Meditation, not medication, key to help Irish overcome depression

A new way for Irish people to cope with negative emotions

I recently came across a book in Ireland called "Depression; An Emotion not a Disease," by Aine Tubridy and Michael Corry.

I was happy to see the authors articulate a different approach to understanding and treating depression, anxiety and panic.

It's incredible that we have managed to split the atom and send people to the moon but we still don't know how to eliminate loneliness, fear, anger, sadness, sorrow, grief, hatred, resentment, guilt, worry.

Why? Well I think it's because Western society does not teach us how to transform our emotions. We don’t even know where our emotions are stored, how to connect to them, how they affect us and others around us and the implications of not been able to control them.

We need to understand that if such destructive emotions are not confronted in the correct way they will have a negative impact on our lives and the lives of our family and friends.

And this failure to transform them will eventually lead to panic attacks, anxiety and even depression.

The traditional medical response is medication which is fine in the short-term.

However, the patient must also learn to manage the internal problem of destructive emotions.

I don’t believe that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain and it has never been medically proven that it is either.

What we can say is that every disease has a particular chemical ratio but what is causing these problems is far more complex than we realize.

The time has come, I believe, for our society to educate itself about emotional wellbeing.

We have to realize that we are always going to go through different types of emotions and if we allow the negative ones to build up they will lead to depressive-type symptoms.

If you are feeling negative, lack hope and see no light at the end of the tunnel, this might be just the very first step in a normal and natural response to a negative experience in life like rejection, trauma, shock, grief etc.

What you need to do is to connect to where the specific negative emotion is stored and transform it into a positive one.

I was fortunate to study for a time with some of the eastern cultures like the Taoist system and they strongly believe that our bodies react to the stress coming from our thoughts and feelings.

Quantum physics can now measure the effects of our feelings and thoughts on our body and also how they can even affect other people as well so the need for us to be responsible for our thoughts and feelings are absolutely essential.

Eastern cultures have always believed that our emotions are stored in the organs and if we find ways to connect to the organs and transform the emotions it can be the key to health and happiness.

So, let me explain some of the ways the Taoist deal with their emotions.

Firstly you need to know where the emotions are stored.

1. The lungs retain the negative emotions of grief, sadness and depression while the positive emotions associated with the lungs are courage righteousness strength and integrity.

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Nster.com