Depression

People experiencing major depression are often fighting for their lives.

One of the many harmful results of depression is that our sleep becomes disturbed by arrhythmic patterning, which just makes the problem worse.

And if that isn’t bad enough, the stress of coping with depression simply intensifies the symptoms.

During depression we experience elevated activity in the right side of the brain, which corresponds with feelings of great negativity, and under-activation of the left side, which is much more positive.

Chronic stress steroid release also impairs our cognitive abilities and memory function.

Our cortex – responsible for our motor skills and abstract thinking – tends to be much less activated which explains the feelings of apathy. It’s not you, it’s the depression.

Our nervous system enters a state of constant doom. The amygdala, the dreaded mediator of fear and anxiety, also displays a unique type of activation. Whenever it perceives sadness, it becomes highly stimulated and induces a wallowing sensation of empathetic sadness.

Finally, there is a sense of defeat and helplessness; that everything is outside of our control.

Without the clarity of perception, we lack the motivation to try and change the situation because we are programmed to assume the worst.

Beeja meditation for depression is the easiest to practise of all the alternative therapies for depression and is commonly found to deliver the quickest results. 

We have had numerous successes with depression, whether mild, major, postnatal or bipolar, and, as far as we are aware, no failures. 

Studies have shown that after eight weeks of practise, participants demonstrated a 40-55% reduction in symptoms of PTSD and depression.

It acts on a number of different levels to restore balance, harmony, rationality, and positivity to our mind and body.

The individually selected mantras bring balance to the nervous system so that there is no more hijacking of our thought processes with irrationally negative perspectives.

There is greater activation of the left side of the brain, eliciting a greater sense of positivity and enhancing the motor coordination that so often goes off track when depression sets in. 

As you practise, the vicious cycle of intensification of symptoms caused by stress unwinds and in its place comes a virtuous cycle whereby everything starts getting a little better. 

The activity of the amygdala is normalised so that it stops becoming hyper-aroused every time we see something sad. 

The correct balance of neurotransmitter production means we have more happy hormones lifting our mood, and fewer glucocorticoids reducing our energy levels and generally wreaking havoc throughout our body.

Meditation for depression has also been shown to increase a vital hormone which helps to offset glucocorticoid secretion by blocking their access to receptors.

By the end of this decade, the second leading cause of disability in the world is likely to be depression. Meditation can be the empowering cure, and it will also act as a preventative tool.