Here’s some scary statistics: nearly 19 million Americans – 10% of the population – is clinically depressed. One in three women are depressed and the rate among men is growing. And – are you ready for this? – the rate of depression among preschoolers is an astounding 23%! In fact, according to an article in the journal, Psychiatric Services[i], preschool children are now the fastest growing market for anti-depressants. Clearly, something is awry with humanity.

Previously, the medical take on depression was that our body was lacking or in excess of some chemical, such as serotonin, responsible for maintaining our mental balance. Hence, SSRI’s became the standard treatment. Yet, the research community – and even some in the medical profession – are now realizing how dangerous this course really is. Anti-depressants have been linked to suicide, violence, psychosis, and other maladies and, even more astounding, is evidence that anti-depressants work only as, or less, effective than placebos.[ii] In England, anti-depressants have been outlawed in children and the British Medical Journal reported they found no evidence that they even worked in that population.[iii]

To me, the most significant findings on depression are the numerous studies indicating that the largest percentage of cases are the result of childhood trauma, including all types of abuse and neglect, poverty, racism, family conflict; even exposure to violence on television.[iv] As a healer who deals with peoples’ energy imprints on a daily basis, this is not at all surprising. I have seen clients healed of behavioral habits, thought patterns and physical conditions by simply lifting the energy of various life and past-life experiences from their matrix.

In addition to traumatic imprints, I believe societal conditioning is also a factor. This could be especially true of the numerous children who are now showing signs of depression. Our world has changed a lot in a short time. As a culture, we are busier and more stressed than any other time in history. To many people, an 8-hour work day would be a vacation, as ten, twelve, and fourteen-hour work days become increasingly commonplace among professionals. Our expectations have changed too – for ourselves and our children. When I was a child, the primary goals of the zeitgeist were to find a mate, build a family, and make enough money to live comfortably with our loved one. On television, which was a fairly new technology, we saw models of happy families working through everyday problems. Today, the media is filled with thousands of images flashed at us daily of slim and sexy men and women, most of which are portrayed as CEO’s, doctors, successful lawyers and other wealthy characters. They travel in BMW’s and limousines, go to fancy parties and the finest restaurants, jet off to tropical vacations, and fill their days (wherever do they find the free time?) golfing, kicking back at classy bars, and melting away all their cares at the club or spa.

I’m not saying the characters of yesteryear were completely realistic but, compared to today’s models, they at least promoted values of human connection, rather than the race for wealth and affluence we see today. Clearly, most of us are not jet-setters with houses in the Hamptons.

Our culture is now so saturated with these images that there is virtually no escaping them. Even if you throw away your TV, these images and models still reach us in a myriad of ways, sending us messages of success and sexuality based on only 2% of our national population.

So what is my point?

Images of the media, the messages they give us and our children, are energetic imprints that permeate and penetrate our being daily. Because of these and other messages, received from family and friends (who are also influenced by media and events from their own pasts), we struggle with low self-esteem, feelings of failure or not reaching our full potential (which often means being one of the “beautiful people” we see on magazines and TV), anger, and other potentially harmful emotions. In short, we are being continually programmed to have ever higher expectations which drive us to work harder and longer, often denying ourselves the most precious things in life.

These higher expectations also drive us to want and expect more for and from our children. In the past, children could play every day, all day, from morning til night, at least until the age of 5 or 6 when they entered kindergarten or grade school. Now, children are placed in day care centers or “early learning centers” and expected to read – and even write – at two and three years old. In some circles, mothers are even ridiculed and shamed if their children are not “keeping up” with this new academic model for success. What is being ignored for the children are the very things that adults are more and more ignoring: the value -- spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically – of playing, making friends and having fun, not to mention the valuable life-lessons that are learned in “free time.”

Depression is a complex subject, with many potential causes. My intent in this article is not to oversimplify. However, this blog is about spiritual approaches to wholeness, health and happiness. Since I live by the tenet that thought is energy and energy creates reality, I am constrained to consider what we are missing or doing that so many people are now suffering. If 23% of our children are depressed, then clearly the mental/emotional component is strongly involved since it is unlikely that so high a percentage of people could suddenly have been born with genetic or structural bases of depression which, to date, are considered to be a factor in a low percentage of cases. Such a sudden change in the human structure would indicate a radical evolutionary shift in the wrong direction, also not likely.

I contend that one of the major causes of depression is our inability to any longer recognize the beauty all around us and all the blessings we have at our disposal. We are so caught up in what we want to have, think we should have and are, in fact, being programmed to have that we have lost sight of the wonder of our own being and all that we do have! We are running around, depressed and unsatisfied with our current lives, thinking it's the side dish, while searching and waiting for life to serve up the main course. And while we’re struggling to get to what we think is the meat, the “side dish” is growing cold. Yet, we can't see that our current moment contains a healthy, hearty meal. The soup's on and it's time to dive in but we still think there should be more! This may keep the economy going but it does little for our souls.

When I was little, many people “said grace” before meals, acknowledging the blessings set before them. It was also common to say prayers with one’s kids before tucking them in at night. Small rituals like this, that may seem quaint or smack too much of religion for peoples’ more sophisticated sensibilities today, keep certain feelings, ideas and beliefs alive for us. Taking the time to recognize the good things we have, even in hard times, and being taught to give thanks to a loving God who provides, instills in us a sense of peace and security, a foundation upon which to build a life potentially devoid of the fear and stress rampant today. While this may sound like a simple answer, there is much to be said for the ritual of giving thanks. Since we know now that our own thoughts create our reality – whether it’s sickness, depression, conflict, loneliness or any other thing we may experience – then changing our thoughts is the exit to these hardships and the latch to open the window for new blessings to pour in. Saying prayers of thankfulness is a key component of shamanism and, I believe, any spiritual practice, since it trains our minds to focus on all the goodness around us in the now.   

Sometimes, however – especially if we’re depressed -- we may feel hard-pressed to come up with anything to be grateful for. If this is true for you, take note. For the evidence is before you of just how much your mental state has succumbed to the messages around you. With a disease model, we are taught we are victims of mysterious chemicals floating around in our bodies over which we have no control. Today, we know this just isn’t so. There is ample research now verifying the effect our thoughts have on our own body. We are not the victims of our bodies; they are the victims of us! And we can change that. We can start right now, today, to change our thoughts. This energy will be picked up by the body, brightening, balancing, and restoring the chemical and physical structure.  

If you find yourself in that place today, here’s a small list to get you started:

I am grateful for:

·        This life, which gives me opportunity to move closer to truth every day

·        Freedom, to live and believe and express myself as I choose

·        My parents, for bringing me into the world and loving me the best they knew how at the time

·        Friends, who share with me the laughter and tears of everyday life

·        The sun shining on my face, shedding its warmth and life-giving light to me and all living things

·        Trees, beautifying my world as they lend to us their much-needed air

·        My lungs, breathing in and out without a thought, drawing in the breeze which blows about me

·        My heart which voluntarily, steadfastly beats, carrying nourishing elements to all the cells of my body

·        My brain, enabling me to comprehend and synthesize my world

·        The amazing wonder of my body, a vehicle to carry me through life

·        The earth, which holds our energy; receiving, recycling, and feeding us all daily

·        The plants and animals, which share their life force and bodies with me so I can live

·        The humble abode in which I take shelter from the elements

·        Awareness, to know beauty and truth, love and compassion

·        Spirit, which fills me with wisdom, knowledge and bliss

·        Music, which wakes me, shakes me, and soothes me

·        Film, which teaches, stimulates, and entertains me

·        Books: a friend for quiet times

·        Children laughing

·        Hugs

·        The ocean – churning, changing by the minute; spraying mist upon my face

·        My past, shaping me into the person I am

·        The ability to change anything I don’t like about myself

·        The power to create change and beauty

·        Myself, for showing up for life!