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Until the coming of
AIDS depression was the uncontestable titleholder of the “Illness of
the Century.” Nevertheless, even stripped of this useless honor, it
calmly continues to progress globally, together with several other
illnesses termed as mental diseases.
The person struck by depressive symptoms more or
less follows a standard procedure in his search for help. He leaves
his first medical consultation assigned with the task of undergoing a
battery of clinical exams, which a few days later will invariably
demonstrate that he is in perfect health, or that the eventual
glandular dysfunctions have no relation with the present symptoms.
The problem could have only originated from a brain
chemical imbalance. The doctor tries to explain to his patient with
depression - at this stage already with a certain degree of anxiety
and anguish - that the levels of serotonin are abnormally low in the
synapses and that there is an undesirable retention of that and other
neurotransmissions by the neurons, hindering the exchange of
electrical impulses among them.
While the new depressed patient tries to imagine
what is wrong with him, he continues rocking back and forth in
silence, with the desire of conviction that he really understands
everything the doctor is saying. One way or the other he ends up
feeling comforted by this unintelligible diagnosis, because to him
this is proof that his illness is perfectly understood by medical
science. The cure alone would be a question of time, and the only
thing left to do is to regularly take the certain amount of
antidepressants three times daily.
Here I should make it clear that antidepressants
and anxiety pills really are chemical balms, when they act partially
or totally by blocking some of the symptoms. It is not by chance that
such aid is precisely available at this time, when people are
literally being shaken by psychic shocks.
All the same, the easing of the symptoms and the
improvement in the quality of life obtained through pharmaceutical
drugs are no proof that medical science is effectively aware of these
diseases at all, much less still that they are aware of their real
causes as well. As in all the other scientific areas, here also it is
only capable of analyzing and concluding on the external effects that
are physically measurable and understandable. So, in spite of the
praiseworthy efforts and recognized successes in the treatment of the
bodily symptoms, medical science cannot properly arrive at the cause
of these illnesses, as they are found in the individuals' soul. An
impossible etiology to be detected by any tool be it a stethoscope or
a magnetic resonance apparatus.
Depression, anguish, bipolar disturbances, panic
syndrome and phobias, are all diseases that originate in the psyche.
Therefore, it is through the treatment of the soul that the cure
should be sought, without neglecting, as already mentioned, the
treatment of bodily symptoms as well.
But do not imagine that one can treat the soul
through prescriptions given by witchdoctors and faith healers, neither
through hypnotic sessions nor by internally stripping oneself on the
psychoanalyst's couch. And there are many of these mind professionals
and psychiatrists too that do not even believe in the existence of the
soul. And worse still the real meaning of the word “psychiatrist” is
“doctor of the soul.” Doctors of the soul that do not even believe in
its existence...
A depressed person should before all else change
his internal tuning and primarily this is done through changing his
way of thinking. His thoughts should always be directed towards doing
good, naturally as a noble and good human being does. Certainly it is
not necessary to go into detail what negative thoughts really are; it
is enough to classify this category as all those that are unworthy of
man, which immediately oppresses the generator and shapes the
environment around him.
There is
in this voluntary choice of types of thoughts much more than one can
imagine at first sight. The human holds the prerogative of choice in
thinking good or evil, however, he is unappealably subject to the
consequences of this, as well as everything that emanates from him. In
respect to this he has no defense. Everything that he inserts into
creation, be they actions, words or even thoughts, always comes back
to him like matured fruit of an automatic crop. If what he sowed was
good, he will pick sweet and succulent fruit. If it was bad... then he
will have to pick rotten and poisonous ones.
Here I do not mean to say that one should make an
effort to have good thoughts. Then it would obviously be an unnatural
effort with little profit from it, as with anything that is undertaken
unilaterally and artificially. This is, in fact, the principal flaw
with the self-help books that teach positive thinking.
A person that suffers from depression should indeed
make a great effort to change his manner of being through a continual
persevering effort until he gets to the point where he is not able to
generate bad thoughts anymore. You can be sure that no doctor would
censure someone from following such a simple treatment, as long as,
evidently, they do not abandon the traditional therapy. If you
undertake this with a pure heart and a sincere soul and also make a
serious effort you will see the thick dark veils that isolate you from
the joy of living disappear progressively. And you will begin to
discover, through your own experiences, the meaning of the word peace.
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