Statistics show that every hour, one student commits suicide in India. Suicide rates in India have been rising over the past five decades. This issue is happening in the current generation. Previous generations were more resilient. Now, life has become much more comfortable. Your desires are getting fulfilled, so you get more depressed. You don’t have to put in so much effort. You get things easily, so your mind wanders.
Your mind needs something to do. When you are doing a physical activity, running or getting a really good workout, your mind is not working at that time. But if you’re simply sitting and only looking into social media, your mind is racing. And that can lead to depression.
Where does depression come from?
- Low energy: When your energy is low, depression happens. When energy is normal, you feel normal. When the barometer of energy drops down then, you feel disinterested, and then you get into depression. When it goes further down, you lose the willingness in you.
- What about me? Just sitting and thinking. What about me? What about me? What about me? This is a technique to get depressed. You just sit and just think about yourself. What about me? What will happen to me? What will happen to me? What will happen to you? You’ll become horizontal under the ground!
- Lack of appreciation: Boredom is a curse when it leads you to frustration and depression. In life, if you do not adore or appreciate anything, you will be filled with negativity; a person who has nothing to worship or adore is sure to fall into depression.
- Static understanding: Depression is a sign of a static understanding of life. When you feel everything in life is dead, static, there is nothing more, nowhere to go, that is when you get depressed.
How to overcome depression and anxiety?
- Invoke valour: First of all, invoke the valour inside of you. Look back and see you have overcome many difficulties in the past. Know that you can overcome this one, too.
- Broaden your vision: Look at bigger problems. Look at the world – there are greater and bigger problems. Your problems will appear smaller. The moment your problems appear smaller, you will get the energy and confidence to deal with them or solve them.
The ‘line’ to happiness! Once, a wise man drew a line on a board and told his student to make the line shorter without touching or erasing it. How would you do it? You have to shorten a line without touching it. The intelligent one (referring to the student) then drew a much longer line underneath that line. So, the line automatically became shorter. The lesson here is that if your difficulties appear to be very big, lift your eyes because you are only focused on yourself. If you lift your eyes up and look at others who have difficulties, you will suddenly feel your burden is not as bad as you thought earlier. If you think you have some big problem, look at people who have a greater problem. Suddenly, you will get confidence that my problem is much smaller, and I can manage it.
- Commit to serve: Then go one step further. Focus your energy on something which you find useful; find your purpose. The most meaningful thing is bringing happiness into the lives of people instead of running after happiness. Serve those who are in greater need. When you commit yourself to sharing and serving others, your problem will appear small. If you are just thinking all the time about yourself, your problem becomes unsurmountable. But if you open up and see what’s happening in the world, you see you’re not alone in your problem.
- Strengthen your mind: Believe in your mind power. As you sow, so shall you reap. Put more positive seeds in your consciousness so that your mind starts attracting more positivity than negativity.
- Raise your energy: You can keep on giving medicine to somebody. It works for some time. Then it stops working. Medicine is not the solution. So what else can you do? You have to raise the prana in you through exercise, proper food, meditation, breathing, Sudarshan Kriya and all these activities. This will bring the energy level up. Meditation makes you sharper, happier and more intuitive. It makes you feel so alive in the present moment and disconnects you from all that has happened in the past. When the energy is higher, you feel happier. You feel enthusiastic. When it is complete, you feel so blissful. Samadhi. Meditation. That is why it is very, very important.
- Be spontaneous! Spontaneity will come when you take a few minutes to go deep within yourself. There is nothing great in smiling when everything is normal and when everything is going the way you want. But if you awaken the valour inside of you and say, ‘Come what may, I am going to keep smiling’, you will notice tremendous energy, which will rise from within you. And the problem is nothing; it just comes and disappears.
- Unlock the power of your breath: Our breath is linked to our emotions. For every emotion, there is a particular rhythm in the breath. So, when you cannot directly harness your emotions, with the help of breath, you can do that. If you are in theatre, you would know that a director asks you to breathe faster when you have to show anger. If you have to show a serene scene, the director would tell you to breathe softer and slower. If we understand the rhythm of our breath, we are able to have a say over our minds. We can win over any negative emotions like anger, jealousy, and greed, and we are able to smile more from our hearts. Breathing techniques like Sudarshan Kriya can be really of help. Various studies have shown a reduction in stress, anxiety and depression with the regular practice of the Sudarshan Kriya.
- Have faith in a higher power: Many times, in anger or frustration, we say, ‘I give up.’ Without frustration or anger, say, I give this problem up, and I cannot solve it; let the Divine help me. And know that you will always be helped. Have the confidence that a power in the universe is going to help you. Have the confidence that you will be helped. A power in the universe is going to help you.
Summary
Overcoming depression and finding inner peace requires a shift in perspective and proactive actions. By broadening our vision, acknowledging that problems are temporary, and shifting our attention to serving others, we can experience more energy and joy. To make this happen, we need to harness the power of breath and meditation. Then, we can cultivate resilience and happiness. Having faith and expressing spontaneity will lead us on a path to a happier and more fulfilling life.
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This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition.
