Depression Self Help Question and Answer

Natural Depression Help from Holistic Psychologist

Natural Depression Treatment Question

I am depressed and do not want to take Prozac or any other drug. What would you suggest? anonymous

Holistic Psychology Answer for Depression

First, depression is not a Prozac deficiency, nor is it a St. John's Wort deficiency. Both of these may alter your mood temporary, but neither of them addresses the cause, the source of the depression. The herb is far superior to the drug because it works naturally with the body to achieve relief.

I recommend using anything external to help you feel more alive, while you begin the process of discovering the root cause of your depression.

When you are in the middle of depression, it is hard to see anything else. It weighs you down and you cannot move. I know the state: being in bed and not being able to get out and do anything.

First, fully experience the reality of your body and energy. Feel the heavy energy, feel your feelings, listen to your thoughts. Fully experience the depressed state, so that you can recognize depression as different from other psychological states.

Depression is a state of mind; it is not a state of feeling.

Harvard did a study on their wonderful students and found 90% of the time they thought bad thoughts about themselves. I know you cannot compare these Harvard students to the rest of us, they think much more highly of themselves than we do!

But it does give you an idea of what you might be thinking!! Bad thoughts about yourself 90% of the time!

Of course you can use self help depression tools and information to get out of this terrible mental state such as the self CD on Healthy Ways to Deal with Depression.

Depression is a mental state which results from blocking your natural, normal, real feelings over the course of many, many years. The only way you can block your feeling, emotions is to stop and think. This stopping and thinking inhibits your healthy energy.

Imagine if you had your leg in a tight knot for 10 years and you didn't let it move naturally and normally. You would have to work hard to keep your foot from kicking, dancing and relaxing.

After 10 years your leg would be stressed and imbalanced at every level, from your bones to your chemistry, from your nerves to your brain cells. It would be useless and numb.

It would take great effort, patience, and practice to get your leg back to normal. It would hurt so much you would think your leg would never be a healthy leg again. Anyone who has ever had a leg, arm, or finger in a cast can quickly understand what depressed energy feels like when it is trying to return to life.

Emotional feelings are the same. After inhibiting your normal feelings, emotions for years, it feels as though your normal feelings, emotions will never again be normal and healthy and vibrant.

Rare would it be so much damage you could not return your leg or your feelings, emotions back to normal.

I know, some of you are saying, "But, I already feel my feelings and emotions. I feel too much."

Not true, when your energy is depressed, you are in a state where you are avoiding the nasty thoughts you have about yourself. You have depressed yourself. And you are avoiding your authentic hurt and bad feelings about yourself.

Depression is a stuck, numb, no feeling, non emotional place.

Authentic hurt feelings, on the other hand, have healthy energy which moves. Hurt feelings heal your broken heart. To learn more about the difference between depressed energy and healthy, hurt feelings, read, listen and study, "Opening the Heart," 3 tapes or CDs on feelings, fear and hurt.

Imagine how much energy and effort it takes for little boys and little girls to stop themselves from crying when their feelings have been hurt. Imagine how this would affect your chemistry, hormones and nervous system over the course of one year, much less thirty years or 60 years!

As a child, you stop yourself from directly experiencing your pain and hurt. This creates unconscious states which are unnatural and unhealthy. One of these unnatural, mental states is depression. It takes a lot of energy to depress, repress, or avoid your real feelings.

You must think thousands of thoughts to inhibit your natural, free-flowing feelings, emotions.

Your thoughts are judgmental -- they are making you right, wrong, good, bad. When you think these negative thoughts over and over again, they become beliefs. These false beliefs tie up your natural free-flowing energy so your energy becomes depressed.

Depression is energy that is stagnant, heavy, tense, dark, black and thick. Feel your depression and begin to recognize this heavy, mental state so you can take plosive actions. Learn about depression self help tools you can use to shift out of your depressed state.

Your thoughts paralyze you into stagnant energy so you become heavy and depressed. My friend and teacher, Jack Swartz would say your energy becomes "like molasses."

Depression is also learned helplessness. Martin Seligman created learned helplessness in fish by putting a glass between them and their food.

As a child you learned to be helpless in situations, where you could not change the things which hurt you or upset you.

As an adult, you can change the things which hurt and upset you.

If you do not use your own power, you are like fish in the tank who thinks the glass is still there even after it has been removed.

"Feeling sorry" for yourself is not a real feeling, it is thoughts about something. Learning the difference in feeling sorry for yourself and authentic hurt feelings will move you out of depression. learn how to tell the difference in your body between these two states in "Opening the Heart," 3 self help tapes of CDs on feelings, fear and hurt.

The thing to remember is to notice if you are thinking or feeling. People think they are feeling and they are not. Depression is created and maintained by thoughts, not feelings.

Once you start to feel your real feelings, you quickly move into the real hurt. The direct experience of hurt naturally leads to your emotional and physical energy flowing. This emotional and physical energy flowing naturally leads to health and happiness.

Welcome the hurt and stay with it until it transforms, just like you would do with a leg that's been hurt.

Real hurt feelings energy is light, airy, colorful, flexible, buoyant and fluid. You know you are in a feeling state because you feel flowing energy. You feel better after a good cry. Emotions means energy in motion!!

Life is full of joy, hurt, pleasure and excitement. Welcome your feelings, emotions. Say goodbye to depression by dealing with your negative thoughts.

 

Copyright, doris jeanette, 1999. Revised, 2007.

Click here to order your self help CD, "Healthy Ways to Deal with Depression ."

More information about Dr. Jeanette's Depression Self Help CD.

Call Dr. Jeanette, 215-732-6197

Depression self help, depression treatment natural, depression help, depression help cd, depression self help cd, depression help cd, natural depression cd.