Sadness, loneliness, self-pity, and rejection of the world around you, which arise for no apparent reason … These are signs of seasonal depression. Punzog Wangmo, a doctor of Tibetan medicine, talks about how to get out of depression.
Rainy and cold times make us more vulnerable to depression than in spring and summer. Short daylight hours and lack of warmth, of course, do not improve moods, but the reason is not only the change in external conditions. They are a catalyst for internal processes, says Tibetan doctor Punzog Wangmo. “Depression is a sign of a violation of internal harmony and the integrity of the human soul,” she says. To understand how to protect ourselves from depression, let’s look at how it arises. Plus a few tips on how to get out of depression.
THREE REASONS FOR DEPRESSION
There are three main reasons for depression. The first is purely individual, personal. This includes heredity, negative life experience, and traumas – both mental and physical. The second reason is at the intersection of personal and social: bad living conditions, and unsettled life. And the third is the aggregate problems of modern society, that is, the surrounding world in which we live.
In Tibetan medicine, there are two concepts that have a direct bearing on depression. One of them is the “weak heart”: it refers to those of us who are easily, literally, for every reason, in a state of depression and sadness. Many of us are also familiar with the condition called “the cruel morning” in Tibetan medicine – when the whole world is not nice, when we meet the coming day gloomy, hostile and unfriendly. And sometimes this “brutal morning” can last for months, if not years. As a result, we fall into a prolonged depression.
The flow of negative information provided to us by various media outlets, including social media, and which we pass through daily, also contributes to depression.
Avoiding Bad News
The best thing you can do is to protect yourself from harmful influences in the first place. With the onset of the cold season, I recommend avoiding annoying and depressing factors,” says Dr. Punzog Wangmo. – Less watching TV, don’t worry about your computer on the Internet. And of course, try not to participate in political or other negative news discussions. After all, they usually do not affect your personal life! The abundance of information accumulated during the day leads to insomnia or chronic sleeplessness: the body falls asleep, and the mind remains in a state of tension, he does not rest overnight. And these are some of the possible causes of depression.
“At first, when I first came here to the West, I was wondering why such beautiful, physically strong people are depressed. – says Dr. Punzog Wangmo. – These people have a very comfortable life, they have everything – education, work and family… I even thought that maybe they are pretending that maybe it’s just fashionable to talk about depression now, that’s all. But then I realized that people really suffer. Conclusion: the more people have, the more reasons for depression!
The advice it gives us is very simple: to learn to see your inner light, to distinguish it in the gloom of circumstances. This light can never be extinguished by anyone but yourself,” she says. – So enjoy it! And then your phobias will diminish, if not heal completely. Look for moments of happiness in everyday life, focus on their attention. She herself is glad even that there is water in the kitchen faucet. We take it for granted, but for many people in the world clean water that can be drunk is a great benefit.