Boy, more and more I think we are seeing this. I think we cannot negate that it is a huge natural response and yes part of an inflamatory response. For myself the changes I have made with the Paleo eating philosophy of real food, preparing my food, engage all my senses of delight and healthy indulgence and has merged into a healhier lifestyle in general of liking myself and relying on myself.
Refined sugar, even natural sugars in excess cause a spike in blood sugar, which releases a whole host of chemicals like cortisol(stress hormone) then a low. Processed food with tons of additvies, trans fats, hormones are not broken down well in the body and often leave trails of toxins causing inflamation yes even in the brain. Particularily the brain. I get deeply out of sorts when I do not eat well, especially when I do not get enough protein. The average, so called healthy American diet does not do well for me, it sets me on a spiral of moodiness, joint pain, sinus issues and yes depression and anxiety. Over Christmas, a lot of my clients expressed they were having anxiety issues and could not pin point where or how it arises. Consumption of sugar, flours increases over the holidays yep even honey, maple syrup etc is still a sugar and can cause these mood highs and lows. However, this is not to negate that we all have feelings of unease of either anxiety or depression, that food alone does not always help.
For me spiritual teachers like Eckhardt Tolle, Gangaji, Papji even Jesus say the same thing…"Be still and See" as Jesus says. Or as Papaji says "Keep Queit" Or as Gangaji says, "Just stop, stop dead in your tracks, stop the endless search of, oh if I just had that I would feel better or be better." The mind loves to tell its story and the story often drives the emotions into a rollercoaster of fear, anxiety, sadness, anger and on and on the thoughts keep propelling until it becomes extremely exhausting and the body becomes wiped out from the ego and super ego telling us we are not good enough or they are out to get us or blah blah blah. I think that is when we are ready to just stop and this very depression and hopelessness is when we can become still enough to say "I surrender". And you have no choice but to get up and proceed in the daily activities of life but now with the mind exhausted without thinking, You the body can partake on its own and finally be present. How many of you have experienced this??
I was discussing this the other day with a client and we talked about how sometmes the mind is not even going but the body will get a weird sensation and then you go where is this coming from? Well in my mind, it is because something triggers the body to remember that emotion via the sensation picked up from the trigger. As the body too has a memory. Anyway there are a lot of things that can set off either depression or anxiety but staying present and remembering you are not your emotions, they are like the weather they come and go. Within there is always the abiding peace. It also helps according to Gangaji when the emotion gets triggered, which it will, that is just a natural human response, to just stop and become aware of it, or investigate it then if you can if not later and see what little mechanism in the brain or body is causing this to fire off within you like a run away train.
Anger is particularily a hard one cause it comes in a flash, like fire, there is often no thought but if you examine it, you will see that there is a feeling of self rightousnes, and under that hurt, you feel justified in demanding what you feel or want whereas sadness and grief, they say the deepest of emotions is like dampness it lingers and weighs us down often into deep depression. Guilt is another one triggered by our story. Be Still, Keep Queit, repeatedly telling yourself this calms the mind enough for the body to catch a breath, to come out of paralysis if fear is involved which it usually is, no matter what the trigger of the emotion is. From this place of stillness, we can be led beyond what the thinking conscious mind can handle, beyond what the anger thinks it can control. Ideas spark from the unknown and we are guided as I like to say what to do next or things just magically work out if we step out of the way, keep quiet. It is as if God or the universe or the divine takes over and there is no need to fear, become anxious, feel overwhelmed, depressed, or to always react or take action right away. Naturally, as humans we will, but recognizing them as a portal to a deeper essence of peace, allows them to be like the weather…..some days it is bright and sunny, other days gloomy and stark. We see them for what they are, one might be better for playing outside the other for making a hot cup of tea and reading a book. or curling up by a fire. Our Emotions they say are our connection to our spiritual selves. it is the reason we are here and we all have our life lessons and many of them are alike far more than we realize.
Depression Is an Allergic Reaction to Modern Life | Big Think
http://bit.ly/1FbyR49
While the symptoms of depression are marked by changes in the brain, the cause of the disease may ultimately lie in the body.
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