Dealing with Depression
Dealing with depression can seem like something distant for you if you've never felt it or seen it in your family or friends. Or maybe it's distant because thinking about it is too painful. You've dealt with it and don't want to again.
Some facts about depression from Bridges to Recovery:
Nearly 7 percent of the American population of adults, as many as 16 million people, experience clinical depression in any given year. Around the world, nearly 350 million people will struggle with depression each year.
Those are high numbers. By your early 30's, most people have experienced a dark period in their lives. For some people, that dark period can stretch out for an extended time that can feel crippling physically or actually cripple your day-to-day activities. The feeling of heaviness where getting out of bed or doing regular things can become overwhelming, hard to do or at all.
I've dealt with depression in extended periods and have (sadly) felt the call to end things twice. But with yoga, breathing and meditation, I realized that my true nature is not my depression and anxiety.
{I've also used my diet/probiotics to help heal my body so there is less inflammation and my gut is strong (correlation of gut and mental health article here)}.
Yoga can help with anxiety-driven depression because yoga helps reduce the stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline - which induces a relaxation response. When this relaxation kicks in, people feel they can handle tough situations more and are less likely to try to escape a hard situation as the heart rate is reduced and blood pressure is lowered. Here is a great study based out of the Netherlands on the effects of yoga on mood and depression (with more in- depth science to it).
My workshop this weekend is focused on tools and techniques, including breathing, meditations, readings, yoga, food and more, to help ground, root, calm you. If you cannot make it, I have a PDF with all of the tools that I can email you after the workshop. I am not a therapist or a trauma specialist. I'm using my own in-depth experience with depression and anxiety to provide tools for people who need some guidance. Please see a trained specialist if you are dealing with depression and anxiety. I've used anti-depressants and have seen psychiatrists and therapists for years. Still seeing my therapist for weekly check-in's. Their support was needed in more intense periods of my life - don't dismiss what you are feeling. Reach out to them for support.
I would love to see you this weekend or at any of my upcoming workshops you can see below. I'm also leading a Reiki Level 1 at The Yoga Shala in January! Learn to empower & heal yourself!
Namaste,