Most of the clients I work with are seeking therapy because they are suffering from symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. Often times, the anxiety has gotten so bad that they cannot handle daily tasks or being in social settings. The depressive symptoms they are experiencing are debilitating, draining or just flat out suffocating.
In 2014, I attended a training called Yoga as Mind-Body Medicine with Bo Forbes. She is a clinical psychologist who integrates yoga, mindfulness, neuroscience, psychology, and movement studies. I specifically remember that in the first 5 minutes of her training, she said that by the year 2030, depression and anxiety would be two of the most predominant illnesses affecting people worldwide. This is an epidemic that is already being seen not only in adults, but even more so in our children.
The state of people’s mental health has become more of a problem in the last decade. What do you think the reason for that is?
I largely account it to the social stigma around mental illness that surprisingly still exists in many parts of the world and to the increase in technology which has us more connected in one way, but much more disconnected in the way that we need in order to survive as a species. Human beings need relationships in order to feel connected, fulfilled, and alive. We need to feel connected with self, person to person contact, human warmth, and touch.
Depression and anxiety is not something that gets treated and just goes away. Many people today take medication to help stabilize their moods and symptoms, but many times the medication also serves as a kind of band aid. The sort of mindset that… if you don’t feel the problem, then it no longer exists. My concern as a psychotherapist is that depression and anxiety may be symptoms of an underlying problem that has not been uncovered or tapped into and more often than not, the problem has to do with unresolved issues, unspoken words (past trauma), and suppressed emotions that cause harm to the mind, body, and spirit.
In my opinion, treating depression and anxiety involves:
1. Understanding what the specific symptoms look and feel like
2. Exploring how the symptoms are affecting daily functioning
3. Discovering why certain feelings seem to be overpowering the mind and body
4. Doing the work of learning HOW to MANAGE and LIVE a fulfilling life despite having the symptoms. The HOW can be the focus and the light at the end of tunnel.
As a counselor, I see my role as being the guide in helping people understand and learn what works specifically for them so that they see life as something worth living for. For this reason, I have become more and more passionate about finding ways to help others heal from the inside out.
Root&Connect came from this desire to want to help others feel better. From my own experience, I have learned through trial and error that coping and managing depression and anxiety takes effort just like everything else that is worthwhile.
The path of Root&Connect is to Root, Connect, Grow, Nurture, and Live.
My goal is to help people figure out the process that works best for them so that they can begin and follow this path as a way to live, not as a means to survive. My own personal process to achieve the path is:
1. Daily meditation practice
2. Giving and feeling gratitude for the ways that I am blessed each day
3. Exercising regularly
4. Yoga for mind, body, and spirit union
5. Supplements
6. Eating balanced and healthy
7. Gentle love and kindness towards self and others
8. Mindfulness practices…Being now here moment to moment without judgment
9. Doing things that I feel passionate about, things that light up my spirit
10. Connecting with my higher power and with people I encounter no matter where I am
I met my new favorite yoga teacher, Meghan, at a studio here called Firelight Yoga. Last week in class, she said these simple words that landed so perfectly and resonated through my entire being…”we have breath and we have movement, these are such precious gifts that we often forget to feel thankful for.” For me these are the two greatest gifts we have to help us feel rooted and connected with self so that we can actually feel connected with others and the world around us.
What would be your process to follow along the path of Root&Connect? Life is too short to let depression and anxiety get the best of us.