My girlfriend was telling me about her friend's husband, and how he is really depressed. He hates his job, and he feels he has “nothing to live for.” How common is depression? The National Institute of Mental Health says that in any given year, 7% of the US adult population suffers from depression. Wow, that's depressing isn't it? Now that the economy is in the dumps, and more and more people are out of work and worried about their future, I'm sure the number of people feeling depressed has gone up.
So what causes depression? Is it all biochemical as many doctors seem to think? Do we just have some genetic abnormality which causes our brain to go off balance? Perhaps in some cases this is the reason, but I think that in the vast majority of cases the cause is in how we habitually think. I have noticed in myself that different mood states are caused by different kinds of thoughts. Positive thoughts make me a little high. They make me feel good. Negative thoughts make me feel down.
You can do an experiment and see for your self. Think of something which you feel really proud of. Maybe an accomplishment, or a possession. Maybe you got an award, or maybe you can remember being praised by your father or mother at some point. When you are thinking of this, notice how your body is feeling. You may notice that you feel kind of light, and buoyant. You feel good inside, and maybe you even have a smile on your face. Now, once that little mood has faded, do the opposite. Think of a negative thing that happened to you. Maybe the time you got fired from the job you tried so hard at, or when a former lover dumped you suddenly. Now notice how you are feeling. Its quite different than the first mood you induced isn't it? You may feel weak and sad. Your shoulders may being to droop and your face may grow slack.
If our moods are controlled by the levels of neurotransmitters in our brain (like serotonin and dopamine) then you have just manipulated those levels. Your thoughts have temporarily changed those levels. Thats an amazing thing to realize; that you can control your moods just by being aware of, and directing your thoughts.
Its amazing to think that our thoughts and our moods are linked. I've found that the link is a two way street. Thoughts bring on certain moods and those moods bring more of the same kinds of thoughts. When you feel depressed, negative thoughts come up more frequently. Some days are light and fun, and others seem to be dark and dismal. Is this because of good luck or bad luck? Is this because of how we are reacting to the events of our day? If that were all it was, then why do we sometimes wake up feeling depressed?
I think that the levels of neurotransmitters in our brain slowly changes in wave like patterns. Some days your up and some you're down. You might start the day up and end the day down. It does seem to be at least in part because of the events that happen to us during the day. Our day may start out good but after we get cut off in traffic and after we're late for work our mood may change. Fearful and aggressive thoughts seem to have a big effect on mood changes.
I believe that what is true in the body's biochemistry is also true in the brains biochemistry. The fact that our body works to maintain the levels of certain chemicals, or to keep them balanced, is a good indication that our brain works to do this too. There is a “set point” for the different chemicals that run our body and our mind. Glucose concentration has to be within a narrow range in order for us to stay alive. If it gets too low or too high we go into a coma. So our bodies have built in mechanisms which work to keep it in the range it needs to be. We get hungry when our glucose levels being to drop. Our cells divide more or store excess energy as fat when we have too much glucose in our blood.
I believe the brain's neurotransmitters also have set points and work to maintain those set points. But I also believe that those set points can change. If a person eats a lot of sugar all day, every day for years and years the set point of their blood sugar level will change. Their body will get used to the elevated levels of glucose (glucose is the part of sugar that gets used by your cells for energy). In the same way, if you think negatively all day, every day, then eventually the set points of your neurotransmitters will change.
Whenever you think a negative thought, your serotonin levels go down. After the thought is over, it rises again. It comes back to its previous level. But if you think two negative thoughts, one right after another, it takes longer before the levels return to normal. Whenever you think negative thoughts, you push the levels down. If you are in the habit of thinking negatively, then you may be holding the levels down so much that they rarely have a chance to come back up. Eventually, your brain creates a new set point that is lower then the previous one. This is when your depression becomes your normal way being. Every day starts out dark and gloomy. If you continue to think negatively then eventually the set point level may even go lower. Your world gets ever darker.
Because our feelings are used as a source of evidence that our beliefs are “true”, then we often start truly believing that the world is “shit.” This belief then leads us to have more and more negative thoughts. We begin to notice all the things that are “wrong” with the world, and our sadness becomes an integral part of our being. It gets hard to get out of bed, or to do simple chores. Our energy levels go down. Our friends become concerned, and try to cheer us up, but their cheery words just seem fake and contrived to us. They aren't consistent with our belief that the world is shit. We may start hanging out with other depressed people and commiserate together which feels somehow good, because it validates our beliefs even more.
Eventually, we seek help. The psychiatrist prescribes a serotonin re-uptake inhibitor which increases the level of serotonin in our brain and we feel good again. What a miracle! A pill makes us feel good again. But our habitual thoughts stay with us. We are still in the habit of thinking negatively, and over time we push the seretonin set point back down. We realize that our world is dark again and we go back to the doc and say its not working anymore. They may up our dose or change to a more powerful drug. Eventually even these stop working, and the side effects are annoying too. Why take it if its not working? We may think that there is no point in continuing to take them so we stop. But when we do, the bottom drops out. Our levels drop really really low and we may even decide that the pain of life is not worth enduring. We may even commit suicide.
But the good news is, that it doesn't have to be this way. I repeat, it doesn't have to be this way!
How can you change it? Get into the habit of thinking positively. It can be easier said than done, but don't beat yourself up if you have a hard time thinking positively, because thats just another negative thought. Its OK to laugh at your self too. Why take ourselves and our lives so seriously anyway? Laughter is probably the best way to get out of thinking negative thoughts. Another practical method is to make 5 lists of 5 things that you are proud of or that you are happy about. Make one in the morning, one before lunch, one in the afternoon, one at dinner, and one before bed. Remember fun times, and know that there will be more fun times ahead. Feel pride in your accomplishments, and feel gratitude for the friends or loved ones in your life. Even something simple like appreciating the beautiful sunshine, can bring your mood back up. Over time you will get into the habit of thinking positively instead of negatively. You don't have to become a polyannic sap, or anything, but there is no need to be a curmudgeon either. The world is both good and bad and its all woven into a crazy plaid so why worry?
If you are really depressed already, it may be almost impossible to think positive thoughts, so it may be necessary to temporarily take some medication, but don't rely solely on those to cure you. Only you can cure you. It takes time and patience, and a good amount of awareness of your own thoughts.
Meditation is probably the best way to learn to become aware of your thoughts. Thats what you do when you mediate. You sit quietly, and observe your thoughts. The notion that your brain should be without thoughts is just another thought to be aware of. The important thing to remember is, observe your thoughts and your body's feelings from an objective standpoint. Remember that all thoughts are temporary and we all have the capacity to think a wide range of thoughts. We can think benevolent thoughts and malevolent thoughts. They come and go like clouds in the sky. Its not a big deal. We are not our thoughts. If you become alarmed that you are thinking thoughts that you think you shouldn't be thinking, then be aware that you are thinking that you shouldn't be thinking those thoughts. It actually can be pretty funny to see your own thoughts, if you don't take those thoughts as some indication that you are a fundamentally bad person or some other nonsense like that.
I can tell you with 100% certainty that you are a good person deep down. If you don't believe that we are all basically good, then hold a baby some day. Deep down we all have that at our core, and all the negative thoughts in the world can't change that. Deep down, you are basically good. There is no doubt. The Buddha saw this, even Jesus saw it too. Why else did he help whoever came to him? If you look for this in people you will see it too. Deep down we and all other living things are fundamentally beautiful, and its just our kooky beliefs and the many moods we have habitually built over the years that is obscuring it.
You can change your thoughts, but it will take time. How we think is habitual. To change a habit it takes patience and time, and most importantly persistence. “PTP” patience, time and persistence. That could be your new motto. Take it and run. :-)
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