Lessons from Depression:

Lesson Three: Your Body Might Need Some Support From You

As much as I see depression as a symptom- often of something going on in the psyche, some place we are cutting ourselves off from ourselves and our awareness- I know for me it was also important to address the condition of my physical body.

Your body also might desire and require additional support and help to balance that it hasn’t been getting. I started feeling depressed at the time my body and my hormones were changing.  Part of what has contributed to my depression is all of the places I was not able to have appropriate emotional responses to traumatic experience or to be fully aware of my knowing and my experience.  (More about that in future posts) I’m totally convinced that trauma- on whatever level we have experienced it, recognized or not- has direct impacts on the physical body and our bodies might need some care or attention to adjust and re-balance from those impacts.

When I finally acknowledged that I was depressed, and had been grappling with depression most of my life, I decided to explore supporting myself on the nutritional, hormonal and chemical level to see if that might make a difference.

I’m not talking about drugs here. It’s not for me to pass judgement on other’s choices and what they have chosen or needed to do for themselves. For me, I’m interested in what happens when we move beyond just treating the symptoms. What can we learn if we recognize that depression is not a wrongness, but a communication, a piece of information? How do we effectively work with it to shift our experience at the root, not just make the symptoms go away.

Support Your Body in Having What it Needs!

The way I worked with the physiological level of what was occurring for me was to work with Dr. Gary Lasneski who practices a highly advanced and skilled form of Kinesiology that he developed. He was able to test my body directly to see where my imbalances were and offer me supplements and natural remedies to support me. (No drugs here) I went for a bit, found it helpful then stopped going, thinking that with enough “spiritual work” I could successfully change everything. I noticed a “relapse” and when back again and noticed relatively immediate improvements. I haven’t gone in years, and am not doing anything particular right now on that front. I think something about the work we did perhaps allowed my system to re-balance and re-set to new patterns because I am seldom depressed in the same ways I was then.

What sort of support or balancing could your body be desiring and requiring that could make a difference in  your mental and emotional wellbeing?

This weekend I was listening to a radio show on depression and the second guest was speaking about the ineffectiveness of treating depression with drugs and other things you can do to help your body. (You can listen to the show here if you like, I only heard the second half). The guest is Stephen Ilardi and his book is called The Depression Cure: The 6-Step Program to Beat Depression Without Drugs. 

He was talking about how our bodies aren’t designed for the lives that most of us live and as a result the rates of depression in our society just keep climbing.

Some of the things he suggested to do to support your body include diet and exercise as well as getting adequate light, even something as simple as getting enough sleep can make a difference!

How well do you treat your body? How much movement and engagement do you give it? Do you feed it foods that truly nourish it or are you out of balance with that?

What does your body need from you in order to truly support you and your wellbeing?

If depression has been a somewhat chronic thing for you, in addition to addressing all the dimensions of the psyche I’ve been exploring, I highly recommend giving your body the support it needs to be happy and healthy!

While it is not my level of expertise and training, there are many talented practitioners and healers that can help you navigate this dimension. They can help you understand what your body needs or requires. The right nutritionist, health kinesiologist, acupuncturist, chiropractor, Iridologist, natropath or other holistic practitioner that works on this level can assist you in supporting your body and getting what it needs .