Insidious Depression

Insidious Depression
Depression is awful ? in whatever form you may experience
it. You would think that something that feels so bad would
propel you to do anything to get rid of it. You know- like
a noxious substance that we accidentally eat and then get
violent spasms to vomit.

You?d think that if you are feeling depressed you would be
hightailing it to engage in some of the known effective
strategies for getting rid of depression. You might visit
your doctor for an anti-depressant or your local therapist
for cognitive behavioral therapy. You?d start exercising.
You?d be getting out in the sunlight more. You?d change
your diet. You?d learn to meditate and develop a mindful
approach to life. You?d take some nutritional supplements
like 5HTP or St. John?s Wort.

But when you are depressed most of the time you find
yourself avoiding any and all of those things.

The insidious thing about depression (and for that matter
most mood imbalances) is this ? depression has inherent in
itself a hidden pull to stay depressed. When you are
depressed, there is a part of the depression that feels
good because it is familiar- as illogical as that may
sound. In some subtle way, there is a tendency to keep
yourself feeling depressed.

Rationally you?d want to stop being depressed because it
feels so bad. But anything that will help you move out of
depression also comes with this heavy internal response
?It?s just too hard? or some similar variation such as:

I can?t do that.

I tried that and it didn?t work.

I don?t see how that would work.

I can?t remember to do that.

I?m too busy, tired, overwhelmed, etc to do that.

That doesn?t seem like something that would work ?
something that would be fun or something I want to do, etc.

However you spin it, depression (and other mood imbalances,
too) becomes a closed system that locks you within the
system. Insidious, crazy, and perverse.

Here is a little bit of the physiology about that:

The thing about mood imbalances is that the biochemistry in
your brain always seeks its current baseline - which means
that it is designed to stay the way it is. Your brain
chemistry always seeks its neurotransmitter baseline and
this baseline is kept in place by certain enzymatic
processes in the body. It can take 6 months or more of
consistent, regular input to change those biochemical
enzymatic processes and thus your neurotransmitter baseline.

Your brain chemistry drives you to think and do things that
will keep your brain chemistry just the way it is. Your
current brain chemistry is driving you to avoid thinking or
doing things that would shift your biochemistry and provide
a physiological opportunity to shift your moods.

In order to find your way out of depression and other mood
imbalances you have to reach deeply inside yourself and
pull out a life spark of yourself ? a piece of your inner
spirit or your life essence -and take the first step away
from imbalance. And every day you have to reach inside of
yourself again and find that life spark again and take the
next step toward balance again ? and again, and again.

As each step fans that life spark, it also gradually and
over time changes your physiology and shifts your
neurotransmitter baseline.

Changing your physiology is important because it loosens
the grip of that perverse biochemical tendency to keep
things the way they are. Changing your physiology opens up
a whole new world of thoughts, emotions, actions, and
perceptions that weren?t readily available at the old
biochemical baseline.

Hand in hand life spark and physiology work together and
nurture each other toward a new level of balance.

"Where the spirit does not work with the hand there is no
art." -- Leonardo Da Vinci

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Mary Ann Copson is the founder of the Evenstar Mood &
Energy Wellness Center for Women. With Master's Degrees in
Human Development and Psychology and Counseling, Mary Ann
is a Certified Licensed Nutritionist; Certified Holistic
Health Practitioner; Brain Chemistry Profile Clinician; and
a Health, Wellness and Lifestyle Coach. Discover ways to
positively affect your neurotransmitter profile at
http://evenstaronline.com/brainchemistry