If you’ve been recently diagnosed as depressed or anxious, you probably feel some relief and validation. What I then see many people do, is buy into a medicalized view of depression and stay there sometimes for decades, thinking there is something wrong with them, they have a chemical imbalance and a ‘diagnosis’ that dictates the quality of their future. They are shaken by events that led them to seek treatment and it’s far easier to stay safe, by not seeking recovery, then to try to reclaim your life and future and do the work of healing yourself.
If they are really lucky and really, patient they may get to see someone through the public system, who may or may not offer the types of healing and knowledge that resonate with that person. I know firsthand, I’ve had that experience and as a creative and open minded empath, I needed somatic work, trauma informed therapy and empowering tools and knowledge to get me on the right path. I also needed anxiety medication for a while to assist me to get there. Whilst pills do sometimes provide relief for a time and can be an excellent choice, there are some things I’d like you to know:
The medical model of depression as a chemical imbalance treatable by a pill has officially failed and key medical and psychiatric experts are now admitting that their best efforts are failing miserably and en mass as Western society reaches landslide numbers of depression and dysfunction. What really has us depressed as a nation and culture is separation from one another, from our spiritual nature, from the earth and a scourge of technology addiction, fast paced living, fear, worry, media brainwashing and awful, poor diet and nutrition. We live in a society that condones and normalizes violence, segregation and trauma.
In addition to this, there isn’t a gene for depression. There are no genes linked to mental illness. There is however a gene for sensitivity, which predisposes us to feel more than others. Add a crazy, traumatic early family into the experience and there is a natural recipe for adult depression, chronic anxiety and addiction. Which is borne out in what we are seeing. Here’s the thing. I used to be severely depressed, for two decades. I had four anxiety disorders and did a few rounds with eating disorders too. This was the result of a legacy of a severely disrupted family life, emotional neglect, followed by total isolation as a young woman and no support or guidance.
If I hadn’t reacted in those ways I’d have either been exceptional or catatonic. Now if I can find my way out of my past trauma, heal all those learned behaviors and create an amazing life for myself, others can too. What separated me from others who don’t heal is that I always knew I could and trusted I could create that and I didn’t give up. Now, I’m not suggesting you should follow my path or that it is right for anyone else, but it is one possibility that is valid and powerful. Maybe it interests you. If it does, you may also find the following perspectives helpful…
1. You are infinitely powerful and may need reminding of how to connect with this
Sometimes we need guidance to touch base with our power and potency, explore fresh perspectives, knowledge, information and ways of doing things.
We may have had things happen that disconnected us completely from our power. Or we may have used our power without understanding it and been sanctioned for it. Either way, we tend to shut it down, interpreting events through a filter of shame and self blame.
If this is the case, we tend to also miss the opportunity to learn resilience as we are survival based. Therefore we don’t trust ourselves or life and normal events such as a relationship breakup can send us into a depression or trigger severe anxiety. The trouble is, we look to the now and don’t realize the connection that goes way back.
Just know if you are being majorly challenged, you are being invited (indirectly) to connect with your greatness and courage and outcreate not only the current circumstances, but to heal so you can become your highest self expression and reach your potential.
If I can do this, anyone can, you just have to want it and believe that you can use your pain to inspire and motivate your growth and development.
2. You are a soul having a human experience in a difficult world
Our Western society is absolutely toxic in many ways (and wonderful in others). We typically aren’t taught about our spiritual nature, our purpose, connection to the devine and to the planet and or one another.
Therefore, we are ill equipped to support our psychological growth from a soul perspective. When you add the degree of separation from each other, lack of support because most of us are survival based and operating in a capatalist world, depression and anxiety is inevitable.
Just knowing this can ease the pain a little and give a sense of a bigger picture. Your soul is way more than the sum of your human suffering in this lifetime, but we come here without a memory of what was before. We can feel cast adrift, confused and lost as a result.
There is an abundance of knowledge, wisdom and inspiration that is out there much of it for free and it can assist you to start to connect deeply. Challenges that stop us in our tracks mean we choose self actualization this time around. Embrace it and I highly recommend having body work and doing a daily body practice to integrate this into your body and brain.
3. Remember you have a choice how you see yourself and how you tell your narrative
This is a biggie and as the more we re-learn to feel safe and empowered, the less we feel victimized and can trust our journey and ourselves.
It’s understandable we may operate from a victim paradigm as a sort of automatic pilot, until we are ready let go and thrive. It is often conditioned into us and if we have trauma, it can seem like we are at the effect of life and are not in control of our journey.
We aren’t born with a manual for handling this reality, nor do most of us get to learn about consciousness before we are thrown out into life. This can feel shocking and make us want to give up, but we are stronger than we realize even when it seems like we are fragile and life is falling apart.
Once we start to connect with this on a soul level, it liberates us from making old suffering dictate our path. We can change the beliefs and narrative holding it all in place and benefit in ways that we often don’t see until we are there.
It is never too late to unlearn dis-empowering perspectives and connect with our own guidance and wisdom.
5. Never give in and never give up!
Where ever in this world are we entrained to our greatness, our magic and our possibilities? We are not and if normal day to day life feels like it is suffocating you, maybe you are meant for greater things!!!! I wish I could get more people to embrace this idea. If you feel excited/lit up or even a tiny bit of hope reading this, it’s true for you.
We are taught to believe that we should accept our lot in life, but this is a lie of magnitude. If you are fed up it’s because you know something greater is possible for you. If you don’t fit in, it’s because you are probably here to help build a better, new world.
There is such a different possibility available to us all, once we start to undo our programming and look at things from our own potency. That takes some work, but it is the real job we are here to do. It’s not about paying the bills till we die.
You are a beautiful soul, you are here for a reason, thank you for taking your time to read this post. If you are curious to work with me click here.
