To: K-list
Recieved: 1999/10/29 04:00
Subject: Re: [K-list] Conversation With A Psychologist
From: Adele Chatelain
On 1999/10/29 04:00, Adele Chatelain posted thus to the K-list:
Hi, David,
You brought up an interesting point re: psychotherapy and
depression.
I believe the psychotherapist you spoke to was referring
to
'cognitive thereapy'. Actually, speaking for experience,
there's
a good reason for using 'thinking' to get some people out of
their depression.
When I was about 13 to the age of 25 I suffered from
severe
depression. Back then, there were no drugs to help anyone
out
of depression. Looking back on it, I'm very glad there
wasn't,
although I certainly was suicidal. ( I have to say I'm 53
years
old, now, so you can put this statement in perspective).
Anyway, my problem was in my thinking patterns. I looked
at events in my life as 'half empty' rather than 'half
full'.
In short, my thinking was negative (I saw the negative in
everything),
and consequently, I was very cynical. And if anyone told me
that
(that I looked at things negatively, I'd find reasons why
the
event/thing WAS negative! No one could pry me out of that
self-
destructive way of looking at life).
Bit by bit, sentence by sentence, I had to delineate and
take
apart and look at my thinking patterns. Then I had to look
at the fact there were
other ways of seeing the same thing, and in not such a
negative
fashion.
By the way, this process is exactly what Buddhist
Meditation
does; you are taught to slow down the thinking processes to
a
point you can see their cause and effect.
At first I was very negative about the process! Small
wonder.
I spent the first part of my life, for whatever reason,
training
my mind to be negative. It was going to take just as long
to unravel the thinking-mess.
I also observed how I assumed a lot about what other
people thought,
did, said. Not only did I do that, but then I assumed the
outcome
of what I assumed they were thinking; in short I took what
I THOUGHT THEY WERE THINKING as reality, ....and then acted
upon
that . I had to stop doing that. After all, we really
don't
know what goes on in another's mind and heart.
Once I started to retrain the tape-recorder of my
brain....I
found (very slightly at first) my depression lifting.
By the time I was 25 years old, the depression was
totally lifted.Now,
I have to do certain things, in addition to looking at my
thoughts,
however (and that was part of the 'thinking' process, too).
For
example, I make sure I eat three meals a day to keep my
sugar
and electrolyte levels stable. I make certain I get enough
sleep.
I make certain I take time, every day, for MYSELF, as well
as for others. And I
meditate every day. And I don't drink any alcohol.
I haven't had a depression episode since. However, when
I
turned 40, everyone around me warned me of menopausal
depression.
I never got it. I am convinced it's because my thinking
process
is now, finally HEALTHY. Yes, I still get sad---that's
normal---
but no longer depressed. And because I no longer get
depressed,
I experience the whole gamut of emotions...but they are
regulated;
no more the emotional roller-coaster rides I used to take.
Now, I'm not saying all depressed people would benefit
from
cognitive therapy. But for me, it was just wonderful. I
only
went through the therapy a few short years. What I learned
in
those years, I could apply to my own thinking patterns to
lift
myself out of the depression.
Cognitive therapy combined with Buddhist meditation is
about
the healthiest thing I ever did in my life. I can now
weather
emotional storms both from the outside (from others) and
from
my own creating! :-)
Anyway....Lots of special hugs to those of whom are
plagued
with depression.
Love,
Adele
DISCLAIMER!
Home | Archive Index | Search the archives | Subscribe
K. List FAQ | Kundalini FAQs | Signs and Symptoms | Awakening Experiences | K. list Polls | Member Essays | Meditations | List Topics | Art Gallery | Cybrary | Sitemap | Email the moderators.
symbol.