What is wrong with you? Or, what happened to your? When it comes to anti-depressant medication it is a critical question to ask the later.
When a brain is not producing chemicals such as serotonin, GABA, dopamine, oxytocin and endogenous DMT that it needs to feel happy and calm, doctors will tell us medication is the fix. And for some this is the best solution but only temporarily.
Weighing the side effects of anti-depressants
Based on an article by Cristina Sarich of Waking Times, “These pills contain health-harming chemicals that alter our digestive system, damage the nervous system and alter adrenal function.” Normally one fix, when it comes to pharmaceutical approaches, produces unfavorable side-affects.
And unfortunately for some the medications have high and low effects, or do not work very well at all. The drugs are attempting to balance the chemicals in our brains. Highs and lows are a part of life. As someone not on medication, I have good days and bad days, and roll through them for the most part. Being evenly keeled 100% is not a part of life, while it sounds great to be happy 100% of the time you would forget the importance of happy without sadness every once in a while.
Closer to joy and further from depression
Sarich’s article talks about the Hamilton Scale which is used to measure brain chemical balance. It is a continuum between pure ecstasy and suicidal tendencies. She gives examples of how to raise your score “getting enough sleep can bump your Hamilton score by 6 points. Eating high quality, organic, plant based food can bump it another 6 points. And listening to music you love, several more points – closer to joy and further away from despondency and depression.”
I have been on Zoloft two times in my life and only for three months each, it helped me get clear on something difficult I needed to carry out. Looking back, those were times I was not exercising, working too much and drinking alcohol. Post medication and with the situations remedied being in nature and hiking have replaced the need for medication. If I feel too anxious or maybe saddened, I go for a walk or go in the garden.
Balancing the unbalanced brain
There are reasons we get chemically out of balance: financial issues, no human contact, no purpose, unhealthy habits and the like. Some depression can be biological as the author points out, but that doesn't mean it has to be that way, the belief system is amazing strong and real and can overcome any genetic predispositions.
As a hypnotist, I am able to assist clients in creating new healthy habits, overcoming a counter productive and self-defeating belief systems as well as creating a new life purpose and developing meaningful friendships. The hypnosis sessions themselves are calming to the nervous system and the use of imagery such as a place in nature produces similar affects in the brain as if the person was really in nature and this naturally lifts one’s depression.
Many clients seek hypnosis because they are tired of taking medication. We can work with them with the doctor’s approval and supervision.
Another cause of depression is childhood trauma and in that case the cause of the initial subconscious reason to suppress an emotion must be addressed and reframed. Because what happened to us then, doesn’t have to stay with us in the now and or in the future.
If you are feeling depressed, consider what may have happened to you to create that feeling. There is nothing wrong with you. You need only to process out the old confusion and set yourself on a brighter path, for real. Go outside and talk a long walk in silence.