I think as humans few things are certain. One of those being that at some point in our life we will experience depression. It is part of our life experience to feel the full emotional spectrum of what it means to be a human. Sometimes things get on top of us and life isn’t rosy and sweet and sometimes a much longer period of feeling low grips hold of us. Depression is a difficult topic as it often simmers below the surface of so many people who seem so happy on the outside, Thus making things difficult to talk about. Because we have been conditioned by society to think positive and be an easy person to get along with, it makes it even harder to talk about as we then face the risk of being judged or being a burden to other people. But you know what, its ok to not be ok! It’s perfectly natural and as I like to say its a part of us trying to communicate that something we are doing is making us unhappy, or something needs looking at and changing!

I believe depression occurs when we are out of alignment with ourselves and our body, usually, this comes from unprocessed trauma or emotional pain that we are unable to look at. thus creating an over-stimulated nervous system that is unable to regulate and therefore creating feelings of overwhelm and depression. The guidance I have come across growing up tends to lead towards snapping out of it, thinking positive, shifting mental state through feel-good activities and yes these tools can be handy but are we really addressing the root of the problem? My coaching guidance has always been a little different, I fully support leaning INTO the pain and exploring what it is the soul is trying to communicate to us in order to facilitate change.  I believe we need to feel the discomfort, ask ourselves the right questions and then work at regulating emotions with things that make you feel good. If you want to heal you have to feel and not push away!  So what could some of the practical steps be towards honouring ourselves in these dark places and learning how to regulate ourselves at the same time?

  • Breathwork is a wonderful tool to help the individual come back to a place of embodiment and wholeness. Breathing helps to put the mind out of the body and separate thoughts from running the show. I work with a wonderful modality that helps to regulate the nervous system and release old traumatic stress and blocked emotions from the body. This helps us to connect with the body at a much deeper level which makes us more present and able to regulate our own emotional state.
  • Movement is medicine. Are you moving your body every day in ways that you love and are you bringing in a variety of different ways to move your body? Sweating it out is great but sometimes we can be so stressed and overwhelmed that we need to slow down and cultivate energy.  Challenging our balance is also a wonderful way to put the mind to good use. some of my favourite ways to move are. walking, Tai Chi, yoga (especially yin), bodyweight movement sequences, weight training, animal flow movement, stretching!
  • Are you getting out into nature enough? Are you fully submerging yourself into the great outdoors at least twice per week? Nature has a wonderful ability to pull us back into the present moment and our body. It also realigns our frequency with that of nature and nature is perfection! Next time you go outside breathe deeply. Listen to the sound of the wind in the trees, can you hear the birds singing, can you feel the temperature and the sensations of the air upon your skin and note how different you feel.
  • Freeflow dance is great when you feel low and have stuck energy in the body (depression and anxiety) putting on your favourite song and allowing your body to move and unwind is a wonderful way to release stored tension in the body. You start by creating a wave-like motion coming up fro the spine and out the top of your head and then allow your body to guide you into the places you feel stuck ( these are usually trapped emotions). This is also a wonderful way to connect with the body and wake up!
  • Journalling your thoughts and feelings down is a great way to release intrusive thoughts from the body. Start by writing down how you feel as if you are receiving messages from your soul because you are 🙂 Start by asking how you feel, how long you have felt this way when was the last time you felt this way, what are some of the things that can be causing this, what needs to change to release these feelings from your body, how can you take steps to make these changes etc?
  • Get creative, play, do something fun or learn a new skill or hobby, paint just for the hell of it, channel your feelings into drawings or writings. Startup a new project as this will make you feel so good and give you a sense of achievement.
  • Learn your human design type! Human design is an energy and soul blueprint system that helps us why we are here on earth and what we are supposed to learn. Our human design authority governs how we respond and move forward in the world. over half of the world’s population has an emotional authority meaning that our emotional state is a guidance system for how we live our life. Emotional authority means that we make better decisions when we have let our emotional wave pass. Meaning we cannot make sudden decisions or be spontaneous. We need to sleep on important decisions and wait for the emotional wave to pass fully before we can gain clarity. Learning this system has changed my life and it helped me tremendously as I too am an emotional authority. One thing I have learned about my emotional state is that there is always pure magic waiting in the lowest points of my life. For it is in these low moments that wonderful art is created the lows can be your muse. A lot of my writings and videos are created as I come out of the low points. I get a lot of wisdom and information that can be passed on to others. A lot of incredible artists and songwriters have an emotional authority. Amy Winehouse is my favourite. She had a beautiful ability to channel her pain into something so beautiful. Adele is another one who has an emotional authority. If you have an undefined emotional centre in human design ( white triangle ) you are completely open to the emotions of others around you, meaning you absorb and amplify the emotions of others around you. So the stuff you are carrying and feeling may not even be yours. If you want to get your chart you can head on over to international human design school to get your free chart and start learning about your human experiment. HERE

Remember negative emotions are stuck energy in the body. if you change your focus from allowing your mind to create stories and confirm why you feel bad, flip your focus to diving into the body and exploring the sensations. For example. I feel this heaviness in my chest, it feels hot and very constricting, it travels all the way to my left armpit and it feels tingly there etc when you drop into the body you allow the energy and emotion to move from the system.

Remember e – motion = energy in motion.

How can you support someone else who is struggling with depression?
It’s often the people with the brightest smiles that hide the darkest pain inside. I think when it comes to supporting others the most important thing is to avoid the urge to try and rescue or cheer them up. This usually has the opposite desired effect. Simply holding space for someone that is struggling without trying to fix their problem is a very underrated skill. Let the person know that you hear them and are there for them, let them speak without interrupting or trying to jump in and save the day. Simply allowing the person to say what is on their mind until the words stop coming can be very beneficial and supportive to them. You can also help them tap into the resources I mentioned above. Spend time with them but also honour your own energetic and emotional boundaries. If you are unable to help them directly help them find a trusted therapist that can.

I hope this has helped you feel a little lighter and if you are interested in working to regulate your emotions and heal from trauma. Please drop me a message to schedule a call 🙂

With Love

Alison

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