Everyday I have the Blues: A Medical Intuitive look at Depression

Home
>
Depression
>
Everyday I have the Blues: A Medical Intuitive look at Depression

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 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.

In The News:

R&D Trends: Depression - Clinical attrition driven by mature market conditions
MarketWatch (press release)
Several drugs have progressed through the pipeline for depression in recent years, including Pristiq (desvenlafaxine; Pfizer), Oleptro (trazodone extended release; Labopharm), and Viibryd (Forest) in the US, and Valdoxan (agomelatine; Servier/Novartis) ...

and more »

Globe and Mail
Cheeseburger blues: High-fat foods may be making us depressed
Vancouver Sun
Fatty "comfort" foods might actually make people depressed, new Canadian research suggests. Universite de Montreal researchers are reporting that high-fat diets increase anxiety and depressive-like behaviours in mice — a finding that a leading ...
Cheeseburger blues: could high-fat foods be making us depressed?Ottawa Citizen
Comfort foods can lead to depression, study findsGlobe and Mail
A Heart Made of Face Parts; The Eating Depression Cycle ExplainedThe Atlantic Wire
Science Codex -Irish Health
all 53 news articles »

IMF Chief: World Facing Possibly Worst Economic Insecurity Since Great Depression
Wall Street Journal
"Your generation is facing probably the worst economic insecurity in decades, possibly ever since the Great Depression," IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said in her commencement speech to the John F. Kennedy School of Government graduates.

and more »

BigPond News
'Cheerful' Corby out of depression as clemency lifts spirits
The Canberra Times
Schapelle Corby is believed to be recovering from depression and bouts of psychosis that have affected her in jail. Kerobokan jail's doctor Agung Hartawan said yesterday that Corby was in good spirits following the news of her clemency.
Corby stages dramatic recoveryBigPond News
man whose love keeps Schapelle Corby saneNEWS.com.au
Corby case that divided a nationAdelaide Now

all 921 news articles »

The many faces of depression
Chicago Tribune
Sadness touches all of our lives at different times, but depression can have enormous depth and staying power. It's more than a passing bout of sadness or dejection, or feeling down in the dumps. It can leave you feeling continuously burdened and can ...
Has depression become a cliché?InjuryBoard.com

all 2 news articles »

The Masculine Mystique and Male Depression: Embracing Your Vocation of Destiny
Huffington Post (blog)
That was the year my father became overwhelmed with depression and tried to take his own life. My father was a writer with dreams of success, which to him meant being able to make a living and support his family. I began to understand what drove him ...

PsychCentral.com
Erratic Web Use Associated With Depression
ITProPortal
A study on the behaviour of university students online and its correlation with depression has highlighted that those with the illness tend to use the internet more erratically, and in many different ways compared to their non-depressed classmates.
Depression Linked With More Internet UsePsychCentral.com
High internet use linked to depression - researchHerald Sun
Depressed people act differently onlineMSN NZ News
Business Review Australia -Tech2
all 11 news articles »

Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Depression is a genuine illness
Sarasota Herald-Tribune
Depression is a common illness that affects one out of five people at one time or more during their lives. It's not the ordinary sadness that people feel when misfortune strikes. It's something that often strikes out of the blue and lasts for what ...

and more »

Contactmusic.com
Jason Derulo says Jordin Sparks kept him from sinking into depression ...
Fox News
Jason Derulo says girlfriend Jordin Sparks kept him from sinking into depression following a serious spine injury. And after four and a half months of being in a neck brace, Derulo said performing his new single “Undefeated” during the "American Idol" ...
Jason Derulo: Jordin Sparks Saved Me From DepressionContactmusic.com
Jason Derulo says Jordin Sparks helped him through neck fracture ordealMyFox Phoenix
Jason Derulo: Jordin saved meBelfast Telegraph

all 34 news articles »

Stuff.co.nz
Stay-at-home mums more depressed
Stuff.co.nz
According to a US poll by Gallup released last week, mothers who don't work outside the home were far more likely to be depressed, with 28 per cent reporting depression, compared with 17 per cent of working mothers, and also 17 per cent of working ...
How mothers who stay at home are LESS happy than those who work - and more ...Daily Mail
Stay At Home Moms Are Less Happy Than Working Moms -- StudyHollywood Life
Working Mothers Emotionally Stable Than Stay-At-Home MothersTopNews New Zealand
The Stir
all 8 news articles »

Google News