep down, to resent those who attempt to ‘persuade us’ that we have no need to be depressed–we just need to: “think positive”!
Before I go further, let me tell you that I am not discounting the benefits of ‘Positive Thinking’. It’s an absolute necessity! Unforunately it’s not the answer for someone in the depths of Depression. One way to define an individual with severe depression, could be: “one who lacks the ability to think positive.” That would be a very limited description, but accurate!
Just understand this if you suffer from mild to moderate Depression:
- Your perceptions are unbalanced, not an equal mix of both the positive and the negative
- Your perceptions are just an impression of reality, not reality itself.
- Because of “negatively charged” perceptions, you are ‘magnetized’ to draw even more ‘negative’ experiences to yourself. Experiences which will only reinforce your depression.
- You can choose how you wish to percieve any experience.
