sponsor

A Simple Cure For Anxiety And Depression


Our innate desire is to be happy, and when we move away from it, we experience fear.

This fear is actually millions of years old, for it arises from the biological programming of our species.

While we may not have to contend with a sabre-toothed tiger on any given day, we still use those very reactions to deal with events looming ahead.

We think, "Will I be fired for making that mistake at work?" or "Will I be able to meet the mortgage after I fix the car?" or "Will my health continue to decline?" or "Will my relationship fall apart after that argument we just fell into?"

Running questions with this type of urgency and helplessness trains our brains to prepare now for future danger by loading our bodies up with the stress hormone cortisol.

Anxiety is our anticipation of a dangerous future. We imagine having even less of the little that we have today.

This anxiety does not help us in any way to meet the future any better. In fact, it weakens and exhausts us. We usually worry most about things that we can't even control. Worrying about your dental visit, for example, will not make the visit better.

Anxiety, in fact, is a silent killer. It is enervating, and it drains you of purpose and hope, faith and initiative. It fogs up your thinking. And it makes the body susceptible to illness.

When anxiety--a fear of an event in the future--is high enough then you feel a deep sense of helplessness. This, in turn, translates into depression. You even begin to view the past as disappointing.

Caught between a miserable past and a frightening future you create a pattern of emotions that can lead to a variety of mood disorders, including manic-depression.

How do we escape from this vicious cycle?

Here is what I did 20 years ago and I have never since suffered from any serious mood disorder.

I started to cultivate my awareness of my mood swings--from elation to black despair.

I did this by basically watching myself when I was manic, and watching myself when I was depressed, and watching what I did to turn on these states. For example to get depressed, I used my love of literature to focus on dark, morbid, and unhappy stories about life. And to get elated, I would talk a lot, move very quickly, and do things in a dramatic way.

An interesting thing happened when I made my unconscious behavior conscious. I could not take my mood shifts seriously.

This is what I learned from that experience: when you are able to observe yourself over the course of a few weeks, you develop a curious detachment.

A paradoxical situation developed for me: I found it difficult to stay anxious and depressed when I was observing myself feeling anxious and depressed.

Ultimately, anxiety and depression are culturally-induced patterns of thinking that can be overcome through a deliberate cultivation of awareness. When you become your own observer, you weed out the unconscious habits that afflict you.

Despite the billions of dollars spent to heal anxiety and depression, and all the mood disorders and behavioral anomalies that arise from them, the cure is simple, quick, and free.

Resource Box

Saleem Rana got his masters in psychotherapy from California Lutheran University, Thousand Oaks, Ca., 15 years ago and now resides in Denver, Colorado. His articles on the internet have inspired over ten thousand people from around the world. Discover how to create a remarkable life

Copyright 2005 Saleem Rana. Please feel free to pass this article on to your friends, or use it in your ezine or newsletter. It's a shareware article.



Caribbean360.com

Tropical depression in Caribbean keeps strength
The Associated Press - 1 hour ago
MIAMI (AP) — The National Hurricane Center in Miami says a tropical depression over the eastern Caribbean could reach tropical-storm strength before turning ...
Tropical depression forms in Caribbean: NHC Reuters
NEW: Nana expected to weaken to a tropical depression Monday CNN International
Tropical Depression Nana fizzles out AZ Central.com
The News-Press - The Associated Press
all 705 news articles


Another economic depression?
BusinessWorld Online, Philippines - 11 hours ago
There is a consensus that we are seeing the beginning of a global recession, and the question now is whether the next stage will be an economic depression. ...
Breakingviews.com Crisis Is Milder Outside Finance New York Times
EDITORIAL - Weathering the financial storm Jamaica Gleaner
all 4 news articles


New dads can get postpartum depression, too
CNN - 13 hours ago
He recently got an official diagnosis: He has a male version of postpartum depression. "This comes as quite a shock to men who are expecting this wonderful ...


NeuroStar Depression Therapy Cleared
Washington Post, United States - 6 hours ago
TMS is a non-invasive therapy that involves stimulation of nerve cells in the brain that have been linked to depression. This is done by delivering ...


Great Depression holds lessons for surviving tough economy
CNN - 12 hours ago
(CNN) -- Memories of salvaging and stealing to avoid going hungry are part of the legacy of the Great Depression. Some iReporters say they can't help but ...


Here are some tips on how to keep people going to the movies in ...
Kansas City Star, MO - 5 hours ago
Judging from the last Great Depression, and only a fool would ignore the lessons of the past, I think we can look forward to a number of interesting ...


The face of depression
Modesto Bee, CA - 12 hours ago
It turns out that people have a hard time sticking with face-to-face therapy for their depression: Almost half stop showing up to their therapists' offices, ...


Depression Lessons
Wall Street Journal - 22 hours ago
But are we really headed toward another Great Depression? Here with some historical perspective is Amity Shlaes, a syndicated columnist for Bloomberg and a ...


Sharp rally follows the worst sell-off since Depression
Financial Times, UK - 8 minutes ago
... financial system from authorities around the world stoked one of Wall Street's strongest ever rallies following its worst sell-off since the Depression. ...


How current crisis compares to the Great Depression
Scripps News, DC - 6 hours ago
Rauchway is a professor of history at the University of California, Davis, and the author of the new book "The Great Depression and the New Deal: A Very ...
The Gathering Storm—Is Another Great Depression Approaching? The Cutting Edge
all 5 news articles

Depression - Google News

home | site map

© 2006 www.elearn-university.org