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Deepak Chopra

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• October 06 2011

  Depression: Shedding Light On The Darkness

  Category:  Health

  It’s not news that depression has become a kind of invisible epidemic, afflicting millions of people. We live at a time when depression is approached as a disease. That has a good side. Depressed people are not judged against as weak or self-indulgent, as if they only need to try harder to lift themselves out of their sadness. Yet depression, for all the publicity surrounding it, remains mysterious, and those who suffer from it tend to hide their condition – the medical model hasn’t removed a sense of shame. When you’re in the throes of depression, it’s hard to escape the feeling that you are a failure and that the future is hopeless.
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  • Realizing that i am depressed doesn’t help, I think I have always been well on and off from 1990, attempted suicide in 2007, saved, I thought maybe I drunk too much and now I am on my 3rd year of sobriety with the help of AA and but why i do need this sobriety or this Life if I cant enjoy it at all. I know I have two kids and I am a single mum, that keeps me going, but in truth they are better off without me, I cannot kills myself for their sake, I wished it was an accident and I did have one in August, pretty severe one, where the photo of the state of my car was in local paper and I am still alive, is God or Shaitan playing joke with me – I wish I was losing weight, no I am getting fatter and fatter, I am naturally ugly anyway, I cant taste the food, I am not happy or never get excited about good news, but worse of all I dont get angry or upset either, I am a BIG ZERO. I dont even know why am I writing this, I suppose there were moments of hope when I listened Deepak, whre it is now? blah blah blah fucking blah Mariam again wallowing in misery, go to sleep it is 1:18 am. I wish I could ;-(

    Mariam // 2011-10-12 07:03:50 // 20 Like(s) // Like

  • I was so deeply lost in depression for my entire life until I was able to stabilize on medical cannabis. The depression still "visits", like with the lingering darkness of Portland, from recurring abuse, or unresolved issues you can`t resolve on your own. It`s hard for anyone to hold onto hope when they keep seeing destruction and getting hit. The cannabis is what allows me to see things as half full rather than half empty for the most part on most days. It literally addresses every single symptom of depression. In 2000 my son`s dad left me for a stripper and we were alone in this state with what I think of as negative support. Less than no support. My mother has some transference syndrome issue with me and/or simply never liked me so she`s never spoken to my 15 year old son. He was diagnosed with PTSD at age 6 and has been caught up in the "special needs" category for his entire duration in public school which has been less than fun. I weighed barely under lbs in 2000. In 2008 I was 5ft tall weighing 172 lbs (clinically obese.) I`d been on and off pharmaceuticas for years--never having comfortable results. It always seemed like a ball in left field. I always knew the cannabis helped me tremendously but it conflicted with reality. I was a single mother of a young child and it wasn`t just illegal-I couldn`t afford it anyway which the same reason my son`s dad was willing to risk being a dealer. When I DIDd get my hands on it there was guilt and inconsistency. There should not have been. So I continued to beat the crap out of myself for years and years and often turned to alcohol for anxiety when there was no way to realistically function on any of the SSRI`s, anti-psychotics or anti-anxiety meds. I`ve only had my card for 18 months and it has been no less than miraculous and life-changing. My brain has been reprogramming and I have literally felt it happening. I just finished the associates program I started years ago and recall as it`s reflected on my trascripts how I withdrew and failed during other terms when I just couldn`t fight everything. I know the article isn`t about using any kind of drug to rise out of depression but I carried it for over 25 years and it is DEATH--pure DEATH and I had the same Total Yoga VHS tape in a stack untouched for TEN YEARS and FINALLY after having had nearly a year stable using the cannabis I became ABLE to do ALL of those things stated above--yoga, aerobic excercise, meditation... when before I knew they existed as a solution but absolutely keep getting pulled down. I know this isn`t the intended direction but the suffering is like a lifetime of your nose and mouth being just above the surface of the water and the waves keep coming back. I GET the arguments this leads to but this is about SURVIVAL. I`m not sure how many more decades a person should be expected to suffer through when they can barely hold on before it`s clear that the chemicals in cannabis can literally save lives. All we need to do is work on safer administration such as vaporizing. The argument of addiction doesn`t seem applicable if the medicine is safe and effective. Some people have suffered too dramatically to erase feelings and images with a lifetime of therapy. Acceptance of some of those painful issues can`t always take away all of the pain. There is a teeter-totter effect there. If we only had nine lives. Miriam sounds like who I have been for the last 25 years--I identify with all of it--especially the part when you know you CAN`T kill your children`s parent and leave them alone to feel the anguish--so instead you continue to suffer RIGHT in front of them. Even though the cannabis doesn`t take the issues away, the pain and darkness is so deeply scary that I simply KNOW I need it for survival. I saw myself dying. I`m a kid again with a future. I`m not on a soapbox--it visits, depression visits now that I got my body and my mind back in shape all the skin is hanging off and I only feel like a kid on the inside. I agree with everything the Chupacabra said I`m just saying that often times for people like me, and it sounds like Miriam also---we just CAN`T get far enough through it to help ourselves on a deep enough level. It goes in circles and when we seem to make excuses they are real for us. I`ve attended therapy in 6 states for 20 years but the anguish is a relentless thing I call "The Nothing", like from The Neverending Story. I don`t speak for everyone but this awakening has made me fall in love with myself and who I was supposed to be all those years. I replaced my dying Total Yoga tape with a DVD. I walk fast to get places and use small weights at home--I don`t recommend a regimen at all. I say pick up small weights for small sets throughout the day and you`re not set up to fail. Use TV or radio time for super small goals. The exercise trampolines aren`t too expensive and they can bring out the kid in you. A hula-hoop is another one that can seem more like fun and games than excercise. Find a dresser or sofa to put your feet under for sit-ups but don`t ever worry about increasing your goal. Let yourself lose count and praise yourself for doing any at all. These are at-home suggestions for people who barely feel like they can do anything or face anyone. I literally have small weights by the couch and my bed for when I`m watching tv in the evening. Remembering to turn on some music can be the first step to inspiring you to pick up the weights but make sure to find music you actually like. I`ve been fighting through "injury" to come back. I`ve traded pains, to a degree. Depression is somewhat like an injury itself. It is a mental, emotional, and physical illness. It leaves no room for enrichment. Our children NEED us alive! They deserve to see us happy. I worry that someone in AA will refer to Miriam as a "dry drunk." This is a typical mistake.

    BeanFry // 2011-11-10 01:27:37 // 12 Like(s) // Like

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• May 08 2012

  More Asthma Than Ever, But Why?

  Category:  Health

  Asthma is one of the most common diseases in the world, with as many as 300 million sufferers. We’ve all seen what an asthma attack looks like, the typical symptoms being shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing, and tightness in the chest. Because easy, natural breathing is something everyone takes for granted, asthma is a distressing disruption. Each day you breathe a huge volume of air, from 2,100 to 2,400 gallons. Even for people who manage it well through medication and avoiding risks, there is a major psychological component. Attacks are dreaded, and a silent threat lurks with every breath.
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  • Our livers are becoming plugged up with all the toxins. That is why we are becoming more sensitive and more reactive or allergic. When we are stressed, tense and are plugged up our tolerence drops. I am surprised Chopra did not mention this Ayurvedic view. We need to eat more bitter vegies to clean our livers. However the western diet has practicall­y no bitter vegies like Asian diets do. Try bitter melon, brussel sprouts, etc.

    FlowSoma // 2011-10-27 13:30:28 // 8 Like(s) // Like

  • Environmen­t=Human Health.

    Lesscancer // 2011-10-27 13:29:11 // 5 Like(s) // Like

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• September 27 2011

  Heart Attack Myths And The Missing X Factor

  Category:  Health

  Some epidemics are hard to treat because medicine has no cure, while others, more insidiously, are hard to treat because people latch on to the wrong cure. Heart disease is a prime example of how a half truth turned into a partial cure, with many people being led down the wrong path, either by themselves or by their doctors.
  
  Heart attacks turned into an American epidemic after World War II, and doctors were baffled to know why. Intensive research was conducted, and as often happens when the cause of a disease is complex, there was no single reason why men in the vulnerable range for premature heart attacks, from age 40 to 60, were suddenly dying in greater numbers. What had changed in modern society to cause hundreds of thousands of heart attacks a year when in the past, before World War I, a physician might see one patient a month, or fewer, with the symptomatic chest pain known as angina pectoris? An X factor was missing and needed to be identified.
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  • Eating a plant based diet has been shown to reduce chlesterol and heart disease - see The China study and the work of Dr. C.Esselstyn.

    Nancy // 2011-11-14 17:15:53 // 12 Like(s) // Like

  • Taking good coconut oil can lower your bad cholesterol and raise your good cholesterol. I have 3 separate blood test to prove it. Taking olive,flax and fish oils never improved my lipids.

    @picGAC // 2011-11-14 16:54:17 // 10 Like(s) // Like

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• May 16 2012

  Carbohydrates: to Use or Abuse

  Category:  Health

  In a world plagued by food shortage that are reaching crisis level, carbohydrates are the easiest salvation and yet the greatest temptation to abuse. Ironically, the same is true in prosperous countries but for opposite reasons. Where food is desperately needed, vast portions of the ecosystem are obliterated to make way for a small handful of crops, particularly rice and wheat, that can provide abundant, cheap calories to a mass population. In well-fed societies where food can be channeled for diversion rather than raw fuel, refiners mangle natural carbohydrates to produce refined sugar and flour. 
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  • My carb intake is now well below 100 grams per day and I feel fantastic. My body fat percentage is down from 36.1 to 27.1 and I only work out three days a week for 20-30 minutes per. Much easier than expected after a few weeks but the first two weeks were a little daunting. Mindful eating is key. Always start any endeavor to change with firming up your belief in how good life actually is regardless of any life situations that are in place around you. They are just situations and they are separate from your life. Your life is it`s own entity. Do not confuse the two. Defining this separation is the key to happiness in this world. Once you are empowered with this new sense of separation from life situations you will quickly realize that changes are easier to implement across the board. Try it out, you will see what I mean. Great article! Life is good!

    rsktkr // 2012-05-12 16:25:12 // 11 Like(s) // Like

  • This is an absolutely remarkable article on carbs, to consume or not to consume. Thank you so very much for posting it with such extreme detail. I did read/listen on Dr. Andrew Weil`s FB post something about that the new crop of wheat(seeds) or the way wheat is processed in this day and age might contain gluten that is not consumable or causes inflammation(this goes to Dr. Mark Hyman`s point of trying to eat gluten free foods or atleast determine the gluten irritation/inflammation issue) . Dr. Andrew Weil did refer that he used to make gluten at home in the 90`s why is it different now?. I have given up gluten or take a minimal amount of gluten(try the gluten free option 99.99 percent of the time) and have seen a considerable increase in my energy throughout the day sustained energy so there is something to the gluten story. I would implore that people do need to pay attention to the "no white flour" "no white sugar" theory. I have also given up milk/milk products back to the 99.999 percent on that, there is something about the source of cheese and milk that it seems like the amount of hormones that are injected into cows/animals that produce the milk affects us. I also have heard Thich Naht Hanh make a reference to it not being sustainable renewable resource(milk, kind of seems like an unnatural process from an animal) so seem to be ok with giving it up all the more a great believer of renewable/sustainable sources. The more I follow everyone that is saying anything about food sources and health and well-being seems to be revolving around the theme of if it is manufactured in a factory by a human being don`t consume it. So instead of gatorade/powerade drink coconut water, instead of soda drink water or fruit juices, instead of boxed frozen food cook your own meals from fresh produce, clean and green. Being vegetarian my meal mostly consists of carbs(lots of fresh raw fruits and vegetables) so "Two thumbs up for carbs!" else I would have nothing to eat. I don`t think weight gain has anything to do with carbs, I did drink(am intoxicated with) the it is a mind/body/soul kool aid so do work on all aspects of it including the meditation downloads from the Chopra Center so do firmly believe and agree that it is an all round connection, mind/body/soul. Thank you so very much for this enormously informational article. I hope the additional info helps too.

    Poonam Dronamraju // 2012-05-12 23:56:27 // 7 Like(s) // Like

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• May 01 2012

  Your back pain (and what it’s trying to tell you)

  Category:  Health

  At one time or another the misery of lower back pain is felt by everyone, which is no surprise. Our upright spine is as unique to being human as having an opposable thumb. But where anyone can see that using our hands involves every aspect of life, we don’t say the same about our backs. But it’s just as true. You can read a great deal standing behind someone, reading victory or defeat, success and failure, pride or shame, and every degree of self-esteem. More hidden are the stresses that shape the back. On the day that you feel that first twinge of back pain, an entire personal history has already unfolded.
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  • Thank you for this very well written article explaining back pain. The statistics for unnecessary back surgeries in the United States are staggering. As an Orthopedic Massage Therapist, Personal Trainer and Health and Wellness Coach - I find it interesting that those who choose to seek massage therapy and Physical Therapy with well trained therapists are back to normal activities within days or a few weeks while many of those who choose surgery end up dealing with chronic issues for years or a lifetime. I would like to get this message out to a mass audience in the form of a film documentary following those who choose surgery and those who do not. warm regards to you, Katrina Koller

    bodyinbalancemn // 2011-11-08 16:58:10 // 15 Like(s) // Like

  • Many forms of non specific low back or neck pain are easily diagnosed and treated with the Mckenzie Method. I have even treated very complicated chronic cases using this method in adjunct with an integrative approach. More people including medical professionals need to know about this non-invasive cost effective research based evidence treatment protocol. It`s supposedly one of the most widely used modalities in North America but interestingly I run across very few people who have even heard about this approach. Please spread the word. For more info visit this website: www.mckenziemdt.org

    Tomiko Saldia, MS, PT // 2011-12-02 17:05:01 // 3 Like(s) // Like

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