Steps to True Healing of Depression

As a famous saying goes, “Desperate times call for desperate measures”.

When one is in the abyss of a deep and prolonged depression, he/she will be at one of many levels (stages) within it. I characterize the descent down this hole as the throngs of depression increasingly engulfing every inch of a person’s entire being and spirit until it practically suffocates the life out of that person. That point of suffocation is what I like to refer to has “hitting rock bottom” (hitting the bottom of the abyss). That place is a dark, dark place. It is at this point where you feel most desperate. One of two things can happen at this point. The depressed will feel absolutely desperate to find and try anything to get himself/herself slowly back out of the hole…or the sufferer will feel completely overwhelmed, feel a complete absence of control over their life situation, feel resigned and beaten down that he/she will not have any fight left in them and will shortly thereafter might make an attempt to take their life.

A true friend is someone who can somehow find a way to influence a sufferer, who is at rock bottom, to believe that he/she still has some fight left inside them. That is not an easy feat. However, once some (any) amount of will to fight is restored, the next step would be to influence the sufferer into believing that there just might be some benefit (for their ongoing fight) to be gained in psychotherapy or counseling. The fight belongs to the sufferer…the proper role of friends, counseling, and psychotherapy is that of coach…to provide guidance and encouragement throughout the fight.

It is important to point out here that despite whatever doubts one may have about the veracity of neurotransmitter imbalance and its direct cause/effect association with depression, one must assume this theory to be valid (in the absence of any compelling proofs disproving it) and take the appropriate medications to stabilize the condition. If neurotransmitter imbalance is indeed is a factor and it is not adequately stabilized, then all the steps to healing (outlined below) may prove to be simply impossible for the depressed to bring him/herself to do. The brain is like a machine, if it is not functioning properly, then the signals that it sends out to the body to perform an act will be garbled and distorted.It is therefore my point of view (arising from the insights gained from my own experience) that a depressed person should take some anti-depressant/s (and do so religiously) until such time is reached when the benefits of the steps outlined below begin to really take hold in his/her body and he/she is completely out of the hole. That point is also when the depressed can (and should) discontinue the use of these drugs…in my own experience, a point in time came when continuing to take anti-depressants began to be counter-productive and get into the way of complete healing. A depressed person will be able to “feel” when such a point comes.

Once the depressed has made a choice to fight, he/she will not shy away from trying anything and everything (even steps that may have seemed corny or downright silly to a normal person)…his/her intense sense of desperation will drive this. I was at that point once, and I now share with you here the various steps that I employed to successfully work my way out of that predicament.

It is crucial to make it absolutely clear to the depressed that the lasting healing that comes about as a result of doing the steps (outlined later in this reflection) takes place very slowly. Depending on the severity of the underlying factors, complete healing may even take years to come…this is (after all) the healing of the spirit that we are talking about here. A breakdown of the spirit is the culmination of several years of “soul neglect” or “soul abuse” that could span (quite possibly) a person’s childhood and adult years.

Much energy and effort will need to be exerted at the beginning just getting oneself to the point of doing any of the steps. Do not set expectations upon yourself to do too much, too soon. The path to healing is about small victories attained one small step at a time, one day at a time…with each success motivating you onward to the next. A the end of your journey, when the depressed is completely out of the abyss, he/she must continue to do the steps in order to maintain lasting healing.

The steps are a three-pronged (trident) approach which I categorize according to the following objectives:
1. Knock down the barriers to healing
2. Block the self-perpetuating nature of depression
3. Provide “nourishment” and care to the soul

Knock Down the Barriers to Healing

The process of all healing (physical and spiritual) cannot begin unless this crucial step is done first – FORGIVENESS. A great physical and spiritual healer exemplified this principle in all His works…every act of healing He did was begun by the act of forgiveness. If this worked for this great healer, it certainly makes sense to follow His example, don’t you think? For me, this made total sense.

The process of forgiveness begins with a reflective process of taking an honest inventory (a difficult step, the landscape of which is filled with the landmines of self-denial) of all the persons for whom a sufferer holds deep-seated feelings of grudge, anger, hate, or desire for vengeance. These powerful feelings and sentiments are all poisons to the spirit that eventually manifest in the form of serious ailments to the body. The sufferer must then muster all the strength he/she could muster to sincerely forgive (in his/her heart) these persons and all the wrongs (most likely perceived rather than actually real) they inflicted against him/her.

One very effective aspect of psychotherapy related to this process of forgiving others is the verbalization of a depressed person’s emotional pain that he/she uncovers at various levels of his/her psyche. Only by voicing it out can a person truly release it out of the mind and system…merely thinking about it (realizing without vocalizing) keeps the pain residing inside.

An equally important aspect of forgiveness is the sincere act of seeking and asking forgiveness (where possible) for all injury that the depressed believes he/she caused another. A sense of being forgiven is one spiritual gift that comes from a belief in a God who is merciful and forgiving especially in cases where the depressed is unable to seek forgiveness from the injured person directly. For this to work, the depressed must come to know and be able to accept that he/she is forgivable.

Block the self-perpetuating nature of depression

Depression is such a smart disease. Not only does it consume the depressed and sucks practically all the life out of him/her, it preserves itself by immersing the depressed into patterns and living conditions that perpetuate it. In order to get into the path of healing, the depressed must force him/herself into activities that counteract the self-preserving elements of depression.

The self-perpetuating patterns of depression are:
• Staying in bed all day
• Wallowing in complete inactivity
• Indulging in unhealthy activities on the internet
• Stopping or avoiding all contact with people or friends
• Staying in the dark
• Neglecting the cleanliness of one’s body, clothing, and living area (allowing your existence to deteriorate into filthy conditions
• Neglecting the eating of food (no desire to cook or eat)
• Focusing solely on oneself and the condition they are in
• Use alcohol or other narcotics (these are actually depressants) to numb the pain

Conversely, here are some of the steps that a depressed person must strive to do every day to counteract the above:
• Fill your environment with as much natural light as possible (open you blinds or curtains completely; go out of the house and take a walk, even a short one, in the natural light)
• Get out of bed and out of your room
• Find and engage in some simple activity that forces you to come in contact with people (strangers or friends)
• Find and engage in some easy form of volunteer work that serves the ones who are most in need (this forces the depressed to take his/her eyes (focus) off him/herself and his/her condition
• Listen to uplifting and inspirational music
• Wear a fresh set of clothes (especially underwear) each day
• Take a long, slow shower; visualize the water washing away the spiritual dirt and poisons away from the body
• Read spiritually uplifting and inspirational books
• Practice proper breathing several times in the day (gets more oxygen into your brain)
• Eat nourishing foods that do not require much effort to prepare

Provide “nourishment” and care to the soul

Here are some activities that give nourishment and care to the soul. Strive to do little bits of these day by day:
• Find some simple activity that touches on your creative side and employs the use of your hands or feet (such as drawing, painting, crafts, working with clay, pottery, playing a musical instrument)
• Give of yourself (via the use of your hands…not your money) to others in need such as participating in some simple volunteer activity in your local area…there is no activity that is more spiritually gratifying and healing than to bring some relief to the suffering of another
• Go out and find some part of Mother Nature where you can “reconnect” with her and thus get back in connection with your element…gardening is one activity that I did; walking on the water along a quiet beach with the roaring sound of powerful waves filling me and the soft, cool breeze sending electricity throughout the nerves of my body; walking along a beautiful nature trail high atop a mountain and feeling a sense of closeness with creation and the creator
• On a rainy day, go out into the rain and get soaked...allowing yourself to just drift away...letting go all your cares and concerns and allowing the healing power of water to cleanse your spirit
• Take a moment to find the beauty in the everyday common things of nature around us that we have gotten used to seeing and overlooked (look at a flower, for example…one flower…and soak in all aspects of its beauty…then marvel at the beauty of creation…and see that you yourself are a beautiful part of creation)

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