For myself, I prefer the concept of realistic self-talk. It’s important to acknowledge our fears, feelings, and beliefs head on. Pretending they don’t exist doesn’t help them heal, it just pushes them down.

So I’m all for realism and conscious choice. For example if I were to say, “I’m not scared” when in actuality I’m terrified is a horrible lie to self. But when instead I acknowledge, “I am scared, terrified in fact and I would prefer to run. But this decision (action, etc.) is important to me and I choose to move forward with a belief in my abilities despite my fear.”

This type of statement allows me to be true to myself with an added bonus of helping my fear to heal and resolve itself.

Thanks again David for voicing your perceptions and allowing me to clarify. Wishing you expanded potentials of joy.

David

Depression can come in various forms ranging from situational depression resulting from a response to a stressful event to a severe psychological condition like manic-depressive illness. Some causes have to do with physiology, internal chemical imbalance, chronic disease, or genetics. Other types of depression stem from engaging in low energy life choices, such as drug or alcohol abuse. Different types of depression benefit from differing modalities of management, including pharmaceutical treatment.

Spiritual depression is not a disease and therefore there is no cure. It is a journey, an excruciating journey, when everything makes no sense. Yet even the most difficult, painful, and unfair experiences in our lives have deeper meaning and higher purpose. It is a challenge but also a self-attained opportunity to recover and reclaim connection with inspiration, intuition, purpose, freedom, profound connection, and inner peace.

All suffering has a purpose, including the pain of depression. My focus is on offering people new hope, and new perspectives that can lead to self-empowering ways to heal. The choice to pursue antidepressants is a personal choice and not mine to make for others. I do offer an often solitary voice that with or without medication, depression is a journey of evolution, unfolding worth, and greater conscious awareness.

My viewpoints are not meant to please everyone. I offer another perspective, not one that is opposed to antidepressants, but one that is separate. I appreciate your point of view and have empathy for your journey. I cannot imagine living with the chronic pain you endure each and everyday. Thank you for sharing your love, the insights gained from your journey, and your support for pharmaceutical therapy for clinical depression.

Depressed patients can so often flog themselves for feeling bad, yet would a diabetic do that?

Annette, I know you might disagree with me on this, but there ARE cases where antidepressants are medically necessary. Unfortunately, they’re way too overprescribed in this country; we need to work through our problems, not just pop a pill to handle them.

But the patient experiencing severe clinical depression may wake up one morning and find that it’s just too unbearable to live anymore, and this is the person who needs immediate treatment, not as a long-term solution, but as an emergency intervention in order to save a life.

The patient in this state is getting no serotonin in their brains at all, and this can be fatal.

While I’m a big proponent of allowing ourselves to feel and work through the pain, severe clinical depression is an entirely different matter and needs to be treated as such.

Thank you for saying hello and leaving your kind words. I’m sorry you are having such a difficult time lately – this life can really be difficult at times, can’t it?

Continue to believe that the type of hope, support, and healing thta you are seeking is available to you. And above all, continue to breathe.

Sending love and light,
Annette