Preventing Chronic Depression

Mental illness is on the rise. Researchers and mental health professionals report a steady and alarming increase in incidence and severity of many forms of mental illness, including depression, bipolar disorder, autism, post-traumatic stress disorder, senile dementia, suicide, the belief in conspiracy theories, law-breaking, and substance abuse of food, alcohol, and drugs. This increasing mental disorder is a reflection of the political disorder that the global community of humans finds itself in today.

Everyone feels unhappiness from time to time. This is a normal part of life. It is only those periods of unhappiness that allow us to recognize and fully appreciate the state of happiness or contentment. Even severe episodes of misery can be healthy if the feelings of unhappiness are appropriate to the situation and are temporary. If someone close to you dies for example, feeling acute misery is quite appropriate and natural.

When misery doesn’t go away or keeps returning, becoming a chronic problem that constantly robs you of your peace of mind, then it becomes very difficult to treat successfully. Severe depression becomes a lifelong mental habit, often rooted in childhood. Habits learned in childhood or over the course of a lifetime are tough to reverse, though not impossible. Depression itself is paralyzing and demoralizing, making effective treatment even more difficult.

There are definite actions you can take to improve your mental health and prevent it from degenerating into depression and other forms of serious mental instability. These actions are divided into four categories. All four are of equal importance:
1. Understand the Big Picture.
2. Get daily exercise
3. Use acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
4. Get counseling.

Understand the Big Picture

When you clearly see and understand the Big Picture, you cannot be depressed. The Big Picture includes all the information that pertains to a particular situation. When you have all the relevant information, your behavior will be appropriate to that situation. Depressive thinking is never appropriate behavior and is always the result of limited information and a subsequent narrow perspective.

Here are some universal truths worth exploring that will help to develop or restore your peace of mind:
[ Good follows bad and bad follows good.
[ All pain is temporary.
[ All situations are temporary.
[ Pain has a purpose – to alert you to a problem.
[ Forgiveness mainly benefits the forgiver.
[ The past and future do not exist.
[ Worrying helps no one, hurts everyone.
[ The only thing in life that you are always in complete control of is your perspective.
[ “Stress” (external factors) in your life does not cause suffering; suffering is your choice.
[ Trust yourself and your abilities in order to reclaim your personal power.

Become physically active

Depression is paralyzing. The opposite of paralysis is movement. Activating physical qi (energy) will activate mental qi. Modern studies abound showing a link between regular daily exercise and improved mental health. I’ve never seen anyone recover from depression who did not participate in a regular exercise program.

If you need to hire a trainer or a coach to get started, do so. It is well worth the investment.

Use non-injurious modalities such as acupuncture and Chinese herbal formulas to stop mild depression from becoming severe depression.

There are many mood-altering acupoints that, when needled or massaged, will stimulate the production of feel-good chemicals in the body such as endorphins and serotonin. Acupuncture therapy unblocks qi stagnation. Severe qi stagnation can and often does cause mental depression. Regular acupuncture sessions will prevent severe stagnation of qi without causing other problems.

Chinese herbal formulas can be very useful for unblocking stagnant qi and relieving depression. One famous and elegant formula called xiao yao wan (“Free and Easy Pills”) is so effective in this regard that it is the biggest selling herbal medicine in Chinatown. Eight pills three times per day will change the way you see the world!

Explore relationships and past traumas and develop new mental habits using cognitive behavioral therapy and the services of a trained counselor.

It is safe to say that everyone in the world can benefit from psychological counseling. Counseling will help you to see and understand the Big Picture. Counseling will help you adapt successfully to our dysfunctional society. Cognitive behavioral therapy saved my life once. I myself have had seven years of weekly sessions with four different counselors. I’m still a bit loopy, but not as loopy as I used to be. In fact, I never worry about anything anymore.

Modern counseling is based on cognitive behavioral techniques. Cognitive techniques will help you confront the demons from your past by understanding them, and behavioral techniques will help you substitute destructive mental habits with constructive ones.

Carmen Lynne

Carmen is a psychological counselor who works in a clinic very near Los Angeles International Airport. I met Carmen Lynne at a weekend swing dance camp on Catalina Island in 1998. We’ve been friends ever since. She is a very special person. I would describe her as multi-talented, mature, competent, and passionate.

Below is a recent interview I conducted with Carmen on herself and her practice.

Dr. K: How long have you been here in Los Angeles? Where from?

Carmen: I have been here since 1997. I moved here from London, UK.

Dr. K: What got you into your specialty? Where did you study?

Carmen: I studied at Hypnosis Motivation Institute in Tarzana for one year in 2006-7. A friend of mine had done the course and loved it, and another friend was an actress/hypnotherapist and recommended I try this profession. As soon as I started at HMI, I knew this was the vocation for me.

Dr. K: What style of healing do you practice?

Carmen: I am a clinical hypnotherapist, and I also do cognitive-behavioral therapy, biofeedback, guided imagery, dreams analysis, Neuro Linguistic Programming, acceptance and commitment therapy and mindfulness meditation.

Dr. K: What do you love most about your field? About your practice?

Carmen: What I love most is when a client says to me, “Thanks, you really helped!”, because it gives me such a thrill to know that I have helped someone resolve their issue. I especially love helping people to overcome their chronic pain, and in fact I work with a medical doctor in pain management and that is my area of expertise. When someone comes in with pain off the charts and leaves with no or little pain, I feel really fulfilled.

Dr. K: You look healthy. What do you do to stay so healthy?

Carmen: I take care of myself. I nurture myself physically, emotionally and spiritually. I get adequate rest, exercise and fun and eat a good diet – all the usual things.

Dr. K: What is your philosophy regarding health or life?

Carmen: I think a good attitude is most important. I was given this wonderful, well-functioning body and I’m grateful for that and it’s up to me to take care of it as best I can. We were all given this beautiful planet and it’s up to all of us to take care of the earth as best we can.

Dr. K: What are some of your personal and professional goals?

Carmen: I would like to be able to impact a large number of people with my philosophy, either through publishing a book that’s widely read or getting on TV or something like that. I feel that I have a lot of useful experience and advice to share and help I can give people, and I’d like to be able to give it and make a positive difference in the world.

Carmen can be reached at 310-801-9097 or carmenlynne@mac.com. Visit her website at www.newhealingjourneys.com.