Prozac Free

by Christopher Gibney, LAc, DHom

The avoidable epidemic.

Did you know that antidepressants are the most prescribed drugs in the U.S.?  An extensive study by the Center for Disease Control revealed that 118 million prescriptions were issued in 2005, an increase of 50% in ten years.  Now they are even being given to teens.  Many mental health professionals consider it acceptable that antidepressants be taken indefinitely, as if for an irreversible condition that requires life-long medications.  Some think it is a good sign that more and more people are being “appropriately” treated.  They believe depression to be caused by serotonin and other brain chemistry irregularities that must be corrected with medications.  Actually, there is much more to depression than biochemistry, and drugs become unnecessary, if the real causes are properly addressed.

 

Depression serves a purpose.

Don’t get me wrong.  I am not implying that depression is in any way desirable.  But it does serve a necessary purpose.  It is emotional information that helps you navigate your life.  When you touch a hot stove, the sensory information of pain tells you to pull back, so you do not damage your body.  Depression is a complex emotional response to depressing circumstances, telling you that you need to make some changes in your life.  Just like any pain, it is uncomfortable, but essential.  Without it you would continue to do things that harm you.  Antidepressants make it much more difficult, if not impossible, to make these changes, because they mask your real feelings.  You need drug-free feelings to know if you are moving in the right direction.  By artificially making you NOT feel badly about bad situations, antidepressants end up keeping you stuck.  You are then not compelled to make the changes called for by your depressing thoughts and feelings.

 

Antidepressants have their proper place.

In cases of debilitating depression, medications can be temporary life-rafts, allowing you to keep afloat as you gradually resolve the deeper causes.  But they are never a cure.  To regain and maintain mental and emotional health, you must address, not just your brain chemistry, but all the inter-related aspects of your life; physical, energetic, mental/emotional, and spiritual.

 

We are more than machines driven by brain chemistry.

Do you see yourself as a victim of adverse chemistry, enslaved to tyrannical DNA?  Many medical researchers believe all of our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and motivations are just chemical reactions in the brain that are genetically generated and driven by survival instincts.  Naturally, they only look for explanations they can understand.  Research is limited to the anatomy and biochemistry that science is currently capable of measuring.  It cannot yet detect the subtle system of human energy that regulates all physical functions, let alone the real-time workings of our thoughts and emotions.  If the spiritual dimension is considered at all, it is seen as completely separate from our physical realities.

 

We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

In fact, we are so much more than we appear under the microscope!  We are spiritual beings who inhabit physical vehicles, which are sustained by regulating energies that are directed by patterns of thought and emotion.  Our reality encompasses four interdependent dimensions; material, energetic, mental/emotional, and spiritual.  Nothing can happen on any one of these levels that does not affect all the others.  Depression can be realistically understood only by taking into account all these contributing factors.

 

What will work for you.

There can be no single approach to curing depression.  The program that will work for you must be custom made.  How your system functions and what you have been through is unique to you.  Before grasping at solutions, we must take the time to review your whole health history in the context of your formative life experiences, attitudes, beliefs, relationships, living skills, and lifestyle.  Whatever is dysfunctional or imbalanced in your life will be directly contributing to your depression and must be addressed in an integrated way.  Lasting results can be realized only by matching the full scope of your particular needs with the right tools for the job.  Where to begin?

 

The crux of the matter.

There is always a primary stress at the center that is generating all the other dysfunctions in your system.  You could say it is all about stress; the day to day, year to year stresses of life, of turbulent times, of money worries, of performance, of frustration, of disappointment, of conflict in relationships, of guilt and anger and loneliness and discontent.  Whatever is specifically and uniquely most stressful in your life is the crux of the matter for you.  Everyone has the same essential needs; safety, security, fulfilling work, prosperity, love.  At the end of the day, it boils down to your unmet needs for the basics of lasting happiness.  On the surface this may sound uselessly vague and impractical.  But it must be acknowledged as crucial and addressed pragmatically for you to realize lasting physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being.

 

Everyone knows there is a mind-body connection. 

Psycho-neuro-immunology experiments have documented that anxiety and fear weaken immune function, while calmness and joy strengthen it.  But we knew that already.  We have all experienced various stress-induced illnesses.  The biochemistry of physical stresses obviously affects our mental and emotional faculties.  Conversely, our every thought and emotion induces a cascade of corresponding biochemical reactions in our bodies.  Negative thoughts and feelings always produce harmful physical effects, and positive thoughts and feelings invariably result in healthier physical states.  Biochemistry and DNA, on the other hand, influence our thoughts and feelings, but do not invariably determine them.  In this complex feedback loop, our consciousness is by far the strongest determining force.  This is very good news.  You can learn to make your mind and emotions less affected by unhealthy biochemistry and genetic propensities, and you can methodically direct them to cultivate self-sustaining health on all levels.

 

How it works.

Energy is the missing link.  It is not really missing; it is just not yet understood by contemporary science.  As recently as 1960, computer scientists had no concept of digital technology.  They would not have known how to access the information stored in your cell phone.  As yet, modern medicine cannot detect and measure, let alone manipulate, the system of subtle human energy (qi, prana) that communicates between our consciousness and our bodies.  The ancient scientists of China and India, however, mapped it out in detail with precise terminology.  They have given us many millennia-tested techniques for diagnosing and treating on this pivotal level.  You can use these methods to powerfully influence both your physical and your mental/emotional states.

 

The right tools for your job.

First common sense:  Physical problems need physical solutions, such as good nutrition, the right exercise, sufficient rest, herbs, massage, postural realignment, workplace ergonomics, physical therapy, medications, surgery, etc.  Energetic imbalances require methods like acupuncture, homeopathy, Reiki, Qi Gong, or pranayama.  Mental/emotional struggles call for training in stress reduction, time management, communication skills, conflict resolution, goal-setting, changing habits, resolving emotional wounds, cultivating positive attitudes, etc.  Spiritual malaise demands spiritual practices, like introspection, calming the emotions, concentrating the mind, focusing the will, affirmations, visualizations, prayer, and meditation.  Your particular web of needs will determine the most effective mix of solutions to use from the smorgasbord of available resources.

 

Weaving it all together.

Weaving appropriate solutions together around the matrix of your specific needs creates an upward spiral of progress, with each level positively reinforcing the other.  Making key adjustments in some of the fundamentals of balanced living (your diet, exercise, sleep, work, and play) lays the foundation for stability on all levels.  If you have been getting every cold or are plagued with allergies, then strengthening  your immune system with acupuncture or homeopathy can reinforce your ability to handle stress and free you from the energy drain and mental funk of physical symptoms.  Learning to be less stressed in stressful situations takes tremendous pressure off your whole system and allows it to function unfettered on all levels.  Making even a little progress wherever you feel stuck in life; your physical health, your job, your relationships, your bad habits, your life goals, your spiritual efforts; liberates huge amounts of creative energy that heals your body, enlivens your mind, and uplifts your spirit.

 

Ultimate results.

In this upward spiral of healthy growth, depression gradually recedes from its dominance of your body and mind and takes its proper place as an emotional smoke detector.  If you listen to it as a friendly warning, rather than just shutting off its bothersome noise, it can save you from much worse troubles.  As you get more skilled at the art of living and progress towards your highest aspirations, eventually it will never need to sound the alarm.