Why You Feel Depressed (5 Steps To Freedom)

I've always disliked the idea that:

• Depression is a disease

• Caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain

• That just happens to fall from the sky on some unlucky people

I have a different view, which I believe is both more grounded in reality AND more useful.

I'm not a doctor or psychologist, so don't take what I say as medical advice, and you may disagree with any or all of what I say.

(really you should treat everything you hear with some skepticism)

I also don’t have any experience with severe depression. The kind that drives people to commit suicide or stay in bed for a week without eating. So I can't comment on that.

But I have experienced depression at certain points in my life.

I've never been diagnosed, except for one short phase of my life where I tried to take advantage of the welfare system. I told a psychologist I was depressed so I could get Disability money from the government.

(which didn't work)

I had a nihilistic attitude toward life at the time. My view was that the system was totally corrupt, and I'd rather take advantage of the corruption than be taken advantage of.

There's a book called "Enjoy The Decline" which explains this view well. I don't hold this view anymore, but it's interesting reading to say the least.

Apart from that, I've always been skeptical of mainstream psychology.

(or mainstream anything, for that matter)

And I think psychological labels often do more harm than good.

People say "I have depression" the same way they would say "I have diabetes". They accept the label as part of their identity.

Which is a big problem, because it makes it permanent. Notice the difference between saying "I AM feeling depressed" and "I HAVE depression."

In my view, depression is a spiritual pain. Like physical pain, it has many possible causes. I'm going to talk about just one cause, that's been the most relevant to me. It may not resonate with you and your experience of life. And that's OK.

The mainstream approach to treating depression is to cover up symptoms. Never to treat the real cause.

And it even does a pretty crappy job of covering up symptoms. You know those ads for anti-depressants where one of the listed side effects is "suicidal ideation"?

"Take these pills to cure your depression, but they might make you so depressed you kill yourself!"

Helpful.

Anyway, this is a big problem because depression affects just about everything in your life.

Not only does it feel bad, but it makes relationships difficult, hurts your health, and ruins the energy and productivity you need to make positive changes in your life.

If you can overcome it (hint: YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN!!), you will:

• Feel great

• Be attractive to people

• Have motivation

• Do high quality work

• Which will make you more successful in everything you do

• You'll have great relationships

• Better health

• Be a good example to your kids and everyone else you come in contact with

• And ultimately make the world a better place

It's worth the effort.

But before you can make lasting improvements, you have to understand what's CAUSING depression in the first place.

I'm going to tell you what I believe that is, and a simple 5-step process to fix it.

The Underlying Cause

The medical system wants you to believe that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. And the way to solve it is to buy their pills.

Financially speaking, they don't want you to ever get better. If you get better, you'll stop buying pills.

You may have noticed that business in general is moving to a subscription model.

For example, in the old days you would buy a software like Microsoft Office once, and then own it for life.

In 2023, you sign up for a subscription to Microsoft Office, and pay them every month to "rent" the software.

Much more profitable that way.

(It's probably just a coincidence that the founder of Microsoft is now one of the most powerful people in the global medical system)

So it's convenient to just point to "low serotonin" or some other chemical problem in the brain.

They don't ever both to ask the question: WHY(?!?!?!) is the brain not creating enough serotonin? What is the actual CAUSE of this problem?

The truth is: The Empire WANTS you to be depressed.

Think about it. When you're depressed you:

• Settle for whatever scraps happen to fall in your lap

• Don't protest

• Don't stand up for yourself (you don't have the energy for that)

• You're dependent on the government medical system or company health insurance just to survive

Even in the USA, our so-called "private" health system gets over 80% of its money from the government (Medicare, Medicaid, VA, etc.).

So being a pill-dependent person with depression makes you exactly the obedient worker the system wants you to be.

(antidepressant withdrawal is HORRIBLE, by the way--get professional help if want to get off the pills)

You can't defy the system when you're dependent on the system.

So what's this true cause that The Empire doesn't want you to know? Where did this "chemical imbalance" come from?

Seems like a question worth asking before condemning somebody to a lifetime of drug dependence...right?

It's possible that in some cases it really is just genetics or unlucky chance.

But that's a terrible place to start from. If you fall for what I call the "Born This Way" mind virus...

...that is, the idea that you're born with something and have no hope of ever changing it...

...then you've already lost without a fight.

In most cases (if not all), I believe depression is 100% curable.

Sometimes it's just a matter of poor health.

Things like:

• Nutrient deficiencies

• Poisons in the environment

• Heavy metals

• Plastics

• Food additives

• Phthalates

• Radiation

• Lack of sleep

• Etc.

That's a big topic of its own that I'm not going to get into here, but if you want to learn more, this video is a good place to start:

The Mind Molds The Brain

Here's a surprising fact most people don't know:

The way you think can CHANGE the structure and function of your brain.

This is called "neuroplasticity", which was a huge surprise to scientists when it was discovered.

Most people think that the "mind" comes from the brain. Brain cells fire to create thoughts, and those thoughts are what we call "the mind".

Neuroplasticity shows that this view is backwards.

Actually the mind exists BEFORE the brain. The mind sends a signal to the brain, and the brain fires the appropriate neurons.

It is for this reason that the mind can mold the brain. You think certain thoughts, or hold certain images in your mind, and it will change your brain chemistry and your brain structure.

Pretty interesting discovery if you've been told that your brain chemistry or brain structure is causing depression!

And if you're thinking this sounds mystical or spiritual, you're exactly right.

The mind is not something that can scientific instruments can observe. But we CAN observe its effects.

We know that thoughts exist. We know that will exists. We know they can create changes in the brain.

But we can't measure where those thoughts or will are first coming from. Sounds rather like the spirit, or soul.

So what this means is: a "malfunctioning" brain is NOT a life sentence!

It can be fixed.

You're Not On Your Path

The times that I've been most depressed were the times that I didn't have any kind of clear direction in my life.

For example, when I first graduated from college.

I was supposed to get a job.

I thought it would be easy to get a job. I had a college degree, after all.

But I couldn't.

I was stuck working part-time as a waiter's assistant at a restaurant (that's right, not even a full waiter).

I had a car that constantly broke down and had no air conditioning (no fun when you live in Florida). And I was living with my dad.

My dad had just gotten married at the time, and I could tell he was NOT happy to have his deadbeat adult son living with him and his new wife.

I had no idea what to do. No direction. And I was depressed.

I went an entire year without being able to find a full-time job.

After a year of being depressed and struggling, I decided to go back to college.

College saved me. It cured my depression.

Not because it was particularly useful. In hindsight, the education and the degree itself were pretty much worthless.

(college in general is pretty useless in the modern economy)

But it FELT LIKE making progress at the time.

At least I was working toward something. And that was enough.

Feelings exist for our benefit.

That includes unpleasant feelings, like pain, hunger, and--yes--even depression.

They tell us that something is wrong. That we need to make a change.

If you touch a hot stove, you feel pain. This is your body telling you that it's suffering damage.

The correct response is to change the situation (such as by moving your hand away from the stove) so that your body is no longer in harm's way.

If you feel hungry, it's your body telling you that it needs food.

These signals feel bad, because if they didn't feel bad then you wouldn't be motivated to fix the problem.

Depression is like a pain or hunger of the soul.

It's a signal from your soul that it's not being properly fed.

That you're not serving the purpose for which you were put on this Earth.

You're veering off your proper path.

It's like those bumps on the side of the highway that wake you up if you fall asleep at the wheel and start to veer off.

The modern mainstream response to this signal, is to try to drown it out.

To take pills to numb the feeling of the bumps, rather than getting back on the road.

Or to take a painkiller, rather than move their hand off the hot stove.

That's how the medical system works in general.

How many people are taking (highly addictive) opiate drugs because they have back pain...

...and their doctors have no idea how to actually solve the problem causing their back pain?

This, unfortunately, is the normal way of dealing with problems in modern society.

Ignore the cause, cover up the symptoms. Poorly.

How To Get Back On Your Path

Now that you know what causes depression...

(and again, your case may be different than what I'm describing)

...now we can take steps to fix it.

Let's start with what NOT to do.

Actually, before we get into that, I want to make one thing clear:

I'm NOT actually against anti-depressant pills.

I think they're useful, and perhaps even necessary, in some circumstances.

Such as for someone who's on the edge of suicide.

Desperate times call for desperate measures.

If a pill can get you through the day without killing yourself, by all means take the pill!

But in my mind, there's a BIG difference between taking a drug in an emergency situation...

...and taking a drug every day for the rest of your life just to be able to function.

Which brings up another important point:

It is VERY VERY DIFFICULT for a psychologist or health care provider to give you an honest opinion about your situation.

Because if they give advice to a depressed patient, and that patient commits suicide...

...the patient's family may very well try to sue the doctor or psychologist.

If that happens, they have to show that their recommendations were by-the-book. That they were mainstream medical system approved.

If not, they're going to lose a lot of money and possibly even their license.

So even if your psychiatrist doesn't agree with the mainstream model, chances are he's not going to take the risk to speak out against it.

Ok, so here's what NOT to do:

1) Distractions

If you feel depressed, your first reaction might be to sit around watching TV or playing video games while eating a tub of ice cream.

Or to drink, use drugs, or watch porn.

These things are distractions. They might feel good in the moment (it's a quick hit of the "feel good" chemical: dopamine), but ultimately they will make depression worse--not better.

Because now not only are you feeling bad, but now you're also wasting your time and hurting your body. Which are probably part of the reason you got depressed in the first place.

And it gets worse: because these things give you that quick hit of dopamine...

...you're effectively REWARDING depression.

You're training your body to be depressed more often.

There was a famous experiment in which psychologists hooked up a wire to a rat's brain such that the rat would have an orgasm every time it pushed a button.

(orgasm = dopamine)

What ended up happening is the rat didn't eat, it didn't sleep, it just kept on pushing the button over and over again until it DIED.

Dopamine is the brain's reward system.

In the caveman days, you would only get dopamine when you did something productive.

But just like the rat-gasm button, modern society has hijacked that system.

Now you get dopamine from eating ice cream, watching porn, and a bunch of other things that hurt your body and your mind.

That's why these things are so attractive. And so addictive.

2) Social Media

If you want to get out of a depression, you need to be intentional about your thoughts.

If you use social media, you are letting an algorithm direct your focus.

Chances are, it's not going to direct your focus in a way that's beneficial to you.

Facebook employees actually admitted that their algorithm is DESIGNED to make you feel BAD.

DESIGNED!

Because they found that people in lower emotional states stay on Facebook longer. Which is how they make money.

So don't let anyone or anything else direct your focus.

Unless it's someone you trust completely. Or a guided meditation or a video that you've seen before and know it's uplifting and makes you feel good.

5 Steps To Beating Depression Forever

Here's what DOES work, in five steps. Not just temporarily, but long term.

Step 1: Know Thyself

The first step is to become self aware.

Learn to understand your own mind. What makes you feel good. What makes you feel bad.

The best way I've found is to meditate daily.

There are many different ways to do this. Phone apps like Headspace will give you a good introduction.

The point is you are making a practice of OBSERVING your own mind.

You're almost looking at yourself as though you were a different person. Looking from outside.

When you get good at this, you understand yourself much better.

You understand why you feel the things you feel.

You start to notice patterns in what thoughts produce what feelings.

And from that you can consciously direct your thoughts away from the thoughts that cause depression...

...and toward the thoughts that make you feel happy, empowered, and full of energy.

This is what Carl Jung means when he talks about "making the unconscious conscious."

You're starting to notice things about yourself that you didn't notice before.

Step 2: Practice Mental Discipline

Once you understand what thoughts create what feelings, you can consciously monitor your thoughts.

When you notice yourself thinking the sort of thoughts that cause you to feel depressed, redirect them to something else. Something that makes you feel good.

Saying a quick prayer helps too.

This may not be easy at first.

Chances are, you've made a habit of certain thinking patterns, and you have to break the habit.

But keep at it long enough, and it will become easy.

There's a guided exercise I like to follow that helps me do this. I call it my Emotional Freedom exercise.

Here's a link to a free video where I explain how to do it.

I find the exercise extremely helpful.

Step 3: Define What You Want

Most people are painfully aware of all the things that they DON'T want in life.

But often they don't have a clear picture of what they DO want.

This causes depression, because without a clear goal to move towards, there's no meaningful work to do or progress to make.

So take the time to list out (on paper is best) everything that you want in life.

Money, stuff, relationships, lifestyle, what you do for work, what you do with your time, etc.

If you could wake up tomorrow and have the perfect life, what would that look like?

Step 4: Take The First Step

Take the first step to getting what you want in life.

If you have a lot of things on your list, choose the one that's most attractive to you.

What's one thing you could do today to be one step closer to making it a reality?

It could be:

• Signing up for a gym membership

• Throwing away all the junk food in your house

• Buying a book

• Watching the first module in that online course you bought but never got around to using.

The first step gives you momentum to take the second step. Then the third.

And it feels GOOD!

Making real progress feels good, and makes you want to continue.

Step 5: Balance Work With Rest

The last step is to rest.

Take a step back from your work. Admire what you've done. Give yourself a pat on the back for the progress you've made. Bask in the good feelings.

Listen to the voice of your soul. If you've been making no progress, and you start making progress, it's going to feel great.

But there's also a limit.

At some point you're going to work so hard that you need a break.

If you don't stop and rest occasionally, you're going to burn out.

Don't let that happen. Listen to your feelings, and balance work with rest.

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If this resonates with you, and you'd like to dive deeper, I highly recommend this free training by Alex Sweetman. If you've never heard of Alex before...well just listen to his story. It's amazing!

And if you haven't already, sign up for my newsletter to get my best tips every Saturday for living a fulfilled, rich, and free life.