Hi it's Wednesday

Hi. It’s Wednesday.

How are you feeling today? Did you wake up happy and excited, looking forward to the day? What was your first thought when you woke up, that first, fleeting feeling between sleep and wake? Did you smile and wallow in it for a sec? Or did you groan and push it to the back burner?

Major depression is, according to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the leading cause of disability for people ages 15-44, affecting 14.8 million adults each year. A milder, chronic depression called dysthmic disorder (off and on depression for at least two years) gets 3.3 million of us each year. But anxiety disorders are by far the most prevalent, affecting 40 million adults each year, and costing the American people $42 billion.

There’s some cross diagnosis going on, and statistics are only well researched guesses; but I’d say it’s safe to say that some 58 million of us, or 26%, are depressed. That’s slightly more than one out of every four people you meet.  That’s epidemic; pandemic even, bigger than the Black Plague or the Asian Flu. That’s not right, and I think we all know it. I think we also all know that this depression epidemic isn’t going to just go away, like a virus running its course as it evolves into something different.

 Perhaps you work with or know one of these one-out-of-four people whose life is impounded by depression, or you live with someone, or you are one. If not, you probably wouldn’t be reading this.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that there’s not something clinically wrong with 58 million of our brains, but that there’s something chronically- and epidemically - wrong with our thinking, both  as individuals and as a society. And since I’m out here, I’m going to say with conviction that our thinking has created a world of depression for us to live in and think about;  and that this pandemic depression is both symptom and cause of our society.

For instance, in 1967, the ‘official’ top ten stressors in life, as determined by researchers – not me -  were recognized as: death of a spouse - divorce - marriage separation - jail term - death of a close relative - injury or illness -  marriage - loss of job - marriage reconciliation - retirement.

In 2001, less than two generations later, the list looked like this: death of a spouse -  jail sentence -  death of immediate family member -  getting into debt beyond means of repayment -  period of homelessness -  immediate family member seriously ill -  unemployment -   divorce -  and break up of family.

In 2014, I think we can safely add to that list: polluted air, water, and food – an economy that doesn’t support 99% of us – major world climate change and mass extinction  – depression pandemic.

The point is that life’s major stressors visit all of us at some point. Some of these – like death and marriage and natural disaster – are ‘normal’ life stressors. An increasing number  of stressors – unemployment, pollution, homelessness, hopeless debt, depression pandemic - can be directly linked to the world we live in, which can be pretty depressing.

AND YET, NOT EVERYONE IS DEPRESSED.  So maybe it’s safe to say that depression doesn’t spring from the stressors in our lives, but from the way we think about the stressors in our lives.

Maybe you’re not depressed, and don’t even know anyone who is. I’m happy for you,  but consider this: before clinical depression sets in, there’s a seed from which it grows – some kind of stress or discomfort or denial or something. It doesn’t have to turn into depression. But there is a pandemic going on, and there is a preventative.

When we hear that there’s a flu pandemic going on, we all wash our hands, and seek out our favored preventatives – flu shots, vitamins, hand sanitizer, or immune building herbs and exercise. When it comes to flu or fleas, we’re all about prevention. 

When it comes to depression, however, the tendency is to deny it – either in ourselves or our loved ones -  until it’s too late; and then drug it. Although modern medicine has come pretty far in the treatment of depression, depression is still at an all time high. We have to ask ourselves, then, how’s that treatment working for us?

There is an effective preventative for depression, readers. It’s free. It’s safe and without side effects. It’s available to everyone, right now, and it works. It is (drum roll here)

RIGHT THINKING

Yes, you’re right: It’s easier said than done, but it’s a whole world easier than being depressed, or drugged, or drugged and depressed, which often seems to be the medical treatment scenario. I know this from personal experience.

I wasn’t alone when I walked that right thinking road right out of major clinical depression.  Should  you choose to walk it, you won’t be alone, either. I’m passionate in my desire to pass along what I’ve learned about right thinking, and to share my tools and techniques; which, in turn will be shared by those who learn them.

We’ve thought our way into this world of depression together, and we can think our way out.

Together, we can seed a pandemic of right thinking and ultimate happiness.

I’m in. How about you?

©Melissa Falls 2014