The Psychology Of Abundance

The world of self help, personal development, and self improvement is often challenged by people as it relates to psychology and psychiatry especially when it comes to depression. Some feel the boundaries of the various self help teachings stop short of encompassing individuals who suffer from serious or clinical depression. You might be one of those people but we believe that if you follow these simple, yet powerful ideas, you will understand why we believe this is not true. Depression is defined by Dictionary.com, as a condition of general emotional dejection and withdrawal; sadness greater and more prolonged than that warranted by any objective reason. Clinical Depression is defined differently: a depression so severe as to be considered abnormal, either because of no obvious environmental causes, or because the reaction to unfortunate life circumstances is more intense or prolonged than would generally be expected. Whether we’re discussing depression, clinical depression, or a variety of other medical terms relating to this issue, it is important to understand the psychology of abundance by asking important questions: 1. What causes depression in the first place? The emotions we experience in any given moment are a result of 4 things – what we focus on, the meaning we give the experience, our physiology, and the language we use (to ourselves or others) to describe the experience. As an example, let’s say you owned a traditional brick and mortar business which, due to competition and a difficult economy, is going out of business. This is an experience but depending upon your focus, meaning, physiology, and language you will create a very different emotional response. On one hand, you might choose to focus on the mounting pile of debt as well as the failure you feel. You may give this experience the meaning “this business failed because I am not cut out for business.” As you do this, you allow your body to move into a depressed position (shallow breathing, shoulders slumped, eyes down, etc.) and start using language like “failure”, “unfair”, “idiot”, “forced out of business” “taken advantage of”, and many other words. How would you feel? What emotions would you likely experience? Are they negative, depressed emotions? On top of that, we have a tendency as humans to relive our experiences day after day. Each time we do, we find ourselves re-focusing, giving the event meaning the same way, getting into the same physiology, and using the same language… which creates the same emotional response. By repeating this process we create the early stages of depression. So if that is all there is to it, you are probably wondering, “why don’t people change more often from depressed to a more positive emotion?” 2. Why does depression usually persist? Each emotion you feel creates corresponding chemicals in your brain. These chemicals bind to the receptors for that chemical in your cells. But your body is adaptive so if you constantly and consistently produce one chemical more often, your cells literally build more receptors for that chemical. Those receptors desire to be filled so they crave more of that chemical (this is the exact same process as drug addiction) and your brain will actually look for ways to put you into that emotional state to produce the desired chemical. In this way, the downward spiral begins for many people. Now they find more reasons to produce that emotion even with totally unrelated circumstances. They trained their mind and body to RESPOND consistently to everything with the same or similar emotions. 3. How do we “cure” depression? Before we get into the actual process for change, it’s important to realize that you still have a choice. You are not “locked” into one response forever. It is never what happens to us that matters most but our response to what happens to us that defines our life. You don’t have to let your past dictate your future by focusing on it constantly. You also can choose to focus on new things, give new meanings, improve your physiology, and change your language. The plasticity of the human brain and body allows us to reshape our patterns into whatever we choose. Many times medication is not needed to implement these changes. Please hear us, we are not saying “you don’t require your medication, you can “think” your way out of depression.” Medication can make it much easier for a depressed person to recognize that life could be different. Like anything else, it’s a tool. Always, always follow your doctor’s instructions. We know that not all things in this world are “good.” Of course not, there are downright “bad” things that occur every day and in all areas of the world. To be a “positive thinker” is NOT what we are suggesting. On the contrary, acknowledge how you perceive an event whether it’s good or bad. The crucial step is that you are open to the possibility that this event, even a “bad” event, can serve you for your benefit. If you do that, you will begin to see how that is true every day in your life.