More Natural Cures For Depression: The Mind

In the last article I shared some tips I use to work through depression and anxiety by way of the body. Physical practices such as yoga, nutrition, cleansing and deep breathing can be beneficial in managing the symptoms of depression. Physical practices are also helpful in creating a routine for self care that is so important in lifting the symptoms of depression.

In this article, I’ll share some of the routes I took to better understand how my mind was influencing my depression. I hope you will find something here that can help you or someone you know who is weighed down by long term depression.

The Mind, A Powerful & Untapped Resource

Understanding Your Thought Processes

I really had no awareness of my thoughts when I began investigating. Sure enough, I had strong opinions about things and I truly believed that these opinions were serving me well.  I never really questioned my thoughts though. I believed my beliefs and thoughts defined who I was.

There is a problem with uncensored thinking. Lets say you have a negative thought: “I am selfish for wanting some time for myself.” This thought triggers an emotional reaction and you begin to feel guilty. You had a thought, you are selfish, and now you feel guilty. The guilty feelings you have “confirm” to you that you are indeed a selfish person. You get emotionally involved in the guilty feeling of being “selfish”. Now that you have linked the thought “selfish” with the feeling “guilty” this thought (you are selfish) becomes part of your belief system at an unconscious level. You now believe you are a selfish person (not logical, but unconsciously accepted) and you are now sensitive to experiences in your life that highlight this accepted belief.

Making A Crucial Error in Judgement

Thoughts create feelings and emotions. Not all thoughts, but certainly thoughts that trigger an emotional reaction based on past experience. Depression is in large part, over identifying with thoughts and feelings. I am sad. I am afraid. I am depressed. I am not worthy.

In reality, you are having a sad feeling. You are experiencing fear. You are having a down day. You are feeling insignificant. Feelings just are. Nothing more. You might recognize a sad feeling, but you are not a sad person. Most people have made the mistake of believing that their thoughts and feelings define who they are. The most difficult part of my depression was understanding that feelings are just feelings, they do not represent who I am!

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. W. Shakespeare

The Power of Non Attachment

Understanding that thoughts, feelings and emotions arise and pass within us continuously and that we can choose not to grab hold of them as they pass by, is crucial for lifting the weight of depression.

Here are some ideas for deepening your awareness:

• Recognize habitual thoughts as just thoughts, not representations of who you are.
• Sidestep the thought by choosing not getting emotionally involved in the thought.
• Begin to recognize the different feelings and emotions that you have, and refrain from categorizing them into the bulk folder called “depression.”
• Actively choose to accept positive thoughts in order to weed out the destructive thoughts.

Once you step into the process of observation, you step into the process of creating your life. Intentionally choosing which thoughts you want to align with is an act of awareness.

Understanding Your Feelings and Emotions

I always considered myself to be a feeling based person. Sensitive, emotional. The interesting paradox that I discovered about my depression is that when I finally began to observe and describe my emotions, I was at a lack for words! I found myself saying often “I just don’t feel right, but I can’t say exactly what it is” or “It’s hard to describe.” Therapist’s told me “You describe your life as though it was someone else’s life.” I realized I had disconnected myself from the feeling process.

What is true in many situations is that depressed people no longer recognize the vastly different states of emotions, accepting them as a normal part of living. There are so many ways to describe how you can be feeling, however depression had become a “flat line” of feeling for me. Not a range of feelings, only one, and I had no clue how to describe it!

Avoid General Terms To Describe Feelings & Emotions

Emotions constantly arise and pass throughout the day. Each emotion has a different feeling tone that we have assigned a word as a way to describe that particular tone. The problem is that I had reduced all emotions down to “feeling depressed.” A big improvement to my depression was when I allowed myself to feel unworthy, broken hearted, shame, abandoned, resentment, anger etc. I stopped using a general term like “depressed” to describe the subtleties of my experience.

The natural cure for depression as it relates to emotions is also to reconnect with emotions in the moment, allow yourself to feel whatever it is that you feel, and then LET THE ENERGY GO. Allow the flow of emotional energy to move and dissipate without holding it in your mind and body. I am certainly not an “expert” in this field, but I do know that each of us must re-acquaint ourselves with the full range of our experience in order to live as fully as possible.

Use Emotions To Show You How You Are Thinking

A wonderful tip from Bob Proctor is when you are feeling down, ask yourself what you have been thinking? Some questions and statements that have also been helpful to me are:

• “How do I feel right now in this moment?”
• “Where in my body do I feel this emotion?”
• “It is OK to feel whatever I am feeling”
• “My emotions serve me well. Trust them as clues to help me grow”
• “A life is a rhythm dance and this too shall pass”
• “What is it that I am resisting that keeps me from accepting this moment as it is?”

Understanding Your Past

The reality is that until you examine your core belief system, we really do not know where our thinking comes from. Examining your past is a great way to help understand how your thoughts about life came to be. There is a time for understanding how and why we got to where we are. There is a difference though, in dwelling on the past versus understanding how past experiences helped to create your belief system. Knowing that you accepted a belief system without your awareness can now empower you to create a new one, with the ideas you consciously want to accept for yourself.

I used my past as the reason to feel depressed. I noticed that I constantly needed to relive my past and every time I did, it did not provide any additional clarity. It only intensified my dissatisfaction.

I kept reliving my past because I believed I needed something from someone else to heal and move on. This is a common theme for all of us. We need to close the events of our lives in order to move on. Rightfully, we all require closure.

The Choice We All Have To Make

1. Wait For An apology. Who do I need an apology from? What would an apology look like? What would it involve? How would I feel if I received one? Would the relationship change?

2. Forgive The Deed. By seeking an apology I was giving up my power. I can not control another person to give me what I need to heal. Forgiveness is completely within my power. Forgiveness is a spiritual decision to cancel the “debt” someone owes to you, therefore releasing the emotional bonds that come with the debt.

“Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive them that trespass against us.” The Lord’s Prayer

Can you go on for another 5-20 years seeking an apology? Is it possible for you to close the door today by forgiving? I wanted to take back control of my life, so I chose to forgive.

Taking Back Control of Your Thoughts

We know our thoughts create our beliefs and our beliefs create our reality. If we want a change in our reality we need to change our thoughts.

“We can’t solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.” Albert Einstein

1. Go On A Media Diet

How much of the daily information you absorb is genuinely positive & hopeful? Consider the effect a constant stream of negativity or pointless information has on your life? There is a difference between being educated and informed about our world versus being constantly inundated with it.

Take a step back and consider the effect mass “fear consciousness” has on our culture. Are you really served by allowing yourself to be unconsciously part of a cultural fascination with fear, conspiracy, limits, lack, destruction, and loss?

Give yourself a break, so that you can consciously choose the information that you want to become part of your new reality.

• Limit TV, Newspapers, Talk Shows, Radio, Gossip Rags, Internet News

Choose to consciously put yourself in front of hope, vision, possibility, victory, happiness, grace, leadership, responsibility, abundance, mystery and gratitude.

2. Create A New Belief System

Your old belief system happened without your awareness. Now that you are weeding out the old, destructive modes of information, it’s time to rebuild your foundation:

• University On Wheels. Grab some amazing CD’s and plug them into your car stereo. Turn a boring commute into a fun, eye opening, and mind expanding drive.
• Reload Your Mind. Once a week, watch a hopeful DVD that inspires you. I enjoy What The Bleep, The Secret, Harmonic Wealth, and Peaceful Warrior.
• Read Read Read. Follow your intuition and pick out books that will guide you to a better understanding of YOU!

3. Create Space In Your Mind

Use the time created from the media break for more nourishing activities:

• Do Nothing. Have you ever sat and done absolutely nothing at all? Sitting without TV, eating, music, reading, drinking, phone calls, doodling, sewing…..you get the idea. This is a very powerful way to observe the way the mind tried to keep you busy and away from the present moment. Sit even longer, and it can be a powerful way to observe the energetic flow of emotions. Let them rise up, and bubble freely out of you!
• Meditation. Meditation is an intimidating word for most people and if you are depressed, it can seem like a task to begin. Don’t look at it is an all or nothing endeavor. It is a process, and is best taken one day at a time. One undeniable thing that I nave noticed is that the one common theme all religions, all great philosophers, self growth books, self mastery teachings etc have in common is the understanding that meditation is the most powerful pathway to transform an individual. I currently use the Holosync audio’s and I am finding it to be quite powerful.
• Write in a Journal. Record your thoughts and feelings in a journal without editing yourself. Writing is a powerful way to access the truth within you as well as observing the tone of your thoughts. Get to know yourself again by recording your thoughts at various times throughout the day, or for a few minutes before bed.
• Nature. My favorite. Little more needs to be said about this powerful resource. Refresh yourself continually.

The power of the mind amazes me daily. The sheer Will of life to grow and expand allowed me to recapture my life by using my mind in a life enhancing way. I hope all people can come to understand how this immensely powerful resource can create positive change in their lives and in the world. This is the ray of hope that is available to all. Use your Mind, Body and Spirit to create a pathway for your Self to be discovered and expressed.

Do you believe that mindset is one of the most powerful reasons behind an unhappy life? What are some ways that you use your mind for positive change? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Tagged as: Anxiety, Depression, Natural Remedies