The Cure for Depression

Is there a cure for clinical depression? Millions of people want to know. Some of those millions are on antidepressants known as Prozac, Zoloft, or Paxil trying to get some relief. I used to be one of them. As a young teenager of 15, my first boyfriend broke up with me for no apparent reason. In response, I went into an existential depression so deep that I completely withdrew from life, alienated most of my friends, and thought most of my days would be better spent in bed so I could avoid as much as possible. I developed all the symptoms of depression that they tell you about – thinking that life was not worth living, gaining a bunch of weight, and losing interest in most of the things that used to make me happy. I created a living hell for myself, mostly due to the constant barrage of dark thoughts I was willing to entertain on a daily basis. Though I didn’t see that at the time.

My depression continued for years after the break-up – though the degree of it did lighten up some. It just didn’t completely go away, all the negative feelings and judgments toward myself and my ability to make my way in the world. I didn’t really understand it, why I continued to feel so bad and hard-pressed to make any worthwhile commitments in my life or to feel positive about anything. What the heck was wrong with me? This wasn’t how a human being was supposed to feel. I knew that some of my family members were taking Prozac to alleviate their own bouts with depression. I thought maybe I had the “depression gene” that was messing up my body chemicals and making my life difficult. At that point, I was willing to try anything because I was in so much emotional pain. I found a psychiatrist who asked me a few questions and was more than willing to give me Prozac as a possible solution to my problems. I was 19 years old.

I tried it for about a year, and it totally didn’t work! I felt the same. Exactly the same! No magic cure for me. I was still emotionally unstable and moody as hell, chronically insecure, and very dissatisfied with my life.

My saving grace was that I still had my spiritual sensitivities intact, and they led me to my spiritual mentor David Truman, despite the internal madness I felt inside. My life began to change when I learned that the real cause of my suffering was my MIND. You know how they say your thoughts create your reality? Well I had no idea just how negative my thoughts and reactions really were until my mentor pointed that out to me. Mostly I rode an emotional rollercoaster with no one steering the ship. My mind was a wild little pony that had the freedom to roam anywhere it wanted, and I did very little to control it. Naturally, I felt victimized by my negative habits, and felt it was all just “happening to me.” Why me? The truth was, I needed to take responsibility for the quality of my thoughts, attitudes, and interpretations of things – which tended to be predominantly negative to this point. I needed to intentionally and committedly steer my mind and life in a truly POSITIVE direction. I needed to become a loving and giving person, not someone focused so much on herself and living in her “own little world.” So I decided to give it a try. It took a few years to start seeing a positive result that lasted more than a few days, but now I can honestly say that most of my days are GOOD days. Clinical depression no longer applies to me, and I’m no longer riding an out-of-control emotional rollercoaster.

I suppose it’s easy enough to say, just discipline your mind and life will work swimmingly. But there’s another practice that goes hand in hand with mental discipline, that is truly the great healer and redeemer. And that is the practice of LOVING. To be loving in your life and outwardly oriented is to have a higher purpose besides selfish desires, reactions, concerns, and fears. If you are spending your time loving and serving others, you don’t have time to think about yourself. This is the way to true, lasting happiness. No amount of contemplating one’s navel ever did that.

And the truth is, God didn’t make our lives impossible to resolve. He has given us unlimited choices, and the free will to choose as we wish. We each have beautiful life possibilities, which wait only for us to embrace and manifest them. Over time, as you more and more consistently choose positively and discipline your ego mind, you will strengthen spiritually. And, by making those same good choices, you will be building a great foundation for the life your heart desires. With a strong commitment over time to achieve this, it can be done! I’m living proof of it.

Love,
Carolyn

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Love : the Only Solution