Lately, more people are depressed than ever before. Statistics point out that diagnosable depression is common in the United States and internationally. Depression affects approximately 57.7 million American adults or about 26.2% of the U.S. population age 18 and older in a given year. [1] Everyone will at some time in his or her life be affected by depression – their own or someone else’s according to Australian Government statistics. [2]
There isn’t one exact cause of depression. Each person has a unique and often complex perspective to his or her own depression. Yet, one significant detail is clear – the importance of compassion and self-love is at the heart of moving up and out of depression. Depression is more than a symptom to be cured or an illness to be medicated. Although the suffering of depression can be deep and agonizing, it is time during which we discover how to allow an influx of our own divine self into our lives.
Why is depression increasing?
In part, depression is on the rise because these are turbulent times of accelerated internal and external reorganization. Worldwide, as a nation, and individually, we are in a process of releasing old foundational structures that no longer function and building new foundations that are firmly rooted in new energy.
In the big, big picture, it’s all very beautiful and compassionate – a natural unfolding evolution of humanity and consciousness. And in the little picture we often feel confused, alone, out of control, and scared as we feel the effects of change and transition.
This reorganization of life and self comes in great waves and leaves us with feelings of confusion and instability. Many people are sensitive to the unsteadiness that change brings, yet they may not consciously be able to explain what they are feeling.
For example, there are changes taking place in the Earth itself. We are feeling the effects of global warming. Our dependence on an ever-decreasing supply of fossil-fuel energy is creating chaos, fear, and turmoil. Our financial structure is strained with debt, the housing market has weakened, and inflation in food, energy, and medical costs exceeds salary increases.
In the transition period, these changes often appear and feel frightening. The world outside seems to falling apart, and it’s easy to believe that sky is falling. Yet, if we bring honor to the process of change, we can gain perspective that the falling apart of things also comes with a rebuilding. Situations - or even self – sometimes require hitting rock bottom in order to restructure.
Every ending also brings with it a new beginning, if we add patience and spirit to the journey. We can see evidence of restructuring already in process. Great numbers of people are going green, utilizing reusable shopping bags, being drawn to locally grown or organic food, and buying hybrid cars.
So what does all of this have to do with depression? The deep changes are not only occurring in the outside world, they are also occurring within. Old choices no longer feel fulfilling. Careers once thought exciting now begin to lose their appeal or fall apart. Relationships built in old energy no longer seem to work so well in the new energy.
We are engaged in a process of moving away from living our lives based on logic alone, into trusting our intuition. This shift away from our logical, ego based self into trusting our divine self can shake the very foundations of who we are or what our purpose is. This period of intense change is unsettling and exhausting, and often leads to depression.
Depression Is Not a Disease
It is my opinion that depression is not a disease. Yes, depression is real and living through it is an indescribable nightmare. Yet, depression is a sacred journey. It is a crucial time during which we invite ourselves to breakdown, explore old belief systems of limitation, dig in deep to discover what is meaningful. At the heart of any depression are a few essential questions:
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Who am I?
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Do I choose to be alive during this time of upheaval – and if so why?
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How do I bring joy back into my own life?
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What is most important to me?
In the most desperate darkness, when we realize no one can save us or make this depression go away, we one day look to ourselves for love and compassion. Every depressed person eventually faces a point where they assume responsibility for making a choice to stay alive. And that is a scary place to find oneself – in the middle of darkness, feeling no joy, and yet deciding whether or not to continue forward in the journey.
When we make a conscious decision to choose life from within the depths of depression, we do so with a stipulation – we’ll stay alive only if is possible to live differently. Yes, we choose life but with a requirement… we must feel the joy and experience the preciousness and true beauty of Earth.
This choice opens the doorway to our divine spirit. Now as we move forward in life, we align our actions and energy with insights that increase our sense of joy and purpose – not from what we think we ‘should’ be doing or from what others tell us is the ‘right’ thing to do. This is the beginning of a new journey during which we start to trust our inner guidance and intuition above all else.
Depression is a process of bringing compassion and love into self, which then radiates outward into the greater good. Rather than focus on how to heal the world, we focus on how to bring our vision of world peace, or harmony, or joy into ourselves first. In this new consciousness, we heal scarcity, abuse, oppression, doubt, and fear within self – and in doing so we create a compassionate new potential in the world.
This process of ‘self reorganization’ involves putting yourself first, trusting yourself to make decisions that are important to you, learning to eventually always follow your intuition instead of your logic, and letting go of old ways of doing things. If you are feeling depressed, I would say you are right on course with the process of your personal evolution into a new energy, new consciousness being.
1] NIMH. “The Numbers Count: Mental Illness in America” Science on Our Minds Fact Sheet Series .
[2] Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 1998. “National Health Priority Areas Mental Health: A Report Focusing on Depression.” Depression statistics in Australia are comparable to those of the US and UK.
If you or someone you know is depressed, Depression Freedom is a powerful book that reveals new insights about the nature of depression… and how to move through it. Depression Freedom is a must read for anyone who has ever been depressed, everyone who struggles with deep depression or is even now feeling like there is no way out, their friends and family members, as well as counselors and therapists seeking practical, real life healing tools and an empowering message of hope and transcendence.
{ 9 comments… read them below or add one }
I believe there are so many depressed people in our society because they aren’t happy with themselves. There are sooooooo many outside pressures——including the ones we let in through the media etc., that we are bombarded with how we should act, feel , work, play and so on. Come on people—-forget the status quo!!!!
Exactly! Do/think/feel etc what is right for YOU and you alone!
Hi!
Your articles are great. One thing I have always remembered from seeing you before is the belief that depression is a time of transition before moving into something new. I had never really looked at it that way before. Depression was always something that plagued me and was basically out to get me and destroy my life.
I was reading one of the depression articles and I thought about the process of child birthing labor and how it is similar. You go through 9 months of quietly creating and then you have to go through the process of labor before you are able to bring forth a new baby.
It’s the same way with depression. Things/thoughts/feelings occur and grow until they reach a level where change is necessary to continue. But before you can continue, you have to go through this stage of depression and reorganization. It is intense and can be very painful. Fighting against it is pointless, just as fighting against physical labor pains is useless and only creates more stress and pain. The only way to move through it safely to the other side is to relax in order to ride with each wave (no easy task, that’s for sure) but in the end, once you have moved through the process, new beliefs and feelings are brought forth and you can move on to the next phase in life.
I look back at all the bouts of depression that I have experienced and now I can see how things did change/evolve once I had moved through the depths. That brain spin/downward spiral (ok…let’s call it the vortex from hell!) is no fun to be caught in, but I can see now how each time I learned something new that I needed for the next phase of my life.
i love this website it really shows me the meaning of how people are get depressed
It is my solid belief that depression is a miserable experience, but also time to reflect inwardly and clear the floor of past foundational decisions and agreements. Depression is a time to look deep within, beyond dark core beliefs, beyond the survival strategies, and touch into the Spirit within Self. The pathway of depression can lead into a deeper connection with the truth of who you are. It is an earned opportunity to sow the seeds of new beliefs. These seeds may include:
• Erasing doubt that you are unable to face life
• Expunging erroneous beliefs that you are unable to effect change in your life
• Releasing burdensome core beliefs of feeling defeated, like a victim, helpless, or hopeless
• Gaining a higher level of safety and security in the world
• Transcending inner emptiness and living feeling fulfilled
• Opening a new doorway to self-esteem (how much you like, accept, and respect yourself overall)
• Gaining recognition that life is about experience and choosing to have experiences that are good and valuable to your authentic self
Depression magnifies lower energies and lower beliefs. It amplifies self-doubts, insecurities, and self-oppression. It turns up the volume and makes dark beliefs even darker. Perhaps we have to experience things at their worst before we are ready to let go and embrace change. Facing personal fears within depression serves to spur us on by giving us the contrast needed to search for something better. It motivates us to be accountable to ourselves, to say “no” to self-oppression and fear of life and “yes” to a higher experience.
i was so deppresed before i just wanted to give up in life and i wanted to just kill myself because of my self asteem i was always the one who always was depreesed every single day and had to take pills every night
We are glad you are here, alive, sharing your joys and pains, and experiencing life in hopefully a new way.
Excellent post! I love your blog so much and wish I could shake your hand!
Hello Annette, I read your impressions with great interest. I am 95 years of age and over my life I have noticed that the pressure that younger people are subjected to is immense compared with the childhood that I experienced. When I was growing up there was much more time for the extended family and friends to remain in regular contact in a meaningful way. The pressure to perform and attain measurable success is almost like a constant threat to younger people. I believe that education and health should be provided for from taxes collected as they once were. To put young people through a Baptism of Fire in the name of education seems very harsh to me. A civilized society should want to nurture and care for their young, not encourage them to carry a huge Hex debt for years and feel consumed with guilt and failure if this is just too much for them to bear. I see incredible bravery amongst the younger people as they attempt to navigate this harsh system which has been created since the 1980’s. I feel that we all need to be very kind to one another as we adjust to these turbulant times. My heart goes out to the younger generations. They are the future and they need all the encouragement and support we can give to them. Bless you all and I send you all a big HUG. Audrey.