downYears ago I used to get severe depression. The almost suicidal kind that makes you want to curl up into the foetal position for a month and never see the light of day again. Out of the blue it hit me again this week. Ok so I wasn’t about to jump of a cliff, but it was that all encompassing black blanket that no amount of ‘good things’ happening in your life alleviates.

 Over the years I have spent much time and energy researching the topic of depression not least because of my own condition, but also because of it almost magical ability to convince us of a false reality we are willing to let it wreck our lives to believe!

 How can people who appear to ‘have everything’ get so despondent about their life that they no longer want to live it?

 Over the last 2 months I have received quite a number of emails from Life Change Participants telling me about their own brush with ‘the Black Dog’, so since this week I was rudely reminded of my own short comings, I thought I would share my research with you and get your thoughts on the matter.

  As anyone who has suffered depression will know it’s all encompassing. Not even your most enjoyable activity, or beloved loved one can make the slightest bit of difference to the fog your mind and body feel they are in.

 Of course this inability to appreciate the obviously good in your life makes you feel even worse, as you add, ungrateful, to the list of short comings your inner dialogue keeps reminding you of.

 Now science will tell you its brain chemistry, but the question is what came first? Is your brain chemistry low and hence you feel depressed or are you depressed hence your brain chemistry is low.

 After all the mind is a mighty chemistry lab and research shows that good percentage of all ailments, at their core, are generated by our repetetive thought patterns and hence destructive habits.

 After much research, I now believe that in most cases people who get depressed are simply hypersensitive to the internal voice trying to keep them balanced, or in flow.

 This ‘guidence’ you would think would be a good thing, and it is when we pay attention to it,  but unfortunately most of us are determined NOT to live in flow. Instead letting our life be guided by stuff and circumstance outside of us, like status, other peoples opinions and perceived social expectations.

I truly believe if you suffer depression you are experiencing first hand your ‘souls’ battle with your current way of living.

We have developed so many modern methods to dull this innate wisdom and keep us embroiled in the ’should have’, ‘must have’, wants, needs and expectations of our modern lifestyles, but those with depression have a harder time keeping up this charade. Eventually the incongruence gets too much and they shut down.

 Of course shutting down is your bodies’ way of forcing you to re connect . What happens when you are really depressed? You give up!……Let go! Usually via sleep or artificially via drugs and alcohol which temporarily allow you to let go.

 But once we are back on our feet, off we go, ploughing right back down the old path like nothing ever happened.

 Imagine someone who told you rather than taking your hand out of the fire you should simply take a pill, fit in with everyone else and keep right on holding it there…… NUTS! Well that amounts to how we are treating depression.

  WHAT TO DO

 Simply put depression is incongruence.

 So I have a little trick that dips your toe back into flow just long enough to alter a few neurons and make a difference. To be honest it works for a multitude of sins from low self esteem to heat ache, indecision and depression but like anything, you do have to DO IT!

Through the day when you feel down stop and think  “what would my thoughts be like and right now if I was the type of person that could totally let go of whatever it is that is making me feel like this. (if you dont know whats making you feel this way then just imagine releasing the feeling anyway)

Just for 5 min put yourself in a life with absolutely no problems, no expectations, no responsibilities, no undiscovered purpose or higher calling you have missed, no one you have let down, no one to please, nothing to live up to and no one to judge you for what you have or have not done. In other words LET GO!

 Emerse yourself in the fantasy completely. Contemplate how a person who was really like this might think or feel. Notice the actions you might take or decisions you might make if you were that person.

 You may find letting go hard at first. That’s only because your brain thinks it ‘needs’ your fears and frustrations to define who you are and give you a sense of responsibility and hence purpose. Reassure it, that it can have all your worryies  back right after the exercise, You only have to LET GO for 5 min.

 You will be surprised how obliging your brain is when its not afraid it will lose its crutches.

 What this excercise does is remind you that the calm at your core is still, and has always been there. This exercise rewires your perception one neuron and can be quite an eyeopener. (i wish i had figuerd it out years ago)

So if you are someone who suffers from depression, don’t look at it as a bad thing . It shows your intuition is working and its telling you ‘RIGHT NOW YOU ARE NOT IN FLOW– Use it as your own personal life instructor and you’ll be amazed at the inciteful things that can come out of this perception shifiting excercise.

 NOTE – Thanks to a critic

Just a quick note to thank the critic who reminded me of this fact recently, pointing out that if I got offended or depressed by their criticism of our project t,  I was defiantly NOT walking in flow. They were right and im eternally grateful for the uncomfortable but much needed reminder to get back on track.

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