musings on depression

i used to think that the major problems facing people in this world are that of the basic necessities of life - food, water, shelter and clothing. but am realizing more and more that even the financially and materially well-to-do people have their own problems. think the most common problem is depression (both temporary and long-term) because of maybe lost love, lonliness, despair, non-acceptance, things didn't work out etc. or maybe even health related issues.

and when one is depressed - its like one is rebelling against grace or the good things in life. its like one says - my life sucks for this this reason and i want to wallow in this because actually a part of us enjoys being sad and depressed. and we think we are making a statement to "someone out there" that our life is not the way we want it to be.
and one is usually in a state where one starts having a negative attitude towards everything and most things which would normally make us feel better, end up seeming more bitter. one doesn't care to differentiate between people who genuinely care about us and sincerely want to help us and people who say things just for the heck of saying things. we know that being depressed is not good for us and we do want to get over it, but we lack sufficient courage or will to actually do so.

i don't know what can be done about this. i won't say you should do this, try that and don't do that and pick yourselves up and other inspirational stuff, cuz i know unless one is the right frame of mind (read open and receptive - which is obviously hard to come by when one's depressed) all this doesn't make much sense or impact. but i do think that ultimately its in our own hands. it needs a sufficiently strong will or mental effort to tell ourselves that we've had enough of this. i think there is always a specific moment where we actually decide (at some level) that we will no longer be depressed. and this usually comes from some incident that occurs or something one hears or reads and suddenly something clicks and we realize that there is more to life than just our own problems and issues; and then we somehow seem to get the courage to go beyond it too.

the experience might vary from person to person - some can get over depression pretty quickly and others take a longer time. for temporary or short-term depression guess its just a matter of time. eventually the old wounds heal. one thing that would help is trying to keep oneself occupied with other things, and thus not get much time to keep brooding over the past. for long-term depression i don't know. its usually more complicated and there isn't any single reason but a combination of reasons responsible. guess the lives are a bit too imbalanced in such cases and there isn't any particular fix that'll help.

i can only think of one thing which would help in such cases. its the "art of living" course - the one developed by sri sri ravi shankar. it is known to have worked in uncountable such cases, and has no religious inclinations of any sort.

to quote: "This is an interactive workshop of 18 hours spread over 6 days. Extremely effective and revolutionary techniques are taught which help an individual deal with the day-to-day stresses of life, thereby promoting a better quality of life and increased happiness and peace. The highlight of the course is the revitalizing breathing process known as the Sudarshan Kriya®', which releases stress and toxins at the physical, mental and emotional level, promoting better health on all these levels."

one can find out where to take the course here: AOL Centers.