COMBATING DEPRESSION: Exercise, Relaxation, Cleansing and Nutrition

COMBATING DEPRESSION:
Exercise, Relaxation, Cleansing and Nutrition

by
Stephen L. Bernhardt

Emotional Thought Stopping, when performed regularly, will help us to stop reinforcing those automatic unconscious thoughts which are contributing to our depression. When we stop reinforcing our negative and self destructive thoughts, we MUST offer the unconscious mind alternative methods to combat stress. There are differing forms of exercise and relaxation which when performed regularly, will help us to maintain control. In addition it is essential that we improve our overall physical health, which aids the unconscious mind in its efforts to combat stress.

Up to this time I have been concentrating on what we might do with our mind in order to begin exercising control over our emotions and eventually reverse the depressive response. No less important is what we do, and what we don't do, with our body when combating depression. The brain is housed and nurtured by our body, if we are to heal our mind we MUST supply the needed nutrients and exercise so that the brain is able to function properly.
THIS IS IMPORTANT, and true even if one takes medication to combat their depression. When we are physically fit the side effects of drugs will be less pervasive and it may be that the dosage could be reduced, as our body will assimilate the drugs with less effort.

The benefits of exercise, dietary supplements, proper nutrition, meditation and relaxation, an occasional cleansing, and knowing what not to consume, are all a very important part of helping us combat depression. Some of the measurable benefits are:

-We look and feel better.
-Our energy level is increased.
-Our general mood will improve.
-Our self-esteem and confidence are enhanced.
-We think more clearly and are better able to combat the stress in our lives.
-We are less likely to project the traditional body language of the depressed, i.e. inability to maintain eye contact, slouched posture, worried or blank look, etc.
-We are more likely to pay attention to our dress, personal hygiene and personal surroundings.

Because of these improvements, other people are less likely to react negatively or to take advantage of us. This places us at risk of becoming angry or disparaging less often than before. It is also likely that we will be less apt to shun social interaction as much as before, combating our tendency to be withdrawn and preoccupied with our personal negative situation.

Remember that the unconscious mind initiates the depressive response when the conscious mind cannot provide solutions to undue and unresolved stress resulting in loss of control over our emotions. Exercise and proper nutrition begin to give us some control, even though the depression and our life problems are not yet solved.

BEFORE WE START

It is essential that you design any program of exercise and nutrition to reflect your personal situation and needs. There is no doubt that a program of aerobic exercise is extremely beneficial to ones overall health, both physical and mental. Likewise if we follow a program of improved nutrition, a cleansing of the body, herb and vitamin supplements, plus meditation and relaxation, our physical and mental state will improve. But, when we are severely depressed this level of commitment is intimidating and even if we muster the strength to begin, it is likely that the depression will eventually sabotage our ability to maintain the motivation needed to continue for any length of time.

Therefore we need to individually design a program of exercise and improved nutrition at a level which we are able to begin and to maintain, given our personal depressed state.

Finally, I want to encourage you to not view exercise and improved nutrition as a 'quick fix' which you can try for two or three days and expect your depression to magically disappear. Most of us have already been through that. We might have started with Prozac or a similar drug, only to find that many times these drugs do not cure depression, they only allow us to be more comfortable while still being depressed.

Sometimes the side effects or the lack of money force us to try alternative solutions. So we might try aerobic exercise or St. Johns Wort, still looking for that 'magic bullet', the one cure for our depression. With each failure we become more discouraged and more depressed. We eventually lose the placebo effect (positive expectation that what we are doing will eventually work).

Exercise and proper nutrition should be looked at, not as a quick fix, but as an ongoing way to make our tomorrow a little better and as an aid to facilitate our other therapeutic endeavors. We are then less likely to give up after a short time because we are not expecting an instant cure, just a little more control over our emotions and our life situation.

EXERCISE AND RELAXATION TO COMBAT DEPRESSION

First, given our depressed state, we should redefine our concept of exercise. Exercise then becomes any physical endeavor which is more than what is done on a typical day. In other words, if you have been confined to your bed most days because of your depression or if you spend most of your day vegetating in front of the TV or on the computer, then a beneficial form of exercise might be as simplistic as taking 15 minutes time to perform deep breathing exercises.

Remember we are not looking for the magic silver bullet, just a slight improvement. How might we benefit from that very simple start? That's just it, we have actually begun something to improve our depressed state. We, for that 15 minutes, have focus, direction and purpose. It is a 15 minute respite from the constant negative thoughts. This exercise helps oxygenate our blood, release calming endorphins and some would say, helps regenerate and awaken our Chi or life force.

What else? If we were to do this 15 minutes twice a day for a one week period, the unconscious mind would begin to respond. The unconscious loves repetition, that is, repetition which helps it control stress. That is how we began to rely on suicidal thoughts or self inflicted pain, etc. in order to control stress, in the first place. We use ETS to stop the negative and replace the negative with a more positive, therapeutic method to reduce stress, such as deep breathing exercises and this manuscript. The unconscious will begin to present automatic thoughts that we should breath deep when confronted with excess stress, instead of a flight to suicidal thoughts, self-mutilation, anger or despair.

If you are functioning at a level where it is difficult to begin a regimentation of 15 minuet breathing exercises, here are a few exercises I have used which begin with compulsive acts and change them into therapeutic exercises.

When I am very stressed I have a tendency to pace back and forth. Traditionally I would pace while engaged in a 'problem solving' session, where I would think of a hundred different solutions to my problems, and would end with a hundred and one reasons why those solutions would not work. Eventually I began to realize, at that point in time, my life problems were indeed, unsolvable. At that point I decided to begin working on my depression, instead of trying to solve life problems, over which I had absolutely no control.

My pacing began to be very animated, almost aerobic in nature. I would flail my arms about, do a sort of walking dance or clasp my hands in a isometric fashion. I found it best to keep my shades drawn as my neighbors might not understand the therapeutic nature of my antics. Most importantly my thoughts were preoccupied with what I might do to end my depression, rather than rehashing and reinforcing the constant negative in my life.

There were times when things were so bad that I would sit and rock back and forth, wringing my hands. This is not unlike many repetitive compulsive acts where the unconscious mind has lost control of our emotions, the conscious mind cannot provide solutions and is subsequently put on hold. These acts are a last resort to relieve stress and are highly addictive.

In my search to find ways to end my depression (this was in the days before Prozac and the Internet) I had been casually investigating the Indian and Chinese disciplines of Yoga, Qigong (Chi Kung) and Taiji (Tai Chi). Although I never did much with deep meditation or the spiritual aspects, I did find relaxation, fasting, cleansing, deep breathing and herbal treatments to be extremely beneficial when trying to focus and relieve stress.

I decided that when I had the urge to do nothing but sit, rock back and forth and wring my hands, I would instead perform self applied massage to my hands, feet and ears.

Breathing exercises, gentle movements and postures, and self applied massage, are all excellent preludes to the practice of progressive relaxation. Rather than spend the time to instruct you in these procedures, I think it best that you visit a Web Site where all of this is explained in great detail.

Health World Online, is an excellent place to begin your education. I highly recommend you visit this page and do all the exercises. Choose those which best help you combat stress.

It doesn't matter so much what level of exercise is used when you begin, what makes the difference is that you are taking steps to begin gaining control of your life and of your emotions. We are beginning to provide the unconscious mind with options that relieve stress which are therapeutic, rather than reinforcing our depressed state.

CLEANSING OUR BODIES

Proper nutrition and supplements of beneficial herbs, vitamins and minerals will help us combat stress. When we are depressed it is important that we also pay attention to what we should not eat and drink, and that we from time to time cleanse our body of harmful toxins.

There are many ways to cleanse our body, the most efficient way is to fast. I prefer, and recommend a juice fast of 3-7 days length. If you have abused your body and never fasted, if you are on any type of medication or drug, if you are anorexic or bulimic, or have any type of eating disorder, then you MUST check with your doctor before starting a juice fast. If your doctor is against alternative medicine or fasting in any form, then maybe it is time for you to look for a doctor who is truly concerned with your health, rather then simply treating your continued sickness.

I have been forced to combat depression several times in the past twenty years and I continually need to monitor my mind set during periods of increased stress. The most effective tools I have used to combat depression and suicidal thoughts are a combination of Emotional Thought Stopping, exercise/relaxation, and cleansing/juice fasting.

A CHANGE IN MIND SET, A CHANGE IN LIFE STYLE.

Do your homework. Start a through investigation of cleansing/juice fasting, gentle movement exercise, relaxation, herbs, and improved nutrition. Do it. Do it. Do it now! Design a personal program which reflects your needs and your ability (given your depression), one which you are able to start and to maintain over a period of time, be realistic. Your individual program may begin as simple as performing a deep breathing exercise twice a day while sitting on the edge of your bed, drinking 4-6 extra glasses of filtered water each day, and using ETS in order to combat suicidal and self defeating thoughts. Or, you may have the strength to start with aerobic kick boxing, yoga or Tai Chi, a 3-5 day juice fast, supplements of vitamins, minerals and herbs, and using ETS in order to reprogram the unconscious mind in ways which are personally beneficial.

CONCLUSION

Whatever level you start at, there are some common concepts to keep in mind:

-Do not start with a program which is too ambitious, you must be able to maintain your program for at least a two or three week period of time. This provides the unconscious with the needed repetition in order to replace negative thoughts with reinforced positive actions and thoughts.

-When you begin to stop reinforcing your negative and self-destructive thoughts, they must be replaced with alternative methods which combat stress, both in the long run (exercise and proper nutrition) and at the time of incidence (breathing exercises which could be used at work or in a social setting).

-Do not allow the addicted unconscious mind to sabotage your efforts with thoughts such as; 'This is too hard, I could never follow through with such a complicated program, I can't even get out of bed in the morning'. Remember you are allowed to begin at any level of difficulty, which might be as simple as a progressive body relaxation exercise done while lying, spread eagle, on your bed.

-Keep in mind that it is much better to use a flight to the concepts presented in this manuscript, than it is to continually reinforce the angry, negative and disparaging thoughts to which your unconscious mind has become addicted.

Newsletter Index

steveb@frii.com

Have a Heart's
Depression Newsletter
A *free* monthly newsletter exploring the relationship between the depressed conscious mind and the addicted unconscious mind.
Includes the complete text of my
Cognitive-Emotional Self-Help Program.

Subscribe Here

Please do something to help me, help you.
Read the archived back issues and subscribe today!

I am delighted to see my guest book is being used by people to express their opinions about depression and thoughts of suicide, - check it out.