Namaste Bahrain
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Teacher Trainings
  • The Teachers
  • Contacts

Blog

Choosing to Depress

8/1/2016

0 Comments

 
Picture
​I am reading a book, that was donated to me by a beautiful student, called "the choice theory" by William Glasser that speaks about depression in a way that caught my attention.

First of all he talks about "depressing" as a verb, not a noun, coming out of his adamant belief from working with thousands of people over the years that depression is a choice we make. 

He argues that choosing to "depress" is a mechanism we use for three specific (and often valid) reasons. 

The first is that we choose to depress to deal with situations of pain, anger and frustration where choosing to depress prevents us from committing violent acts. We process those emotions by withdrawing and slowing down so that we do not have to be physically or otherwise abusive to what we may perceive as our source of pain.

The second reason we depress is to be able to ask for help without begging. We hope that people around us will recognise this call for help and therefore offer a helping hand, send us to a therapist, help us out with our problems, make us feel loved and accepted or a combination of them all. 

The third reason we choose to depress is when we are scared to make a change. Let's say you're in love with someone that stopped loving you, you depress out of fear of letting them go. You depress when you are going through divorce because we are scared of the unknown, of making a change or of making big decisions that move us in that direction.

Depression is real, but the way we deal with it does not serve the person choosing to depress. Our culture promotes making the person dealing with depression as helpless as possible, injecting them with medication to make them even more helpless. While medication is sometimes necessary in some situations for a temporary period of time, most cases in which medication is prescribed as a remedy for depression is unnecessary. We live in a world where we are told that our brain chemistry changed and that is why we are experiencing depression. What we are often not told is that we are experiencing change in the chemistry of our brains because we are choosing to depress. 

But Glasser argues that the opposite is true, he uses the example of a runner. If you ever stopped a runner and said "hey, do you know why you're running?", they will say something like "yes, because I want to remain fit/training for a marathon/it makes me feel better" etc. What no runner will ever say is "I'm running because I'm sweating". We sweat because of our body's reaction to running. In the same way, our brain chemistry changes because we choose to depress. If you had a completely mentally healthy person and asked them to focus on negative thoughts constantly for a period of time, it would be no great shock to see that their brain chemistry changed too.

This is faced with so much resistence from those who choose to depress because it completely removes them from seeing themselves as helpless victims of a "condition" outside of their control we call depression and puts them into complete power of making the choice to do something about it.

Trust me when I say there is no bigger relief than being told by a professional that what is happening to you is just that, happening "to you", that you have no control over it and that this magical pill they are giving you will make you all better. Empowerment is not something that any of us want when we are at our lowest and desperately looking for help.

Not all cases, but in many cases, medication is being prescribed for no reason. When we are going through grief, loss, dissatisfaction or other emotions that may overwhelm us, it is normal to feel sad, low and so on. Those are emotions that we are choosing to feel in order to process an event, a belief or a running story in our heads.

Can we entertain the idea that we made the choice to feel the way we do? Can we entertain the idea that we then have the power to choose to feel something else? Even momentarily? Can we at least accept the way we're feeling right now, even if it doesn't feel great, and know that if we don't let it wash over us, we will be able, with choice, and maybe with a little bit of help, to overcome it?

0 Comments

    Author

    Weam is the founder of Namaste. She had started a very deep and intense spiritual journey at a young age having refused to continue to suffer with the common challenges of her generation: depression, anxiety and being lost. She insisted that there must be more to life than the constant rat race she was in

    Since delivering her baby in 2007, Weam has been hooked on yoga. Seeing how it transformed her body, and mind, she started practicing regularly fascinated by the way yoga got her to look at her mind and body in broader and more creative ways. Yoga stretched her body and mind beyond her comfort zone and created more space for her within.

    Taking her yoga practice further Weam got certified as a yoga teacher (RYT) and now truly believes that yoga is for everyone . She finds great joys taking people to their own edges to allow for growth and to help individuals achieve their goals whilst respecting their bodies and its limitations.

    Being fascinated by the human mind and body, Weam came across Reiki. The Reiki meditations transformed her emotional and mental state in ways she had not thought possible. Feeling that freedom from the prison of her own mind she decided to dedicate her life to help others find the tools right for their own spiritual growth and inner peace and so Namaste was born.

    Archives

    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    January 2013
    November 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Classes
  • Teacher Trainings
  • The Teachers
  • Contacts