In my life, I have found that most things that we do have their origin in the mind. First comes the thought, then the feeling , then the mood and then the behavior. So, does this mean that what we think we become?

So if I think I am superman, does that mean I am? If I think that I am a giant and only 5’5 tall, it’s obvious that something is not right about our thinking.

But if metaphorically I think I am a giant among others in the way I can shoot pool, then this is just a manner of speech, and not to be taken literally.

Depression and ecology are related. Here is how that works: Each person, according to the LIFE MODEL all living creatures have four essential characteristics. All living beings have a competency, an identity, are autonomous, and are interrelated to every other living being.

When we are depressed, we might feel that we no longer have a purpose in this life, or that we have lost our identity because, let’s say, we lost our job or an important relationship with another; having to retire from a position that we loved, our identity closely identified to our work, we are saddened over this important loss.

Aging presents us with a gradual diminishing of our competencies. We no longer physically able to move around as freely as we wish; our body no longer responds to our mental directives. Now that we are no longer able to get around as we like, we may need a walker, wheelchair or help with eating, dressing, We are now at the mercy of those who assist us and help us keep some of our autonomy, and I might add, dignity!

Because we are social beings, our lives over time have been interrelated with family, friends and others. Our world is without a doubt connected to everything that is alive. We inhabit a world where everything living is connected to everything else.

The ecology of the human person is composed of body, spirit and mind. These three realities are like the three legs of a tripod – each one needing the other. (Depression is the result of a highly interactive dialogue between biology, personal and psychological factors, and the environment.)

In an effort to deal with these factors each one of us must make time to discover what in each of these three factors can be changed so that the depression or melancholic experience can be lessened and even eradicated. What can I do to change what needs to be changed?

The “greening” of our personal environment begins when we admit that something is out of whack in our lives. Not only is something out of whack but is such that the psychic and physical pain is overwhelming. We discover that our mental state is such that we are gradually slipping down into the abyss of despair. It is ironic that only when we are physically immobilized and our mind feels like it is filled with cotton balls, no longer are we able to think ourselves into a happier frame of mind. Our will power is futile in its attempt to straighten out this personal confusion and internal mental restlessness.

So, when does the “greening” start? What gets us feeling more like ourselves, going about our lives with a sense of purpose and happiness. What can we do to get us back on the playing field of live, interacting with others and finding joy in the simple pleasures of life?

I have found the answer to this question. The “greening” of my life, the environmental landscape started to change for the better. I found hope and a way to live my life using a plan that gradually game me my life back.

This plan is there for all to use. It is called Depressed Anonymous. It is a 12 Step approach on how to live. It is a program of recovery which if put to use on a daily basis will help restore hope and give meaning to your life.

Please read about how this can happen for you in the book Depressed Anonymous. It’s happening for anyone serious about getting their life back! You can read some powerful stories in this book and gradually see how you too can get the help and hope that you so strongly desire.

“I commented that once individuals realize that medical treatment is unlikely to fix their problem, their thinking moved away from the medical language of cure and toward the spiritual language of transformation. With that interpretation I was speaking only as a sociologist trying to see patterns in data. Several weeks later I read a nearly identical idea in Moore’s book.
“A major difference between care and cure is that cure implies the end of trouble..But care has a sense of ongoing attention. There is no end. Conflicts may never be resolved. Your character will never change radically, although it may go through some interesting transformation…” (Care of the soul. Thomas Moore.)

” Moore sustains the argument that we ought not become pathological about our depression. He makes then interesting point that the word “depression” itself shapes the way we think about the human condition it describes. Today, consistent with a medically dominated view of emotional pain, we prefer the more clinical and serious word depression to the more human words “melancholy” or “sadness.” This observation is entirely consistent with labeling theory in social psychology that ties the construction of our identities to the labels others apply to us and that we ourselves ultimately adopt.” Karp, David A (1996) Speaking of Sadness: Depression, Disconnection and the Meaning of Illness. Oxford University Press. NY.
___________________________
A comment:
“One of the major indicators of depression is how it permeates our soul with that desire for isolation and being disconnected from life around us.”
Yes, I agree fully with this reality of getting ourselves isolated and disconnected from that world which we once inhabited. The solution is to take charge of our lives –get out the “toolbox” of our fellowship, Depressed Anonymous, and roll up our sleeves and get to work. How tom do this is all contained in our group manual Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. And if we get the Depressed Anonymous Workbook and start to answer the questions contained there, we will begin to see that we have started on a journey of not only understanding the nature of the depression experience but we will begin to understand ourselves.
Hugh

SOURCE: I’ll do it when I feel better.(2014) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pages 88-89.

     “The medical psychiatrist Dr. Dominique Meggle points out in his talk at an International  symposium on depression in Rome  that modern man, who is individualistic, is enough for himself.  He boasts of being a nomad. He does not admit that changes can modify him. He does not have exchanges; he has experiences that are sufficient for him to continue – at the same level – sex, food, or music.  Upholding his freedom and sincerity of his feelings, he has replaced being with having. He consumes and after gaining enjoyment he feels sad. Pornography spreads in all directions. It shows a form of sexuality to us that is northing else but a consumer good. The modern form of this widespread depression has neither a biological nor a psychological cause. It is a form of depression that springs from something higher. It is a form of depression that comes from the removal of a meaning of existence: it is what Victor Frankel calls “nooegensis neurosis of existential depression.”  It belongs in the sphere of the mind and shows that a society that replaces being with having in a systematic   way produces a whole series of depressed people. It makes them mad. The removal of meaning disturbs the human psyche and human cerebral biology.

  In this case the good news takes two forms: On the one hand, we have the experimental proof that in order to function correctly the human being needs values and to be able to give meaning to his or her life. We can no longer deny the fact. It is in front of our very eyes. Given that we have done nearly everything that we should not have done, by exclusion we now know that what we  have to do to escape from the pandemic of man, his freedom, his values, his search for meaning but also his sense of responsibility, once again at the center   and the summit  of the whole of social, economics and political life.”

SOURCES: Copyright(c) I’ll do  it when I feel better. Hugh S., (2014) Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville. Pages 93-94.

And the reference taken from the following essay:

 Establishing Social Ties in a society that is broken down and devastated by individualism. Meggle, Dominique. In Dolentium Humani: Christ and Health in the World. From the Proceedings of the XVIII International Conference on Depression. Journal of the Pontifical Council  for Health/Pastoral Care. Nov. 13-15. 2004. Rome.

The following is a continuation of yesterday’s article, A VICTIM IN MY OWN MIND,#9 of the Personal stories contained in Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition, pages 120-121.

“Depression was something that I grew up with. I really had no idea that I had it until my senior year in college. It started with my parent’s divorce and ended with me totally losing control over everything in my life. I couldn’t decided what career I wanted, but hated every job I could think of. I couldn’t decide what city or state to live in, so I kept moving, hoping that the next place I lived in would make me happy. Eventually, I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to live or die. I cried at the drop of a hat, but still found enough rage inside to push the people I loved far away from me as possible.
I knew that I needed help. I had been to counselors on three other times in my life, but nothing seemed to work or last. This time, I have been in counseling for about two months. I was sick and tired of being like this. I wanted a life and I wanted to be happy. Every week, someone would notice a change in me, but I felt the same. Then one day while watching TV(thinking thoughts at 100mph), it occurred to me that I was making myself miserable…(See yesterdays BLOG 11/16 )
I’m slowly finding out that my life is not as horrible as I’ve made it out to be. I used to tell myself that since it happened before, it will happen again — and that simply is not true.
Yes, my past was horrible and it’s no wonder I ended up with depression. I want out of it and the only person to get me out is me. There is not a magic wand to transport you to the life you want. Everyone knows what they wish their life could be like — so do it! Make the changes you have to make, trust in God and always remember that good things come to those who wait. I’ve waited over half my life. I don’t have to be a victim of my past or of my mind anymore. I’m more than ready for the good things! With love and hope.”

SOURCE: Depressed Anonymous, 3rd edition. Depressed Anonymous Publications. Louisville.