Oct 29 2008
Spiritual solutions to depression
What is spirituality?
I believe spirituality is identifying the things that are truly important to you and giving them the priority they deserve.
How to overcome depression?
Some time back I was asked to speak regarding spiritual solutions to depression. Now I know more than most that the word depression covers a myriad of conditions and I hesitate to talk about simple cures. For those that know me I believe there are 6 strategies you need to focus on when trying to manage/ overcome depression: exercise, support from family and friends, psychological counselling, fulfilling work, relaxation/meditation, and medication.
What underpins all these things?
In my own recovery, I found that when I was severely depressed, I was best to focus on exercise and contact with family and friends. As I started to improve, I embraced meditation and this really helped with being centred and seeing things with new clarity. I came to realise that when I looked back to my past, much of my self esteem was tied up with external achievements. When things were going well I was fine and when they weren’t I crumbled. I now believe that striving to be of service to others is the key to my mental health. I’m not saying that this is the case for everyone but I have certainly found it to be true for me.
Who am I?
I have spoken on several occasions with Charlie Hogg, The Director of the Brahma Kumaris in Australia. Over the years Charlie has helped thousands of people learn how to meditate. He says that 80% of the people who come to learn are struggling with depression and/or an anxiety disorder. Many have been trying to find happiness and peace through achievements and material possessions and have found that to be a losing battle. They think of themselves as their gender, occupation, marital status, income level etc. When these don’t measure up with their expectations of the perfect life they feel disillusioned.
Source of Happiness
Charlie has no income, and no traditional material possessions, yet he is one of the happiest and most positive people I know. He truly feels fulfilled when he is serving others. When I was interviewed recently by Richard Fiedler on the Conversation Hour, he made the comment that the happiest people he has interviewed (and his has spoken to an incredible cross section) are those that are dedicated to helping others.
This is no quick fix
What I am describing above is no quick fix, but I believe that finding our what is truly important to you and then spending a lot of your time addressing this purpose in central to sustainable happiness and fulfillment. An important part of this is understanding your strengths and finding out what special skills or qualities you have that you like to use. Martin Seligman did some great work in this area in his book Authentic Happiness - see http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx . At this website you will find some tools to help you understand your strenghts
Brinkmanship
I believe that depression, like any adversity has the potential to be transformed into a gift. If through your pain you are able to come out the other side with new priorities in life and a new mission then I believe you can consider yourself blessed. Don’t get me wrong. I know that depression can be a living hell but like every crisis it can EVENTUALLY be turned into an opportunity. I believe that depression has such a high recurrence rate because people that don’t come to terms with what is important to them and change their lifestyle accordingly have to eventually revisit it.
For an excellent artictle on this subject from the Mayo Clinic please see: http://www.revolutionhealth.com/conditions/mental-behavioral-health/bipolar-disorder/living-with-bipolar-disorder/spirituality-stress-relief?msc=A62687
If you have a view on this topic, please respond to this post.
KInd Regards
Graeme
