Everyday I have the Blues: A Medical Intuitive look at Depression
It may come in waves, it may control our lives. Depression is
something that many of us struggle with. For some people, depression has been a part of their experience
for so long that they've begun to believe it's what they are.
They become experts at "doing" depression--hiding it, working
around it, even achieving great things (but at the price of great
struggle and little satisfaction). Recent research suggests some genetic cause, or other biological
pre-disposition towards depression. However in my work with
depressed clients, I have not found a single paradigm that
explains all of its elements. Here is an outline of a more holistic approach that has worked
for many of my clients. 1) Feel your feelings (depression is the suppression of feelings
-- acknowledging those feelings often causes depression to
improve). I find that what limits a person's capacity for love or
recognition is what they are afraid to feel. Wherever I go,
whomever I talk with, their ability to stay in a marriage, to
work consciously, to be without fear and to experience joy
depends upon what they have the capacity to feel. Remembered pain is hostility and anger, anticipated pain is fear
and anxiety, pain directed at yourself is guilt. The depletion of
energy with all of the above is depression. (2) Realize that nothing comes out of the blue (your depressed
state has a root cause that you should look for in events or
situations). (3) Challenge your depressed thinking by questioning your
assumptions, especially ones that center on meaningless
perfectionism. (4) Establish priorities so that your energy focuses on what's
most important to you. (5) Communicate as directly as possible to everyone around you.
Depressed people are often poor communicators who don't get their
emotional needs served. With better communication, they can
experience a more supportive emotional environment. (6) Take and expect the right responsibility for yourself -- for
your own actions. Depressed people often feel guilty about things
that they have no responsibility for (like the death of a parent
or the divorce of their parents). Eat good whole foods. A new
study published in the February 15, 2005 issue of Biological
Psychiatry shows that certain foods are better at treating
depression than antidepressant drugs. The study found that
omega-3 fatty acids and foods high in a compound called uridine
were able to reduce the symptoms of depression as well as or
better than three different antidepressant drugs that were
tested. In addition to the omega-3 fatty acids, these health
enhancing substances are found in walnuts, molasses and fish,
according to researchers. This research was conducted at the
McLean Hospital, affiliated with Harvard. (7) Look for heroes. These role models can empower you to see the
way to improve, especially if they were also depressed like
Abraham Lincoln. (8) Be generous. Helping others puts your own situation into
perspective. (9) Cultivate intimacy. This means letting down your defenses so
people can see you as you are, and accept you for that. Depressed
people often feel disgusted with their true selves, and hide that
self from everyone. (10) Get help when you need it. This may be the most important
piece of advice since so many people do not. Medicine often has
value and can help a person achieve a level of stability so that
they can tackle the other causalities of their depression. A
severely depressed person should seek professional help and find
a medication of some kind before starting this work. It could be
very overwhelming for someone who is in complete despair. There are many other actions that you can take to lessen, lift,
and heal your depression. Opening to your feelings, communicating your needs, and
cultivating intimacy are powerful life tools for healing and for
living. © Christopher Stewart Christopher Stewart is a Clairvoyant Counselor and Medical Intuitive assisting others in their healing process. His work is compassionate, uplifting and empowering. You can visit Christopher's website at http://www.clairvoyantguide.com for further information and to schedule a private consultation. You can also look for frequent updates to his blog at: http://intuitiveliving.blogspot.com/ Publisher's Guidelines: You may freely publish this article online, in email newsletters, or in print so long as the resource box and byline are in tact. Author would appreciate a notification, however that is optional.
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