Beyond Brain Chemistry: A Spiritual Understanding of Depression and Anxiety

Going beyond brain chemistry - an excerpt from Everyday Inspiration with Dr Mark Howard
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[@leighbrook7161]

Amen to all of it! When I was younger I was in prison and I would tell myself all of this and overcame all of my anxiety and changed my thought process! I tell ya idk how I did it because now going thru Middle Ages I’m struggling but this video totally helped me remember it’s my thought process n noooo medicine THANK YOU SO MUCH

[@powerinnaturealinaf.muntea8878]

BEAUTIFUL!! probably one of the truest and coolest things I have heard!

[@sheiladyck5863]

From the ages of 4 and 5 I have suffered with OCD, DEPRESSION, ANXIETY/PANIC ATTACKS. I was sexually abused at those early ages. I have been on medications since the 1980's and I just turned 60! Mental health issues do run on both sides of my family though too, so I feel mine is due to chemical imbalance.

[@shamrockwhite]

Do u have children?

[@sanekabc]

But a person can be depressed and not even realize it. They don't even say to themselves that they are depressed. And yet, if they were to take a feel good pill, they would suddenly realize that they had not been happy for the last ten years. What about that scenario? Also, changing your chemistry can change your thoughts. Suddenly, you start having more positive and constructive thoughts. Ok, I watched to the end and he clarified this a bit. Move towards the spiritual solution. But a drug or exercise, yoga, or even a drink, diet, sunlight, nature, vitamins, water, can get you out of your funk to get the ball rolling.

[@thenightwatchman1598]

sound no different from the "your a sinner and you dont even know it" rhetoric of fundamentalist christians. im surprised the irony gets lost on average folk.

[@dermotbutterly-thecelticco1696]

Beautiful conversation, so on track and so true. Thank you Dr Howard :)

[@NemeanLion-]

Great video and he’s right. We are much more than our thoughts. If we realize that, we can heal ourselves by connecting with our real selves.

[@psychepeteschannel5500]

For instance, the example with medicie around 5:00 mark , great example of how its a two-way relationship. The medicine IS affecting the chemistry, which is affecting thoughts, which makes it easier to think "better". Now if you still think "badly", the medicine will not do anything real for you, but it is still working as intended, its just overpowered by the thought. The opposite "good" case would be, that the medicine again helps the patient think "better", the patient is actively trying to think better - and they work together to create a huge meaningful positive impact. But in most cases of correct diagnoses, it is this small gap between "possible/impossible to think better" that needs to be bridged by the medicine. The gap is small, so JUST bridging it with medicine will do very little - the thinking needs to change for big improvement to take place. BUT without the bridge, it is impossible to start. That should be the profile of ideal correct diagnosis and medicine usage...

[@RadicalMedico]

Wow!

[@astridjaye6224]

Well said

[@gracelilyyoshua328]

Well said! Thank you all! Appreciate it 👍💯💒

[@sangeetakumari1468]

BEAUTIFUL!

[@hollyharte7831]

This is such a valuable message. Thank you for this knowledge and realistic truth. 🙏

[@janegreville7210]

Thank you, I love this ❤. I would chat to my mum like this, she had dementia. I think it helped us both have a better feeling ❤️❤️

[@Hockeybroski]

Love this

[@lets-talk-about-it]

I'm driving down the road right now and I've been having depression fits for the last week I was unable to pinpoint where they were coming from they were coming from and that put me into panic thinking something was wrong with me so I did some research and came up with Sarah tones are low There's a ton of treatments you can do to bring up your ceritonans and so I felt pretty good about that But I still believe in the spiritual part of thought and I couldn't like I said figure out why or what the meaning of the reason was the reason was and now by listening to this I have a sense of freedom knowing change does come does come and that I can get through this almost wanted to cry I feel like this might have saved my life in some ways

[@annaberg1200]

This thing about thoughts is tricky. One is one's own enemy. It's very hard not to think about what's constantly popping up

[@ayeshawebster4033]

What if it's environmental what is outside of myself is messing with the inside of myself

[@ayeshawebster4033]

How do I get rid of the symptoms of having disorder

[@psychepeteschannel5500]

Im a tiny bit late to the party here...by 6 years, BUT I guess just to write down my main thought/question - It seems to me, that there is no leader/follower relationship in mind vs. physical... because if the physiology follows the thought (which is kind of true) than there should be no independent clinical depression that requires a psychiatric intervention... It may be prudent to use it in the moment, because a mindset shift might take too long in relation to the severity of the problem (especially if suicidal thinking is present), but its NEVER necessary. I am honestly not sure if that is the case. It seems there is no direction to the relationship between physical and mental - the thoughts can clearly change the "chemistry", but the chemistry can also clearly change the thoughts... There is a number of ways to physically induce terrible states of mind absolutely unshakable through any mental tools. And vice versa. With that in mind, it seems to me, that a great problem is a broad misunderstanding and slight overestimation of our ability to control thought/thinking. If the underlying physical problem is real, the mental shift utilized will be ineffective, which will result in the person "not believing it". The therapist would then say, that "if you just believe it and make the shift, the physical will follow"... but that is impossible, exactly because of the two way link. The shift will SEEM to be possible, but it wont be. To use a simple analogy - as Mr. Neill writes in his book Supercoach, our troubled mind is "like a bowl of murky water", and if allowed to settle, it will become clear.. because the default nature of water IS clear. But if independent clinical depression is present, I assume the water is simply NOT clear by default. So allowing it to settle will never return it to clear state, unless acted upon within the physical context - "removing the dirt" through other means. This could extend to depression induced through really long periods of trauma or bad experience for example. If the water has been murky for a very long time, some of the soluble dirt particles would actually dissolve into the water. At that point, they will not settle to the bottom and will "color" it forever, unless, again, acted upon via different means. I hardly expect an answer at 6 years later, but Im glad I could make my own thoughts clearer on the issue :) And if its interesting to anyone passing by, all the better :)

[@Stephintojoy]

Anyone's stance on what you've said will depend on belief. One either trusts in the unlimited power of belief or they don't and their life will reflect such. Deeply rooted and socially accepted beliefs can serve as an obstacles to those who consciously want to view their circumstances differently in hopes to change their reality. We cannot trick or influence our reality by expressing affirmations that our core energy doesn't align with. It would take time and intentionality to neutralize and then reverse cyclical beliefs which lead to mental or any type of illness. To your murky water example, while I understand the analogy from a scientific perspective, It doesn't parallel biologically to humans. Our bodies are in constant efforts to achieve homeostasis. Our entire body is a semi permeable membrane not like a container traps dirt and water. Interaction with energy, tangible (surgical repair) or intangible (belief shifting) will always influence the system. So there's no permanently murky water here. I'd say if the water becomes murky, with the appropriate belief/energy, the universe will create a circumstance where said water can be purified or replaced. But thats just my belief 😊...and I've been proactive in my effort to unlearn widely accepted beliefs that do not serve me. Thanks for sharing your points! I enjoy these discussions so much.

[@psychepeteschannel5500]

@@Stephintojoy I actually totally agree with your point about the murky water. Human body, including the physical compliment of the mind - brain - is not a sealed container. Its more like the Ship of Theseus, it might seemingly be the same year to year, but it is actually made of completely different parts. So accepting this point, it makes sense that there really is no "default murky" for the human mind, its always the pattern of thought - beliefs - that continuously shapes the next iteration of our Ships of Theseus, second to second, day to day, year to year... but as you said, that does not mean its easy. While thoughts are infinitely maluable, they can be constructed in a way (with beliefs especially) that they might seem to be rock solid. And than it becomes that "how to unlock these doors, when they are already unlocked, but you dont know about it" kind of thing. Thanks for the reply! It is a hopeful conclusion indeed :-)

[@kitecommunications7633]

Read ‘Demons and Depression, Mental Illness and Possession’ (Amazon books) - an eye opening book with spiritual side of mental disorders and how they relate to poltergeist and ghost phenomena- really fascinating read and explains the dangers of LSD and DMT in opening doorways to entities

[@ajm9094]

My wife my all she is in such severe anxiety, that she is against her own man and herself, it all started with envy me, slowly turned in to insults of my weekness and my past, then it turned in arguments, rejection of facts, she hates learning good, she is against conscience now she betrayed and abandoned our relationship, if i shared something, she have demonic replies and violence. She cut her hair off she is only harming only people who love her and guide her. Now she says she don't love me or have any feels for me nor her... She is accepting all false ways and leaving all her truth and facts behind and running towards the trap of anxiety. My condition is so bad in sadness that i cry everyday and she can't feel anything, her feelings also got possessed. I don't know how to face her cause all i see is terror/demon in her.

[@prasannajadhav6853]

#perspective

[@dommccaffry3802]

Dr Howard ? What is his full name ?

[@damiancoory1220]

Oh dear. SOME People with depression cannot think more positively because of the distortion caused by the depression. That’s why current treatment path involves medication before cognitive therapy can start to work. Fortunately most people will respond well to the medication once it kicks in. While I realise he is trying to be helpful here it’s concerning when Drs downplay the physical realities. A metaphor: You can manage or cure some diabetes with diet but u better take your insulin first.

[@GoldenLight22]

You can even while completely depressed begin to think positively, negativity is just a habit. Practice it enough you will get depressed. The remedy is to start practicing thinking positively, or even just stop thinking negatively and the innate happiness will take over. Yes at first you have to force it, because you are changing a habit. I did this 24 years ago, and cured clinical depression without medication.

[@NemeanLion-]

People who have depression can absolutely think more positively if they realize their anxiety/depression is not a summary of who they truly are. When you realize your thoughts are not your identity, your whole perspective changes and you no longer identify with these self defeating thoughts that enter your brain. If you don’t identify with the thoughts that pop up, they start losing their grip on you and you begin to reframe your whole reality.

[@damiancoory1220]

NemeanLion certainly ones disposition to thoughts and thoughts themselves have a big impact on depression. But it’s a spiral and a hole. For some people too deeply in the hole thinking or “detaching” their way out of it can be insurmountable because the neurology of the brain is locked in a loop. Medication can massively help here. It’s important not to be absolutist in healing approaches or people who can really benefit from medication will feel guilty because they can’t think their way out and that guilt can be enough to tip them over a dangerous edge. Medication can be a miracle help for many people.

[@GoldenLight22]

I was clinically depressed and really got that it was me focusing negatively that was causing it. It was from me being this way my chemistry in my brain changed. I had to practice daily to change how I was focusing, what I focused on. This took practice, and it was hard at first, but eventually focusing positively became normal and I cured the clinical depression, and my.brain chemistry changed. That was 27 years ago and I have not been depressed since. I now help people cure depression

[@astridjaye6224]

I agree, it seems these people don’t suffer from super severe depression

[@stellaancimer8505]

It's so funny to hear that kind of interpretation for depression and mental ilness, when your brain is broken, beacuse of your limbic system, amygdala, hormones (cortisol, insulin) itd....you can't think straight, or have "positive thoughts" intrusive thougts are real for the brain, and person has to have so much courage to go beyond them, it's like broken car, you can't drive with them anymore it has to be fixed, it's the same with the brain, the brain on the fire is real thing, and chemical imbalance is real!! And negative thoughts are reasults of broken brain, and trauma..itd..So that's why when people take medicine, they feel relive, beacuse it's a facting the brain, and then they can think difrently, like the broken car, its's the same, of course medicine isn't everything, but they have huge power, when you are in a realy bad dark in the brain! Love to all, and take care of your brain

[@homestead.hippie]

Look up Ali greymond & wonderbro if your suffering with intrusive thoughts. You can fully recovery from all anxiety disorders and depression. Your brain is not broken. Neuroplasticity has proven our brain can have a chemical imbalance caused by our behaviors and thought patterns and you can change how you react to thoughts and change your behaviors to restore chemical balance to your brain, their are many Institutes that have proven that most people with mental illness fully recover from even the most extreme illnesses if given recovery based treatment & that results of recovery are far greater in countries that beleive in recovery unlike the US where they give meds as common treatment.

[@sanekabc]

So is MIND your word for GOD?

[@darrenwalshe8513]

chemical imbalance is real

[@GoldenLight22]

It's caused by when you are focusing on negativity continuously. Once you break this habit, and focus positively continuously your brain chemistry will change.

[@sheiladyck5863]

I agree!

[@lilyjohn3716]

It's not exactly about positivity or negativity. It's about resistance to the thoughts we get. We attract what we resist again and again into our lives just to accept that part of our self. Judging something positive or negative is taught by the society itself. Every thought and emotion gives us a lesson. Esp negative ones are the best. Most of us struggle to process negative emotions because we are resisting it inside thinking I should be positive and happy always. Accepting everything that we see as it is is very important for healing inside out.

[@angelbaby6270]

Chemical imbalances is very real, yes if you sit in a tub of nasty chemicals your body will absorb it if you fill the tub of vitamins & minerals your body will absorb it also... being in one state of mind will alter our chemicals..anxiety.. depression.. fear.. worry.. they are all liars.. they don’t serve us any purpose. Love does. Healing does. All the lies rob us of the present 🎁 moment which is the true gift if we take action in the present we are sowing a better future one say at a time . May you find the strength to love yourself even when you don’t feel like it! 🤍✨

[@Sab_MJsMama]

This guy would not be my doctor...he can barely raise his voice. He wouldn't be sympathetic to a vulnerable person. Too much talking and not saying much.

[@thenightwatchman1598]

i feel that alot of neuroticism could be fixed by simply learning self love and not buying into the psychiatric gaslight hook line and sinker that only victimizes people more.