If you are thinking multiple times in a day “Am I Depressed?” and have taken an “online depression quiz”, you are not alone. Depression is one of the most common mental disorders to overwhelm our planet in the recent past. This article, provides you with the understanding of this condition as explained by the Vedic Science and what would comprise a solution that works and lasts.
Depression is a Psychological and Physiological Disorder
Depression has been traditionally defined as a morbid mental state characterized by loss of interest in life, low self-esteem, inability to pursue goals or relate with others, abnormal eating and sleeping habits, and a general feeling that one is at a dead end. The problem is, depression has always been seen as a psychological disorder and the sufferer’s personal problem. This is compounded by the fact that the disorder itself is characterized by feelings of guilt and low self-worth, with more than half of depression patients believing that they are responsible for their state.
It is only recently that depression has been understood as a complex product of genetic, biochemical, psychological, social and environmental factors. Nutritional deficiencies, blood sugar imbalances, and imbalances in the endocrine axis can all be responsible for depression. Low melatonin levels directly correlate with a genetic vulnerability to depression.
Depression is deep suffocation of the Being
The Vedic healing sciences, state that depression is the extreme suffocation of the being. It is caused and characterized by the shrinking of the subtle body. This layer is deeper than the mental and physical body. That is why, its impact shows in the mental and physical layers. When the subtle body shrinks, initially, thoughts such as “Am I depressed” crop up and physical activity, including hormone secretion reduces.
Also Read: 4 Step Process to Living Life Powerfully
How do I know that I have a subtle body?
We rarely notice the subtle body unless it is stimulated or disturbed in some way. Have you ever felt suddenly suffocated when entering a small room or a cave, even though there is plenty of oxygen and enough space for the physical body to move around? The pressure you feel is the shrinking of the subtle body that is actually our breathing space and emotional-mental boundary.
What causes this suffocation of the Being?
To answer the question “Why am I depressed?”, Vedic Sciences explain that when free expression is suppressed from all sides, the resultant suffocation leads to depression. In the initial stages of the disorder, this shrinking of the subtle body happens due to external causes. Since the subtle body also contains our prana (life-force) reserves, the shrinking of this body plunges us into an energy low, ensuring that we never have sufficient resources to climb back out into normalcy.
Why do depressed people resort to drug abuse?
Experiencing a powerful sense of suffocation automatically forces us to seek expansion in some form. At this time, a person without proper guidance, can fall prey to substance abuse or even think of ending the life.
What is the way out?
According to the Vedic Sciences, the way to get out of depression is through Inner expansion or spiritual expansion. In Vedic medical science, depression is linked to energy blockages in the Sahasrara chakra (crown energy center). While techniques like prayer and meditation can help melt down the resistance to these energies, yoga can help ‘lock’ these changes into our system, so that the transformational energy garnered during these processes does not drain away in regressive and self-defeating behaviour. One powerful way to get out of depression is to shift the focus of one’s life away from oneself.
Guaranteed Solution
Working on inner expansion by meditation and completion techniques, combined with Yoga, Puja and living a life from the context that “life is for others” is a way to come out of and stay away from depression. Getting initiations from an Enlightened Master or Incarnation, whose bio-memory has zero patterns in them, is a solution that works for this lifetime and lasts over multiple lifetimes.
