Treating the Many Levels of Depression

Again on the discussion threads of LinkedIn.  Great food for thought originates from topics there. Someone asked about treating depression naturally.

There were several responses from practitioners touting whatever approach they were employing. Exercise is beneficial, hypnotherapy can work to elevate serotonin levels in the brain.  Meditation can be helpful.  While all of these things are true, they do not paint a full picture of the complexity of our emotional tapestry.  From what I understand, depression has many facets and components.  There are many metaphors for being depressed that reflect truths about what is going on at many levels. frayed nerves, frazzled, feeling blue, down, etc. So what do we really know about depression? And how can you improve the way you feel in your day to day life?

There are many contributing factors to depression.  Keep in mind the body is essentially a chemical processing unit.  All any of us are, is a processing unit. Our body breathes in chemicals, converts them into other things.  We ingest foods with chemical components, and convert them into other things (energy, nutrients etc).  So it is essential to address all facets of what is going on.  What is the home and work environment?  Are there chemical irritants? What does the diet look like? Has the body become “toxic” from exposure to more harmful components than it can easily and readily process “out.”  This can be anything from dental fillings, to chemicals on produce, to all of the toxins CREATED by eating processed foods.

Additionally, there is such a thing sometimes referred to as “brain allergies”. A person can be allergic to a food, but it does not make them physically sick: not an anaphylactic reaction.  But the body does not like it, and it has adverse affects.  Within the last decade or so, knowledge about gluten intolerance has become more common.  It can cause all sorts of internal distress, weight gain ( thyroid depression, depression?).

A colleague of mine used to manage a clinic in Pennsylvania (?), where they did testing for allergies, mainly on children.  I have seen video footage of kids with every range of food allergy, from bananas, potatoes, tomatoes- foods most people consume regularly, and are considered innocuous.  No one would ever suspect a banana of inducing behavioural and mood changes.  As well as there being every range of food culprit, no two children would have the same reactions to their allergen.  One child went from totally normal, until he was introduced to his allergen via a small subcutaneous injection.  Within five seconds, he had to be physically restrained.  It took 3 people to hold him down.  He was kicking, clawing, biting, scratching and said something at one point that if he had a knife he’d kill himself (?).  the sound was a little less than perfectly clear with the activity of restraining him.  Once they were able to introduce a neutraliser, the behaviour ceased.  The reactions ranged from sad, depressed, withdrawn, hyper and giddy, etc.  Note I have also had my own personal experiences with “brain allergies,” so I know this is not hype or hypochondria. ( rice, no less- makes me extremely tired, and unmotivated. go figure- I thought I was losing my mind, questioned depression and all sorts of things, before having that AHA. Within 2-3 days of eliminating rice, I was back to my old self.

In shamanic healing, as with holistic health, there is a growing understanding that the base equation is very simple: GIGO. garbage in, garbage out- to borrow a computer terminology;) What goes in, must come out.  Look at what the body is exposed to. Detoxify the body to minimise the stress load on the central nervous system.  This includes water based toxins, fat based toxins and most essentially, for this, nerve toxins. Put only good things INTO the body, with some degree of caution and “monitoring”.  Keeping a food journal can be beneficial.  it is a good way to discover food allergies, when we can correlate what we eat, and how we have felt, day to day.  Experiment with eliminating certain foods for periods of time.  Track any changes. Examine the home and work environments for exposure to irritants, cleaning solvents, detergents, air fresheners, molds, carbon monoxide- find out what external irritants there might be.

While working to reduce exposure, it is also essential to “tone” the body and nervous system.  This is all of the holistic health aspects people are addressing.  Exercise, meditation, yoga, improved diet that eliminates: caffeine, sugary foods ( check out the book Sugar Blues), ALL artificial sweeteners!!!!  I repeat ALL ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS!! I have had my own mood related run ins with this, so I can speak from both personal and hypothetical perspective. Caffeine is VERY hard on the nervous system, forcing it to fire/ over-work- WITHOUT giving it the energy to work.  The CNS needs to “rest” to de-stress.  There are herbs that are very good for “soothing” the nervous system.  Roibos/ redbush is excellent, mugwort is soothing and nurturing.  There are many, with different healing components. The important thing is to educate and inform yourself, with what you might need, and what different plants/supplements do.  A GOOD holistic practitioner, herbalist, nutritionist/ naturopath.. is INVALUABLE!

Ultimately, you, as the client/ patient have to become aware and informed.  You have to be willing to go all the way down the rabbit hole.  You have to determine that this is not a normal natural state, and be willing to change, in order to affect improvement.  You cannot be a passive recipient of your emotional state.  This may be tricky with depression, because it IS by nature, passive.  But you can change, you can change the WAY you live your life.  Additionally, as the client, it is important to stop blaming yourself for feeling badly.  Chances are, more often than not, your moods and state of mind are at least equally the result of all the invisible factors, such as low/poor thyroid function (diet related issue as well)… and that you DO have power and control..  you CAN take responsibility and step into your power.  It is a human birthright, to feel good and happy and engaged in your life and community (granted, some people truly are naturally more solitary- that’s fine, so long as it is a natural, and not reactive shutting out, experience;)

So in working with depression, it is important to address all facets of the client’s life and environment.  Sadness is a message and a messenger.  If that emotion were a person, what would that person be saying to the client?

Additionally, one factor that many people and practitioners overlook: we have a culture that represses sadness.  Western culture does not give people permission to feel bad.  People apologise for feeling bad or not being in a good mood.  Sometimes bad or sad things happen.  This is part of Life.  Everyone is always very eager to cure or treat depression.  it is also important to honour the cause and source as a valid and important part and process.  We mask symptoms in our culture, we drink, we medicate, we do all sorts of things to pretend we feel better than we do, ignore what we feel, or “over-ride” that internal information.  Physiologically, pain is a symptom.  Western medicine “treats” symptoms, ignoring underlying causes.  Pain is telling us not to do/ move something in our bodies.

Often, pain, like swelling, is the body trying to protect something while it heals.  Emotional pain can be very much like that.  But we have forgotten how to heal, so the swelling persists and can become “permanent” so we need to re-teach the body how to have a healing process, on all levels. and we need to remember that it is okay to feel sad. But the sadness should be a journey, that we transition THROUGH, like a rest area on a highway.  We spend a little time there, refuel and replenish.  Then we continue our journey. Adventures and mysteries and wondrous experiences await down that road.

 

 

I am an Education Specialist, Health Coach and Author. I work with aspects of the teachings I have learned from Andean shamanic and cosmology, to health, nutrition and education.  Everything is energy. Energy must flow. Like water, when it does not flow, it stagnates and is not healthy. These techniques help your life to flow. I have been initiated into many of the ancient lineages and learned ceremonies, rites of passage and healing techniques.  I have worked as a healer and done workshops and taught some of these aspects – passing the teachings on.

Author of:
Dancing in Your Bubble : ancient teaching, modern healing
Natural Support for Alzheimer’s
Getting a Handle on Happy : find and fix causes of stress and depression
The Naturally Smarter Kid : a parent’s guide to helping kids succeed in school and life
Cafe of the Hungry Ghosts : behind the veil of ordinary – a paranormal-ish fiction book

http://BeingHerd.com
http://repairalz.com