Are you depressed?
I say yes – there is a good chance you are depressed
by Owen Marcus
Twenty-five years ago I was hanging out with my best friend, mentor and shaman, Nelita, when she casually mentions, “You are depressed.” Without thinking I said, “No.” Then I started thinking about my clients who were depressed and how I had many of their symptoms.
The bottom-line was I had no energy. I would drive a block from my clinic in Scottsdale to the store feeling like I had driven across the country non-stop. It was as if I had to pull over to take a nap to go a block. Admitting that to Nelita and myself was hard, but I was depressed – I didn’t want to do much.
What depression really is
This past week we had a discussion in our group about depression as one man, who is turning his around, was sharing with another what he saw in the other man. Both men are athletes and well adjusted – whatever that means. From there, the group opened up about how every man was someplace along what I call the PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and exhaustion continuum. Some men were on the other side of it, they came out of their ‘depression’ while others were in the middle of it and then there were those who hadn’t hit their wall.
In two consecutive posts I recently explained how depression is not a psychological condition – it is a physiological condition. 30 years of treating hundreds of depressed, fibromyalgic, chronic fatigue and PTSD clients has taught me that if ‘depression’ is to heal, the underlying PTSD-exhaustion situation needs to be healed.
Drugs such as Prozac actually hinder healing over time. In these posts, and with the included links, you can read why these drugs act as time release speed and prevent deep healing. More research is coming out proving the dangers of antidepressants.
You can heal your depression
There’s a strong chance, when a client was willing to slow down on a deep level and ‘crash’ they got well. I’m not talking about alleviating the symptoms, I am speaking about actually being healed. The body has an amazing ability to heal when it is not in survival (stress).
We are a nation of PTSD, chronically fatigued, in pain, depressed men and women. It doesn’t need to be that way. The ‘cures’ are very simple and cheap. It just takes courage to slow down and do it. Unfortunately not every man is willing to step up to address the underlying causes.
Read the original posts on Owen’s web site.
Owen Marcus, MA a Rolfer, holistic medical clinic owner, men’s group leader and for 30 years has catalyzed deep change for other men. His blog – www.owenmarcus.com addresses a wide range of concerns for men. Owen was a featured speaker at the Ultimate Men’s Summit in June 2011. He completed the New Warrior Training Adventure in October 2007.
– is a deeply personal issue that everyone decides for himself. Sometimes the price is high, sometimes low. But this is not very important for life. Life is an interesting thing. And the price on Viagra – too.
