ONLINE DEPRESSION TREATMENT
Mindfulness Therapy is, in some ways, like a cat-and-mouse game in which you develop the finely tuned attention of a cat, forever watchful and patient, as it sits in front of a mouse hole, waiting for its prey to emerge. In our case the prey are not mice, but the countless negative thoughts and emotional reactions that emerge from the shadows of our conditioned mind. In Mindfulness Therapy and Mindfulness Meditation, we train our senses, continually refining them so that we become expert hunters, able to see the impulse to react before it takes hold. This is much better than staying stuck as the victim, which of course is one of the major contributing factors in depression. Rather than feeling helpless and waiting for suffering to grab us by the throat, we choose to face it by teaching ourselves how to become an expert hunter, and this means learning to become experts at recognizing the impulse to react before it is converted into unskillful action. In mindfulness psychology, we call this cultivating “mindfulness of the arising of mental phenomena.”
Depressed people often feel unable to cope with their emotional reactions to life events and tend to feel continually overwhelmed by them. Feeling overwhelmed leads to inertia and fatigue, which makes us less able to cope. Depression is a response in which the mind literally closes down and contracts, and withdraws from the world. But it is important to realize that this is not immutable, not truth, but simply the result of some pretty powerful conditioning that has caused us to become enslaved by our emotional reactions, negative thinking and beliefs. Beliefs, thoughts and emotional reactions can all be changed, but first we must learn to become a hunter and take the initiative to train ourselves to catch our negative thoughts “in the act.”
What next, after we have caught our reactions?
This is the crux of the matter. Developing the art of mindfulness of the arising of reactions is immensely important, but what you do next will define whether the reactivity will be able to change, transform and resolve itself, and whether you will be able to break free of its grip.
For those who follow the path of mindfulness, we choose to actively greet the reaction, the impulse that is stirring, the emotion or thought that is trying to take control. We literally greet it with, “Welcome. I acknowledge you. You are most welcome here, please take a seat.” We learn not to run away from the impulse, and not to react to it with aversion to the emotions stirring inside. We watch very carefully for the secondary impulses to become involved in the reaction or emotion, to become caught up in the story and identified with the contents of thinking. Mindfulness is not thinking about things; it is the direct awareness of things as they are, without an observer, without an ego evaluating, judging and commenting. This is what we call the Response of Mindfulness, the choice to be fully present and aware without becoming reactive. Reactivity is enslavement and leads to more of the same; it inhibits change. Responsiveness is freedom from thoughts and emotions and this promotes change, transformation and healing. Reactivity closes the mind; mindfulness opens both the mind and the heart, and it is in this therapeutic space that real change can take place.
Therefore, after Recognition comes Relationship, the acceptance of the right of our inner thoughts and emotions to exist, which is the foundation of love and compassion. Ultimately, nothing can resist this powerful presence, and everything becomes free to change and heal itself in the light and warmth of mindfulness. Quite simply, mindfulness heals because it is about caring and learning how to care for the suffering that lies within. This is not abstract love, but love directed at the detailed “mess” that is the turmoil of our mind. We choose, as the hunter chooses, to bring this healing spaciousness to each fragment of the mind; each negative thought, belief and emotion. We choose to “sit” with each and give it the space in which to unfold, unwind and release its grip. In this therapeutic space of mindfulness, painful emotions, anger, hurt, guilt or fear are at last allowed to heal in their own unique way. They need the freedom to complete their dance, which is called cultivating the “mindfulness of the existence of that which has arisen.”
Suffering and the depression that results from chronic suffering is caused by not allowing inner pain to complete its dance and to do whatever it needs to do to attain resolution, and bring about the release of emotional energy that has become trapped and frozen in place. Completion requires inner freedom, which is the conscious awareness and presence that we call mindfulness. Mindfulness is the stage on which experience can complete its dance and come to a close. This is called cultivation of the “mindfulness of the cessation of phenomena.” When we train in mindfulness, we learn to do this from moment to moment, cultivating mindfulness of the arising of experience, the dance of experience and the cessation of experience. When we allow this to proceed without interruption and resistance, then we can sublimate depression, anxiety, fear and worry, and release that trapped energy back into the psyche where it becomes available to produce action and change in our daily life and in our relationships.
This is not metaphysical speculation, not New Age idealism, but something that can be directly experienced and felt. I invite you to learn more about mindfulness, mindfulness meditation and Mindfulness Meditation Therapy, and apply these teachings to transform and heal your depression or anxiety.
Today, many psychotherapists, counselors and life coaches recognize the widespread need for education in the field of emotional management and self-help, and are offering this in the form of personalized coaching online, particularly through email correspondence and Skype sessions. Online coaching offers many advantages to the client, and convenience has to be one of the greatest reasons why Online Counseling is becoming more and more popular. Another very important advantage of Online Counseling is that it empowers the client, allowing him or her to direct the process in a way that works for them. The very process of writing down ones thoughts and feelings and preparing for a Skype videocam session is therapeutic in itself. The Online Therapy process also helps both client and therapist focus on designing specific solutions to specific problems. Often this will involve exercises and “homework” assignments that the client can experiment with at home.
Mindfulness Meditation Therapy is proving to be a very effective approach for online counseling, because it teaches clients how to work with their emotions using a very structured and individualized approach.
Peter Strong, PhD, is a Mindfulness Psychotherapist, Professional Online Therapist, Spiritual Teacher, Medical Research Scientist and Author, based in Boulder, Colorado. He was born in the UK and educated at the University of Oxford.
Besides therapy sessions in his Boulder Office, Dr Strong provides Online Counseling Services via Skype. Inquiries welcome.
 |
| Overcoming Depression with Mindfulness Therapy |
You can purchase a copy of Dr Strong’s book ‘The Path of Mindfulness Meditation’ at Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk and Barnes&Noble.com. A Kindle edition is also available.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment