This is a question we are all asking…….

The world in which we are living in the 21st century is not conducive to health of any kind. We have a struggle to survive- physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually. The destructive tendencies of man have been rampant in every sphere and have contaminated our living from family life to nations. Seemingly we are neglecting or even discarding the clear patterns and guidelines for human culture.

We would all agree that the overall current trends and actions, habits and attitudes are not in agreement with a natural humane way of life.

Let us focus on a few of the disturbing facts, and think about ……..

The needless destruction of our environment.

The pollution of the atmosphere with chemicals, noise and radiation

The contamination of our earth, drinking water and food

The violence and aggression between people and nations

The destructive use of nuclear energy

The diabolical use of germ warfare

The crumbling of religious traditions and cultures

The defamation of our heroes and religious leaders

The apathy which allows vivisection and cruel experimentation with animals

The loss of classical values in the arts

The rampant expression of ugliness and disharmony

The exaggerated focus upon material success

The glorification of intellectualism over and above simple intelligence

The moral weakness in society

The neurotic interest in sex

The increasing extent of addiction to drugs and alcohol

The destruction of the family unit

The increase of physical and mental disease

The serious side effects of medicinal drugs

The general social revolt against law and order

And the sad fact that the ideal of freedom of expression has degenerated into license to disturb our fellow man.

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We need to think clearly, try to address all these serious problems and plan for a better future by creating an ordered and patterned way of life.

Can we cancel the old patterns and formulate new plans for a better future?

We must do so.

LET US START TODAY – formulate new plans. Specify the improvements you consider are vital as a people perhaps to our very survival into the future.

Don’t wait for ‘them’ to do something. Each of us must make a change and contribute now.

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If we are wise, we seek information about psychology that will help us to moderate or adapt our habits, thoughts, emotions or behavior or look for professional guidance from a psychologist.  We can help ourselves or seek further guidance and assistance from the many avenues that are open to us in following natural methods of total health care.

But when any symptoms lead to a medical diagnosis of a particular or serious mental disease it becomes a serious matter for ourselves and for others and we what we decide will have more serious consequences. Is it a condition that a psychologist can relieve through the gentle art of education in self analysis or is it a matter offering a greater challenge for a therapist?

At what point does a despondent or unhappy person accept that it is severe enough to warrant becoming a patient who must consider taking prescribed medical drug doses and mind drugs?

What psychiatrist has the vision to foretell just how long a patient’s depression will last – or how severe a state it is – and if the sufferer has family and friends to give real psychological support?

Then it is generally a time to pause and for us to take stock of the information we have about ourselves and examine how we feel about our emotional and mental state and whether we are inwardly inclined to first follow the path of practicing usual self disciplinary measures indicated, or whether we wish to seek outside assistance and the drug medications that are standard practice in modern methods of mental treatment. We would all hope that professionals to whom we turn will first recommend a natural and simple solution rather than treatment that diminishes our independence, as occurs under chemical drugs.

Drugs are becoming a serious issue with much controversy about the risks in administering mind changing psychiatric chemicals. A psychiatrist who delves deeper and who elects to use the subtle rather than the invasive chemical method is more likely to offer us real and lasting assistance. There are many fine professionals with practical experience in these matters.

However, no matter what outside help we seek, we must always remember that our mind and consciousness is our very own.

There are many people who experience severe trauma in early life as their minds are developing. They are influenced by vocal negative criticism, especially any that seem to them unwarranted. Although this cannot compare with severe physical and psychological abuse, it is an indication of how deeply any trauma can affect us, sometimes for the whole of our lives.

If we wish to overcome deep hurt, not only do we rely upon allowing time to heal and getting assistance from counsellors and psychologists trained in this area, but we can also help ourselves.

By our own attitude we can relive the pain a thousand times following any event or we can, by assuming a deliberate attitude, dissolve the experience within our own consciousness.  In this, there are no recipes that apply to all of us but any attitude that others have found helpful is worth considering.

Those who believe in a benign, divine, Greater Justice system than we humans try to apply, find it easier to accept that all experience can result in ultimate good; that life learning is designed for our growth in character towards becoming a kind and intelligent human being. Experiencing the bad in life is seen as example of what pain never to inflict upon others. The good experiences teach us how pleasant it is to feel the positive glow of well being.  The golden rule is that simple.

Many may seek for answers questioning their bad fortune with ‘what have I done to deserve this?’ But as the musical ‘Sound of Music’ reminds us,  our good fortune, that we query less, is that  – “…somewhere in my wicked past, I must have done something good!”  However, to seek the origin of our life events is not productive – it is like trying to find who hit the first tennis ball. Life is a complex pattern of causes and effects. We can only rest in certainty of natural law.

Not all forms of trauma are crippling. There are many degrees that human pain and suffering endures. Those who have lived through extreme trauma emerge to inspire us as do those beautiful survivors of wartime horrors who choose not to be bitter, but wiser.

Others seek to understand the perpetrators and causes to arrive at an understanding enough that they can sincerely forgive the wrongs.

Some who are able to take a higher perspective and see the meanness of the souls or the actions of unworthy choose to feel a spiritual compassion for those capable of wrongdoing.

And a wonderful new approach is being taken in psychiatry today that helps us to overcome

old scars and hurts by using a simple physical technique that helps our internal state by harmonizing our subconscious and our consciousness within our own minds.

The important ingredient in any attitude we choose to adopt, is one of ‘letting go’. We are reminded of this when we lie down to sleep, when we practise relaxation, meditation and generally when we take a receptive attitude as we do when listening.

Instead of our own mental chatter, it is an experience of great freedom to ‘let go’ and surrender for a few minutes or longer, knowing we are surrendering all negative stresses and will become freer of the burden of old memories and traumas to allow universal healing energies to soothe us, recharge us, and refresh our being.

We all wish that ‘everything will be all right’

We wish that everyone will know the peace that they desire

That old hurts will be forgotten, forgiven

That profound rest we feel in our souls

Will add to the peace of the world

And at Christmas time we perceive more clearly our

spiritual goal.

Alternatives are available if we consider that there are many other avenues open to us that are safe and natural. However we must be involved in the therapy to the extent that the ultimate responsibility lies in our own self discipline and choices.  We must be willing to confront the causes of our depressed state of mind and emotions. We must do this before we can expect to become truly free.

Some may argue that it is not easy to pinpoint why you may be unhappy, but it is essential that we do the exercise and being to unravel the reasons for not being of good cheer and loving being alive.

There are positive thinking programmes that offer what appear to be very simple methods of turning around personal negative reactions to people and events to express radiant joy and well being. It is a very successful programme for some as long as there is no ongoing challenge to every thought and situation to cause anxiety in itself. We must be patient with ourselves, and kind.

So to find a way of relieving acute depression there are practical measures we can use without any further concern in seeking professional help.

• Deep Breathing – at interludes and approx. 10 slow breaths is advised (in relaxed position)
• Add a thought of increasing your vitality as you inhale
• Add the inhalation of a naturally attractive perfume as an essential oil
• Practise relaxation lying on the floor, eyes shut and releasing muscular strain through body. Do this for about 20 minutes at a time when possible

• With reasonable skin protection, bathe in natural sunlight for a short time, making no effort. Enjoy about 10 minutes surrendering to the energy recharging your psyche. It is the best tonic.

• Change your diet to a dominance of fresh fruit and vegetables and cancel out the ‘bad’ foods that have become habitual. Natural healthy foods that our palate does not like are often needed by our brain and body nutrition, and the ones we enjoy, we overdo and enjoy too much. This is often a very successful guide in establishing your health diet.
• There are many food supplements and culinary herbs that make food more exciting.
• Sign up for a health course of some kind – tai chi, yoga, gym etc. and exercise each day
• Break old routines and create deliberate small pleasant changes – the route to work, your daily time schedule, reading matter, hairstyle, and dozens of examples
• Create exciting plans for the day, the week and further to plan some travel plans or holidays that are in keeping with ideas you’ve always wished to fulfil, and usually don’t!
• Each day, use a simple mental formula to recite to yourself e.g. I am happy, oh so happy!  Or sing ‘I whistle a happy tune…” or a poem or prayer or saying that keeps you on track.
• Music is magical when you choose wisely. Listen to melodic classical music not the loud drum beats and ugly noises that deny harmony that is real health.
• Keep a diary and be sure at the end of each day you can enter a positive item such as complimenting another person, demonstrating affection in some way, or helping another who is less fortunate.

The list could go on and on and you will find a way to help yourself if you really want to change.

If you are at this moment suffering severe ‘clinical depression’ and are under medical care you must of course continue the treatment you have decided upon. The above suggestions will not interfere with any system of therapy.

Remember this, that no one can change how you feel, how you think, or lift you from depression, with or without various therapies, as it is always our own responsibility to live happy, healthy and constructively.

When someone hurts our feelings, and this is perhaps the most common injury, it is possible to endure symptoms of emotional upset, tearful episodes, anger, seething resentment or violent reactions that can cause aggressive behavior or even impulse to retaliate.

We can brood about the hurt, try to resolve the cause by discussion or when extremely serious, allow depression or even despair to take away our ability to enjoy life. But if we follow nature’s way we allow time to heal, to restore our positive emotional state and self confidence, this is the best way. And with all healing, it just can happen, sometimes magically, if we place trust in the natural process and give ourselves time to decide how best to act. We need to let our emotions settle down after any occurrence which gives us pain.  Severe suffering of bereavement for instance is well known to take two years.

Mental pain is not so immediately demanding to the extent that we can go for days, months, even years avoiding the issues or without finding a remedy to take away our mental injuries. If our long unhealed psychological states or traumas are left unresolved they are likely to flare up to be the cause of acute and inexplicable moods, anxieties or settle into depression. It requires a strong and positive attitude if we are to find our usual quiet, safe place in our minds and regain our seat of self control, self determination and even self confidence.

However we have the gift of free will that gives us a choice to respond or to refrain from reacting in any way to a situation or to someone else. When we allow an unthinking or instinctive response we are no longer in control. We place ourselves in the role of victim. We soon discover that if we want to hit back and hurt, it inevitably will lead to more conflict and aggression. Neither do we want to brood over the hurt or wallow in self misery as the victim of a situation.

There are also occurrences so traumatic that they damage us physically and psychologically to extend our pain and suffering for a lifetime if we do not find a remedy. We must find the courage to face or acknowledge the unique causes and hurtful experiences if we are to become free of them to feel whole and happy inside. Acceptance, forgiveness, understanding are valuable tools.

When we relax we have a chance to offload our tensions, stress, anxieties and our tight and uncomfortable reactions to life, to people, happenings or events.

We have the chance to melt away any physical tension to allow nature to send its energies to heal and vitalize every cell of our body as we breathe rhythmically.

We shut our eyes to cut out external distractions and go inward in our awareness after directing our muscles to be still. Only the rhythm of our breath is evidence of muscular activity.

As the body becomes comfortable, we are able to cast off any emotional stress that prevents us feeling totally at peace. This we do by an attitude that admits that we feel best and most loving when we are not trying too hard, or attempting to bargain with our love, or to be selfish. Just feeling that we can let go all our emotional efforts so that our circulation of our feeling nature is restored and nature can energize us as naturally as it does our body.

Then with our minds concerned only to release effort, we can become a little too self conscious when trying to subdue the habit of thinking or even may wonder what we should be thinking about! To help with this, we return to the assistance we have with respiration, and put our thought only into rhythmic and equal inhalation and exhalation to an easy count and sustain this for a few minutes.

Then, ceasing even the thought of respiratory rhythm, enjoy again how you feel.

You may feel light, heavy, calm, strong, shapeless, tingling, vital, or on the verge of sleep.

The time in relaxation is individually experienced but you will be likely to feel many new and pleasant experiences as you give your mind a ‘holiday’ and just be free.

Try it…….

Relaxation-  Practice lying flat on floor if possible either in quietude or gentle classical music. This requires no thinking but feeling awareness only  – Let nature’s vitality flow through and refresh your psyche

Enjoy a professional relaxation massage – to feel energies renewed

Physical exercise followed by a warm shower or bath with lavender or neroli bath oil

Take a series of slow deeper breaths before you decide to become active again – then deliberately inhale the perfume of one of the natural essential oils that appeals to you

Spend 5 minutes in upright position repeating your personal affirmation that inspires and makes you feel happy and strong

Drink pure water – rainwater if possible or drink a pure fresh fruit juice -sipping a little at a time and consciously drawing vitality

Appreciate being alive – Look around you and focus upon the beautiful forms, plants, sky, trees – to realise afresh how wonderful to be alive to learn and to enjoy nature and participate in the Life Adventure

Finally, promise yourself to remain as long as possible in this pleasant mind set or mood. Let nothing disturb you. Let no one have the power to disturb you. Remain calm in whatever circumstances

Attend classes or participate in sports that are directly helpful in lifting your mood –confiding in your therapist, attending  laughing groups, comedy shows, or, listening to favourite melodic music

Be creative – painting, playing a musical instrument, sewing, crafts, singing or skills in a sport

Seek for a skilled psychologist who will help you without recommendation for prescription drugs, many of which cannot claim to cure and many can prove harmful

Find a healthy natural alternative to The Pill that is one proven cause of depression

Any or all of these are positive self determined ways to overcome depression and you will benefit continuing efforts especially when you find what really works for you personally.

Prayer is the universal ‘advice’ or technique to help lift your mood

Don’t

Drink alcohol – it will not help your depression in the long run

Don’t take antidepressant medications –  many will be detrimental to your mental well being

Don’t remain solitary except to practise your private relaxation but enjoy walks and the company of a friend.

Don’t get in the habit of repeating to yourself or to others “I’m depressed ..” or “I’m feeling bad” – this has a negative effect upon the subconscious mind that relies upon positive thought feed-in.

Don’t continue any old habit – substitute a better one!

Don’t seek solace from food – when depressed is the worst time to digest food and your body will suffer

Don’t try to focus your mind in reading dutiful learning or study but rather choose to study a subject or hobby of genuine personal interest

Don’t bombard your brain with heavy rock noises or music that is loud and without melody at this is the cause of much depression.

Don’t burden your love ones or take out your moods upon others if you can confide in a psychologist or counsellor who is trained to be impartial and just listen.

REMEMBER 

You are a special and unique person, created to experience and enjoy life as well as to offer your personal gifts and talents to others. Why waste life time?

Having studied the trends, many of these professionals are deeply concerned about the damage that has been done by some drugs – in particular those that are generally prescribed for depression, anxiety and more serious mental diseases.  In fact the evidence leads towards a ban upon many of the psychiatric drugs produced by pharmaceutical companies and still being widely distributed. The special danger to children is of extremely serious nature when psychiatric drugs have now been found to have long term side effects.

Doctors have been willing to take the chemical route in medicating for mental and physical diseases. Consequently most people have a bloodstream consisting of a cocktail of artificially introduced chemicals in addition to the nutrients found in our food.   This factor can add to the complexity of manufactured drugs by making the introduction of every new drug unpredictable.  We have come to a sad impasse if a medicinal drug cannot be trusted to deliver a consistent result. Medical records abound with examples where negative reactions were not anticipated.

Many iatrogenic deaths have occurred through administration of drugs for both physical and mental problems.  In the latter case there are serious reactions that have completely destroyed the quality of life of those who are now disabled in their brain and mental life.

To be aware of the negatives about modern drugs provides us with motivation to seek a better, safer way of health care and alternative methods of treating mental illness that is increasing at such an alarming rate in the community. There are many such avenues being explored by offering less invasive and gentler therapy.

Symptoms of mental illness range from nervous tension or stress, temper, crying, hyperactivity, digestive disorders, to more serious signs such as hallucinations, nightmares, fear, anxiety, depression, self-arm and intellectual impairment.

Baffled by the extent of psychological disturbances or behavioral irregularities, psychiatrists and doctors are now prescribing potent drugs for many mental health problems diagnosed in infants and children even before the age of puberty. This is a dangerous practice that cannot replace the long term needs and simple disciplines that are possible within a loving home environment.

We are now hearing more about bipolar disease that manifests in symptoms of mood changes that fluctuate between depression and mania, or euphoria.  It is not hard to apply these symptoms to an adult and that possibly many in our population are suffering in this way as a result of stressful modern conditions, but in the U.S. there are 800,000 children diagnosed as suffering bi-polar disease and given drug medication accordingly, even though they are aged less than ten years of age.

In Australia at a forum involving child psychiatrists from Australia and New Zealand, 90% were of the opinion that Bipolar disorder is over-diagnosed and therefore overmedicated. We are fortunate that there is a more conservative attitude that allows common sense to remind us of the many contributory factors influencing young minds and the psychological make up of pre-puberty infants and that our professionals are still capable of being shocked to think that there is basis for a report of bipolar being diagnosed in babies of only 2 years of age.

All psychiatric drugs have a downside, both in the immediate and long term side effects. In addition, many cause severe reactions when withdrawing from their use.

We trust that it is the majority of both professionals and members of the public that remain cautious about exposing children to mind changing chemicals that could stimulate future litigation based on the possible claim of physical violation or medical abuse of children.

Not only for ourselves, but as parents we should demand to know the statistics related to any drug prescribed, as with any other health measure, including vaccinations. We should have this information before allowing action so that we can assess for ourselves the risk and degree of risk of side effects and long term use of any medical technique offered in general use by the medical or naturopathic profession.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The complete Self-Help Guide”, offers simple and timely solutions.

The accelerating extent of mental disease in communities in Western countries is alarming and indicative of the need for serious study both by lay people and professionals. More and more complicated psychological conditions are being documented and given name. We are gradually becoming conditioned to hear terms that describe some of the many common and increasing mental illnesses that abound in the community demanding some psychiatric care – stress, phobias, psychosis, addictive behavior, drug addiction, depression, bi-polar disease, clinical depression, self-harm, violence, autism, hyperactivity, Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity (ADHD) Postpartum Depression, Aspergers, Trauma, Anxiety, Compulsive Behavioural syndrome, Schizophrenia, Paranoia, Dementia, and many others.

There is more than adequate evidence about the dangerous side effects of medicinal drugs and those that are prescribed for mental irregularities in particular. Powerful drugs can create chemical chaos in the brain to cause serious side effects, far more damaging than the original symptoms. The safety of hundreds of drugs is in doubt.

Would you allow your child to take such drugs under these circumstances?

Yet millions of children and minors are now receiving medication for psychological reasons and are vulnerable to severe consequences. It is assessed by the U.S. Surgeon General that 20% of American children have mental illness of some kind and that about 5 million children and young adults suffer from a mental illness that threatens or interferes with their daily life. There are over 4 million posts on the internet regarding mental diseases in children alone. Those regarding mental illness in general amount to over 73,000,000.   It is a serious issue.

Sally Janssen’s wonderful book “Mental Fitness: The complete Self-Help Guide”, offers simple and timely solutions.