Believe it or not most, if not all, of us have experienced depression at some point in our lives. The extent of our depression varies according to each case, sometimes it’s so severe your doctor may recommend anti-depressants. Understandable, simple, logical diagnosis, no?
What does it mean?
Depression. To de-press is to push down. To lower in amount or value. To be pushed lower. When you’re depressed, you’re not at your best, you’re not at your full potential, you’re not in a balanced, neutralized state of mind. You’re below that, you’re less than who you really are.
Anti-depressants therefore are drugs that are meant to push you back up, by sole definition, however their side effects are quite emotionally and physically taxing. (I’m not going by any medical studies here, but by personal experience and observations, not only of myself but of people I know and love)
The Cosmic Magic Behind Life
Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Thank you, Newton, for your laws of motion.
Let’s further translate this, by aid of other observations.
Every thought you have creates your reality.
Every positive has a negative.
Yin and yang complement and complete each other.
There is no creation or activity without a negative (-) and a positive (+) charge interacting at the atomic level. If you want a bigger example of that, think of a battery. A normal, everyday battery, inside your remote control.
There is no power without the balance and combination of positive and negative.
You are not an empowered person when you are depressed because you are so pushed down into the negative, that you have let go of all the positive.
Once again, I am not basing this on any medical research. I’m basing this on personal experience. With the above observations, be it Hermetic or Ancient Chinese philosophy, with the teachings of my Mother and Dr. John Demartini and many others, I sat down one night and tried to overcome an issue that had dragged and continued dragging me down.
How can I use this knowledge to overcome depression?
It’s a simple case of neutralization via list-making.
- Sit down with a pen and paper(s), and a glass of water
- Divide the sheet into two columns
- Label one ‘Positive: Things I Gained’
- Label the other ‘Negative: Things I Lost’
- Fill up the columns until you feel you’ve neutralized the event successfully
The negative state of depression doesn’t allow you to appreciate the positive things, people, or experiences you have gained throughout that specific period. Because you are so engrossed in the negative, your mind is only programmed to acknowledge other negative things, following the basic Universal Law of Attraction.
Write down all the negative things that are bogging you down. No matter how long it takes. Put them all down. Everything that makes you hurt, cry, makes you feel desperate, powerless and lonely.
And for each negative thing you write down, force yourself to find something positive about the situation. Something you have gained, any blessing in disguise.
Remember, there is no negative without positive, no positive without negative. It’s the simple principle of Universal Polarity.
The thing is, with our modern technological advancements, either on our computer, tv, or phone, we only have access to ‘negative’ news bulletins that feed our propensity to only look for the negative in life. Tragedies, deaths, destruction, betrayals, discrimination, injustices, suffering. They trap you in a negative state of mind.
I’m not saying we have to ignore all of this, but it’s not really fair to only look at the negative stories. It would be much more refreshing if our news agencies invested an equal amount of money in finding positive stories. Of laughter, of kindness. Of blessings, smiles, fulfilments, successes, heart-warming stories we can also learn from.
This is not just about ‘positive thinking’
It’s a case of being fair to the world, and to ourselves. By having a balanced, objective perspective of ourselves and of life, a perspective that takes in both sides without any discrimination, the positive side and the negative side.
The list-making exercise, based on personal experience, helped me overcome a state of clinical depression. Surprisingly, there were so many positive things that had been gained during that specific period that I had never even seen before. I was so blind. In the end, the list of positives turned out to be longer than the negatives, and I could feel, inside, that I had finally neutralized that event.
And since that exercise I have never gone back to that state. Not in the slightest. I can actually look back and be grateful for the experience.
Why wait for the anti-depressants, when there are ways you can push yourself back up to an empowered state of mind?
Of course, there are a few other notes to keep in mind. A willingness to try the exercise, and an honesty with yourself. Maybe ask a family member or friend to help you brainstorm while you’re writing it. Someone to egg you on. And above all, you need to keep in mind a willingness to believe. Believe in the magic of the Universe and its laws of Polarity and Attraction, and believe in yourself.
If you allowed yourself to be pushed down by someone, something or even yourself, then allow yourself to pull yourself back up. I hope this exercise can help others out there overcome difficult situations in their lives.
Many blessings!