3 Empowering Facts About Depression for Those Who Have It

April 4th, 2018

Awake Goy

Sofia Adamson, Staff Writer
Waking Times

Mental health is an exceptionally big issue in today’s world. Not only are rates of depression higher than ever and rising, but there are more people than ever taking psychotropic medications. At the same time, the craziness in the world seems to be accelerating, adding evermore stress and feelings of disempowerment. In this environment it is easy to forget how much power you have over your mental health.

There really is no other way to say it: depression just plain sucks. But as time goes by we learn more and more about what causes it and how best to combat it. Knowledge is power, and sometimes just a simple shift in perspective can bring about a dramatic change for the better.

If depression is part of your life, or of someone you know, then take a look at this short list of uplifting facts about depression. This could very well trigger that unexpected shift in perspective to help them realize just how much control they do have over their lives in their search for happiness. The brief bits of knowledge here may be able to help turn the tide on depression.

1.) Depression is not exactly a chemical imbalance, like you’ve been told.

Doctors are good at simplifying technical information for their patients. The term chemical imbalance is widely used, and is perhaps one of the most disempowering medical ideas today. Sure, levels of brain chemicals and hormones can and do affect mood, but it’s the not the whole story. Chemical imbalance implies the existence of an uncontrollable condition.

We are discovering the more we treat depression as an ailment caused by past experiences and especially past trauma, the we learn that depression can quickly resolve itself by looking at the psychological and spiritual roots of the problem.

Furthermore, we are also learning that the gut microbiome plays an important role in the health of the digestive system, which may somehow cue the brain in how to act and feel. The point is that we are just now learning of a deeper connection between food and depression, and we all have control over what we choose to eat.

2. There are many self-care practices that are highly beneficial in overcoming depression.

Self-care may very well be the simple key for most people in overcoming depression. Simple things like exercise, meditation, spending time in nature and so on are surprisingly effective. Plus, the changing of one simply habit is often the pathway to redesigning your whole reality by changing all of your habits. Science can now tell, good personal care habits lead to good mental health.

“Here’s the reality, though. That reaction to antidepressants isn’t strange. It’s pretty normal. Common even. Leading scientists are even now finally admitting that the “chemically imbalanced” brain notion is bunk. This fact has largely been proven already in clinical trials of these drugs. They use something called the Hamilton Scale to determine where you lie on a continuum between pure ecstasy and suicidal tendencies. Just as a reference – getting enough sleep can bump up your Hamilton score by 6 points. Eating high quality, organic, plant-based food can bump you up another 6 points on the Hamilton scale. Listening to music you love, or spending time with friends can bump you up several more points – closer to joy and further away from despondency and depression.” [Source]

3. Antidepressants don’t really work as advertised.

Yes, antidepressants can severely alter your mood, making a person feel less depressed, but that is not quite the same thing as curing depression, and antidepressants are increasingly not working for people. Not only can they make all human emotions seem dulled down, including the emotion of joy, but they also do not address psychological concerns.

They are, however, habit-forming, as they create physical and psychological dependencies. This means it is logical to explore other options than just antidepressants, especially when the potential harms are factored in.

New research from Switzerland demonstrates this in a bit more detail:

In a recent study conducted at Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland, researcher Michael P. Hengartner came to the conclusion that, “antidepressants are largely ineffective and potentially harmful.”

“Due to several flaws such as publication and reporting bias, unblinding of outcome assessors, concealment and recoding of serious adverse events, the efficacy of antidepressants is systematically overestimated, and harm is systematically underestimated.” ~Michael P. Hengartner, Researcher at Zurich University of Applied Sciences in Switzerland

Final Thoughts

Again, you never know when the right bit of information may have a huge impact on someone’s life. Sometimes a simple empowering message is enough to change the course of a life, and through personal empowerment we know that anything is possible.