Why We Get Depressed and How To Get Out of It

10/13/2021

Being informed about depression, how it works, what causes it, and how it feels in the body; helps us to prevent getting depressed or to reduce the time we are depressed. The more informed we are, the easier it is to get out of it.

Why We Get Depressed and How To Get Out of It

About depression

According to Psychatry.org, if the way we’ve been functioning has changed for the worst for at least two weeks, we might be showing signs of depression. There are many types and intensity of depression symptoms.

Some of the depression symptoms are feeling empty. numb, no longer being interested in things once enjoyed, can’t sleep well, don’t have energy, move and speak slower, have difficulties concentrating, focusing, and decision making.

Depression is all about experiencing feelings of hopelessness and helplessness (feelings of all is lost), and emptiness and numbness (does not feel emotions at all). Depression is not about grief, sadness, guilt, or shame. We already passed through them on our downward spiral. All of these are emotions of the zero marker in the Harmony Scale.

When we are depressed we spend too much time in our thoughts, usually focused on our past, focused on negativity, doing useless activities (online browsing, watching TV, online shopping, etc.), and feeling hopeless, helpless, and worthless. Sometimes we might seek experiences in which we get hurt physically, emotionally, or mentally, by self or others to at least feel something even if it’s painful.

How depression feels in the body

A group of Finland scientists did a study to create a universal body-map of emotions. They wanted to find out if most people felt certain emotions in the same area of their bodies and in the same way.

People from different cultures were asked to mark in a computerized human body map the areas where they felt movement of energy as they were exposed to words, images, and videos that triggered emotions.

Scientists found that regardless of the subject’s culture, the areas mapped in the body shape were consistent all across—meaning people felt the same emotions in the same areas.

Take a look at the image below and find the body map of depression. It is the body map with the lowest energy activity in the body. Actually, there’s less than that. According to the color legend, depression has a drain of energy; as if energy is being sucked out of the body. No wonder we feel numb and empty when we feel depressed.

This emptiness means that when we are depressed, we hardly have any energy for activity within us. This is why it’s difficult to carry out daily tasks and take care of oneself, much less of others’, when we feel depressed.

Bodily map images courtesy of Lauri Nummenmaa, Enrico Glerean, Riitta Hari, and Jari Hietanen (2013)

Causes of depression

Although anyone can experience depression, and I strongly believe everyone has been depressed at some point in their lives, it’s more common for women because of the hormonal changes we undergo every month, and during pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum, and menopause.

That said, let’s look into what other things causes us all to get depressed. This list is based on the many years I battled depression, on my observations of my students, clients, and people in general, and based on research I’ve done.

There’s no particular order to this list, although the first two are very important:

You are doing something you don’t want to.
You aren’t doing something you want to do.
You’ve experienced too many adverse experiences as a child (experienced or witnessed any kind of abuse, had a dysfunctional family, felt abandoned, lived with someone who had mental illness, addictions, or went to prison).
You are carrying too much emotional baggage.
You might have a tendency to feel depressed based on your personality type.
You are an empath who picks up energies from other depressed people around you.
You live away from your loved ones. Living in a culture of too much individuality and separation starves the need for social connection causing loneliness, depression, and desire to end one’s life.

There are, of course, many more reason to fall into depression. But at least one of these reasons mentioned above can get you started into understanding what gets you depressed. As you know, I'm not a mental health practitioner, nor intend to diagnose mental illnesses. This information here is based on my experience. My main goal is to get the conversation started about mental illness and about finding healing.

Getting out of depression

The same experiences we used to escape emotional pain, sometimes we use them to get us back to feeling something again. But that’s not about healing. That’s more about masking the issue or even making it worse.

Here you’ll find a list of things you can try to get out of depression and move to the positive-feeling emotions, as shown in the Harmony Scale, so you begin to feel full of life energy again.

Get moving and activate extremities. As you saw above in the body map of depression, the body does not have much life energy when we feel depressed. So, the first things I recommend you to do is to bring energy and life to your extremities by moving them. You can pat them, massage them, or focus on bringing oxygen to them. The main goal is to bring light and life energy to your entire body. Visualize this is happening as you move.

Release emotional pain. Find emotional healing techniques so you let go of the most pressing emotions hurts that you think are causing you to be depressed. I recommend you to work with someone else first. Once you feel your way out of the depths of misery, you can keep healing yourself.
Stop doing what you don’t want to do or start doing what you want to do. If you are doing something you don’t want to do, stop it. It doesn’t have to be right this minute if it doesn’t feel good. But at least make a plan for you to stop. Sometimes just working on a plan helps you feel better—feel hope. Then, find a way to start doing what you want to do. Just one tiny thing to get you in that direction could be enough to get you inspired for more action. Action is key here.
In the right mind. When we are depressed, we are only functioning from our lower mind. The mind that only thinks everything is wrong, I’m going to die, or everything is hopeless. As you begin to feel better, at least at 60 in the Harmony Scale, you’ll begin to function from your higher mind. The mind that only thinks about every possibility being possible, I can do this, or life is always working out for me.
Soul alignment. Your souls is always talking to you. When we are depressed we are too far away to be able to hear the whispers of our soul. But, even though we might feel depressed, we still have tiny moments during the day in which we feel positive emotions. It is during those moments when we can hear our soul’s whispers. You are probably used to discarding them, but begin to pay attention to them. It only happens when you feel good, though. If you hear other whispers when you are not feeling good, you might be hearing someone else’s. Very important you learn the distinction. Whispers from your soul always feel good, empowering, and liberating.
Get to know and love yourself. We live with ourselves all our life and most of us don’t know much about ourselves. This must have come from when we were not allowed to be ourselves because some important grownup in our lives was bothered by it. But it’s time you get to know and love yourself. Begin by going back to the drawing board: your astrology chart. You can also use numerology and personality tests. Do all you can to know yourself. You will love what you find for sure.

There are as many ways to get us out of depression as there are reasons to fall into it. Use the list above to get you started.

If you feel you need professional help, I recommend you to find a Psychologist or Therapist who includes some form of energy or emotional healing into their practice. In particular, techniques in which you don’t have to dig deep into traumatic events from your past in order to heal them. The less you remember and talk about them, the better. Fortunately, there are many techniques nowadays that can help you.

I felt plagued with a negative attitude and a sense that I was permanently in the shade. I’m normally such a bubbly, positive person, and all of a sudden I stopped feeling like myself. Anyone can be affected, despite their level of success or their place on the food chain. In fact, there is a good chance you know someone who is struggling with it since [many] adults face some form of mental illness in their lifetime. So why aren’t we talking about it?” — Kristen Bell

Whatever is the cause of your depression, make sure you don’t blame it on someone else. It is all happening within you, and only you have the power to stay in or get out of depression. It’s all in your hands. Find help if you need to, but do something for the love of Pete! ♥

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Image: https://www.123rf.com/profile_grinvalds/

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