Restoring wholeness
Who are I? What is my purpose? Do I even exist? What does it mean to exist? What does it mean to claim one’s wholeness?
These are all questions that each of us need to ask ourselves at each stage of our life journey. Some of us may never have asked these questions because so much of our journey has been dictated by mental illness, addiction, or the demands of a life situation such as war or other traumas. Some of us never asked these questions because, for whatever reason, we did not know that we had choices. We may not have found our voice. Our voice was not available even to us.
If we have been told often enough that we have no talents or intelligence; that “normal” is a life without hope, resources or choices; that normal is being as invisible as possible then there are no questions. If there are no questions, then there are no answers. If there are no answers, there is no hope. If there is no hope, then there is no trust. It there is no trust there is no connection. If there is no connection, there is no existence.
It seems that there are a significant percentage of the population throughout the world who are “clinically depressed”. Is this diagnosis accurate and, if so, what are some possible explanations for this phenomenon? What is causing this seemingly widespread “dis ease”? Is it possible that the incidence of depression is not greater than it was one or several decades ago? Are we better at diagnosing this condition? Have our expectations changed as we become less accepting of the disparity between the rich and the poor? Have we focused so much on individualism and the nuclear family that we have cut ourselves off from each other and the earth in general?
One of the chief symptoms of depression is a feeling of disconnection; disconnection from one’s own feelings, others and often even the rest of the world. Many individuals phrase this disconnection as feeling different from or different than. They share a history of not feeling a part of and of not being able to experience empathy, or sympathy. The lack of ability to feel empathy and sympathy means that they are not able to care about or consider the needs of others. Thus, they often directly or indirectly harm others emotionally or even physically which results in others not trusting them and pushing them away. Their behavior becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy which results in them feeling less then. It is a vicious circle. Self-medicating with alcohol, other drugs, money, sex or things results in a temporary feeling of euphoria or numbness without treating the core condition.
Chemically, clinical depression is an imbalance in the brain. The chemical imbalance negatively distorts one’s view of oneself and the world. Depression is depressing further negatively affecting the chemical balance. This increased chemical imbalance affects sleep patterns, appetite, energy, sexual functioning as well as functioning of all other organs in the body which in turn further disrupts the chemical balance.
Healing or recovery from this chemical imbalance involves medication and becoming more intentional about nutritional intake, exercise, being in a more positive environment, restoration of healthy sleep patterns, and changing one’s thought process. One has to learn to tell oneself the truth about oneself and the world. These truths include:
Depression is a systemic disease affection all parts of the individual, family and community. Because it is systemic we as individuals, families, and a community must identify what we can do to prevent or treat this “dis ease”. We must find ways to restore hope, trust, and connection. We must collectively restore wholeness.
Written November 12, 2018
Who are I? What is my purpose? Do I even exist? What does it mean to exist? What does it mean to claim one’s wholeness?
These are all questions that each of us need to ask ourselves at each stage of our life journey. Some of us may never have asked these questions because so much of our journey has been dictated by mental illness, addiction, or the demands of a life situation such as war or other traumas. Some of us never asked these questions because, for whatever reason, we did not know that we had choices. We may not have found our voice. Our voice was not available even to us.
If we have been told often enough that we have no talents or intelligence; that “normal” is a life without hope, resources or choices; that normal is being as invisible as possible then there are no questions. If there are no questions, then there are no answers. If there are no answers, there is no hope. If there is no hope, then there is no trust. It there is no trust there is no connection. If there is no connection, there is no existence.
It seems that there are a significant percentage of the population throughout the world who are “clinically depressed”. Is this diagnosis accurate and, if so, what are some possible explanations for this phenomenon? What is causing this seemingly widespread “dis ease”? Is it possible that the incidence of depression is not greater than it was one or several decades ago? Are we better at diagnosing this condition? Have our expectations changed as we become less accepting of the disparity between the rich and the poor? Have we focused so much on individualism and the nuclear family that we have cut ourselves off from each other and the earth in general?
One of the chief symptoms of depression is a feeling of disconnection; disconnection from one’s own feelings, others and often even the rest of the world. Many individuals phrase this disconnection as feeling different from or different than. They share a history of not feeling a part of and of not being able to experience empathy, or sympathy. The lack of ability to feel empathy and sympathy means that they are not able to care about or consider the needs of others. Thus, they often directly or indirectly harm others emotionally or even physically which results in others not trusting them and pushing them away. Their behavior becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy which results in them feeling less then. It is a vicious circle. Self-medicating with alcohol, other drugs, money, sex or things results in a temporary feeling of euphoria or numbness without treating the core condition.
Chemically, clinical depression is an imbalance in the brain. The chemical imbalance negatively distorts one’s view of oneself and the world. Depression is depressing further negatively affecting the chemical balance. This increased chemical imbalance affects sleep patterns, appetite, energy, sexual functioning as well as functioning of all other organs in the body which in turn further disrupts the chemical balance.
Healing or recovery from this chemical imbalance involves medication and becoming more intentional about nutritional intake, exercise, being in a more positive environment, restoration of healthy sleep patterns, and changing one’s thought process. One has to learn to tell oneself the truth about oneself and the world. These truths include:
- One is worthy of love and respect.
- One can find a healthy place to belong – a place where one is treated with love and respect.
- One is not weak. One can face life on life’s terms.
- One makes mistakes and can often learn from, correct and make amends for one’s mistakes.
- It is not an either-or world. The world is not all negative or all positive. Everyone has days that bring more pain, but even in the midst of pain we can allow for the loving support of others.
Depression is a systemic disease affection all parts of the individual, family and community. Because it is systemic we as individuals, families, and a community must identify what we can do to prevent or treat this “dis ease”. We must find ways to restore hope, trust, and connection. We must collectively restore wholeness.
Written November 12, 2018
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