Deparalyser

Archive for the ‘Psychology Tips + More’ Category

As a counselor, I am often asked, “Can drugs be helpful for anxiety and depression?” The answer I give is “Yes” and “No.”

Yes, drugs may be useful for short-term help. No, drugs are not a good long-term solution.

Anxiety and depression are not caused by a lack of drugs. Drugs do not heal the underlying causes of anxiety and depression. However, when drugs are temporarily used to give a person a window of relief to do the inner work necessary to heal the underlying causes, they can be useful.

Anxiety and depression generally have two major underlying causes – emotional and physical.

THE PHYSICAL CAUSES OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

Our bodies go into imbalance when we do not eat well or have enough healthy exercise. Our bodies are not made to handle the unnatural substances found in processed food. When we overload our bodies with chemicals, pesticides, sugar, and devitalized foods, our bodies become depleted of vital nutrients and go into stress. Anxiety and depression can be the result of this physical depletion and resulting stress.

Our bodies are designed to thrive on the food and water that God gave us – pure, clean, organic, unaltered food and water. If you take drugs for anxiety and depression and do not clean up your diet and get proper exercise, you are just using a Band Aid for a gaping wound.

THE EMOTIONAL CAUSES OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION

Emotionally, anxiety is caused by dysfunctional thoughts – thoughts that are not true. For example, if you tell yourself that you are not good enough or you have to be perfect, you will likely feel anxious. Thoughts of not being good enough and having to be perfect are generally focused on our outer qualities of looks and performance, rather than on the inner qualities of kindness, compassion, and gratitude. When we choose to be kind, loving and compassionate with ourselves and others, we feel good about ourselves. When we choose gratitude for what we do have rather than dwell on what we don’t have, we create inner peace. Kindness and gratitude are wonderful antidotes to anxiety!

Anxiety is always a sign that we are telling ourselves a lie. The truth creates peace inside, while lies create fear and anxiety. This is a sure-fire way of knowing what is true and what is not true!

Emotionally, depression is caused by not taking good care of ourselves. If we ignore our needs, don’t speak up for ourselves, judge ourselves, and make others responsible for our feelings, the result may be depression. If you have a child whom you ignore and judge, that child will likely be depressed. The same occurs on the inner level when we ignore and judge our own inner child. Putting yourself last and taking care of everyone else but yourself may cause you to feel unworthy and depressed.

There is little point in taking drugs for anxiety and depression without attending to your dysfunctional thinking and to how you are treating yourself. However, if you take drugs for a short time and give yourself the opportunity to do your inner work, they may be helpful. Many of the people I work with find that as soon as they start taking good care of themselves, they don’t like the effect of the drugs. They don’t like the fact that the drugs take the edge off their feelings. They find that, rather than wanting to be numbed out, they want to feel all of their feelings deeply, both the highs and the lows. The more they learn to take responsibility for their feelings by attending to their thoughts and needs, the more they want to feel all of their feelings. They discover that, while drugs may take the edge off pain, they also take the edge off joy.

Most of the people I work with can avoid drugs completely by learning to take loving care of themselves, both physically and emotionally. Many of the people who practice the Inner Bonding process that we teach find Inner Bonding to be far more powerful in healing anxiety and depression than drugs.

If you are a person who does not want to learn to take personal responsibility for your pain and joy, then drugs may be a way out for you. But if you want to feel true peace and joy, drugs are not the answer.

Margaret Paul, Ph.D. is the best-selling author and co-author of eight books, including “Do I Have To Give Up Me To Be Loved By You?” She is the co-creator of the powerful Inner Bonding healing process. Learn Inner Bonding now! Visit her web site for a FREE Inner Bonding course: www.innerbonding.com or mailto:margaret@innerbonding.com. Phone sessions available.

margaret@innerbonding.com

If you’ve been diagnosed with bipolar disorder (also known as manic depression) you are not alone. It has been estimated that over 2 million people in the United States suffer from this form of mental illness which involves episodes of both mania and depression.

Although bipolar disorder usually begins in childhood or early adulthood, it is often not recognized as an illness. And, because it is sometimes misdiagnosed, individuals who have it often suffer needlessly although treatment is available. Left untreated, those with bipolar disorder sometimes experience serious complications, including an inability to keep a stable job, abuse of drugs and alcohol, marriage problems, and even suicide.

Symptoms of mania can include: decreased need for sleep; excessive feelings of euphoria; extreme distractibility; racing thoughts and rapid talking; decreased need for sleep; drug abuse; and a denial that anything is wrong. Depressive symptoms, (the flip-side of mania) may include: difficulty sleeping; loss of appetite; feelings of hopelessness; decreased energy; persistent sad mood; loss of interest in pleasurable activities; and thoughts of death or suicide.

It is important to recognize the various mood states experienced by individuals with bipolar disorder so that they can obtain effective treatment. Unfortunately, this illness often goes unrecognized by everyone involved, including family, friends, physicians, and even the patient.

An early stage of this illness often manifested is hypomania, in which the person suffering from it shows a high level of energy, excessive moodiness or irritability, and impulsive behavior. Ironically, hypomania may feel good to the person who experiences it. Unfortunately though, if left untreated, bipolar disorder tends to get worse, and the person typically will experience episodes of full-fledged mania and clinical depression.

Fortunately, most people with manic depressive illness can be helped with treatment, specifically medications and therapy.

Medications play an important role in helping to stabilize the mood swings often found with this type of mental illness. Lithium has been shown to be very effective in helping to control mania and in stopping the recurrence of both manic and depressive episodes. Several types of antidepressant have also been found useful in combating the depression aspect of bipolar disorder. In severe cases, electroconvulsive therapy is often helpful in treating severe depression that fails to respond to medication.

Therapy from a qualified provider can also be helpful in educating the patient and providing support and guidance to all family members involved. It is important to remember that bipolar disorder is recurrent, and, as such, long-term preventive treatment is indicated in most cases.

Finally, it is important to know that bipolar disorder is a legitimate illness, and that it will not “just go away” if given enough time. Treatment is necessary to help keep the disease under control and a maintenance regimen (including both medications and therapy) may be required over the length of a person’s life.

Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on bipolar disorder, and depression in general, have appeared in print and on many websites.

You can find more of these at: http://www.bipolardisordercenter.info