Monday, October 31, 2011

Q: How Can I be happy if I suffer from Depression?

"I believe most depressions are the consequence, to varying degrees, of the way we think about ourselves and the world, and the strategies we have developed for coping with life.  For this type of depression, I believe it is possible that programs such as yours, which are directed at non-pharmacological interventions, if conscientiously practiced and applied, could be just as effective as medications."
- Walter Jacobson, MD
Diplomat of the American Psychiatric Association
Northridge, CA

I am not asking you to ignore your problems or be happy about them while being a blind optimist. I am offering a method of being happy in the face of adversity so you can handle the situation like the cool calm firefighter in the mist of the fire.

FACTS:
Treatments for depression are often ineffective. In fact, according to the National Institute of Health most people who are depressed seek 3 to 5 different types of treatment to help themselves.

Lost productive time among U.S. workers due to depression is estimated to be in excess of $44 billion per year.

The Center for Disease Control states that antidepressants are one of the 3 most frequently prescribed therapeutic drug classes in the United States.

Potential side effect of depression is suicide.

Problem: The facts look bleak.

Solution: Positive Psychology

In the last dozen years, there has been more research and new knowledge about happiness and how to develop it.

The American Psychology Association adopted this new branch in 1998 founded by former President of the APA, Dr. Martin Seligman from the University of Pennsylvania.

Latest Research:
We can create an upward spiral (instead of a downward spiral) if we have a 3 to 1 positive/negative emotional experience.

Your happiness is spread through the theory of emotional contagion up to 3 degrees of separation of every single person you look at, email with and talk to.

Your happiness is in your own hands, and positive psychology can teach you different techniques that will enhance your levels of well-being.

Problem: If it is so great? How come it is not offered anywhere besides, Stanford, UC Berkeley, University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, and Claremont University? Why have I never heard of it? I am still suffering from depression.

Solution: Positive Psychology is being taught openly on the internet for everyone to have access to the very solution of how depression can be treated once and for all.

Because you have taken the time to read this blog entry, and you have an obvious interest in feeling better or addressing your depression in a new way, I will give you the 5 steps that I have found to be the most effective in teaching others how to be sustainably happy regardless of where they are in on the happiness scale.

Before I go ahead and give you the secrets you have been waiting for, I want to commiserate with you.

Depression is not your fault.

You were taught no other way than to be dependent on external situations for your well-being.

The United States says follow the pursuit of happiness! Find the right person, place, thing and circumstance in your life, and then you will be happy. Achieve your goals, and then you will be happy. Popular messages of happiness are leading people into these ideas that compromise self responsibility when it comes to feeling good.

Once I have a lovable spouse, then I’ll be happy.
Once I am financially secure, then I’ll be happy.
Once I am recognized as a leader in my community, I will be happy.
Once I have children to love me back, I will be happy.
Once I go on vacation, I will be happy.
Once I obtain my advanced degree, I will be happy.
Once I have a well paying job, I will be happy.

This is a paradigm shift.

In fact, most people hold everything to make them happy!
If no one or nothing else can create a frequent positive mood, deep inner contentment, or achieve states of bliss and joy inside of you, you have to count on yourself to do the work and learn the science just like you learned how to tie your shoes or learned 2 + 2. Everyday you tie your shoes and everyday you use 2 + 2 (just in a more advanced way, of course).

We have come to a point where science truly can teach us how to be happier. Can someone please start by teaching happiness to depressed people for a fraction on what is spent on depression disability annually, which is an excess of $44 billion dollars?!

Problem: If positive psychology is everything it says it is, (which I for one, someone who has direct experience in teaching it, agree) then why is it unavailable to most people?

Solution: Positive Psychology is available to everyone in the world via my channel, How to be Happy with Dr. Aymee, on Spreecast.com, my channel, Happy Aymee, on youtube.com, and though my Mp3 audio lessons and e-courses through my online store.

Most people are surprised when I tell them, we can eliminate depression, anxiety, ADHD, and stress. I am inviting you to experience happiness science. Then you can determine if you have eliminated your depression, anxiety, ADHD and stress for yourself.

Until then I am sure you will sit in disbelief and resistance to something that really may be “too good to be true”.

What do you have to lose if you adopt happiness science in your daily practice?

I can teach you how to take charge of your own happiness, create a positive mood whenever you want, be resilient, foster deep inner contentment/fulfillment, and even achieve states of bliss and joy!

Would it be nice to have that experience?

Would it be nice to have the total freedom, which comes with the fact that you can now create a positive emotional experience for yourself? The freedom of knowing no one else or nothing else can take your happiness away from you.

Below is an endorsement by Walter Jacobson, M.D., Psychiatrist, and Diplomat of the American Psychiatry Association who experienced my Happiness Makeover training program.  In this endorsement, he agrees that putting the practice exercises of positive psychology on a daily basis does in fact create sustainable happiness.  

Walter E. Jacobson, MD
Diplomat, American Board of Psychiatry & Neurology
18300 Roscoe Blvd, IFL Tower, 4th Floor
Northridge, California 91328
(818) 885-8500, ext. 3724
(818) 727-1451 (fax)
  
September 18, 2009

Dear Aymee,

I want to formally congratulate you on putting together a sustainable life improvement program, your "Happiness Makeover," that is extremely effective.

It is the transformative regimen that you teach and coach in the consultation sessions that gives people cognitive-behavioral tools and mind-body-spirit routines which, if they practice consistently, daily, will take them on a path of self-discovery and growth, the by-products of which are sustainable happiness and inner peace.

Your curriculum is, indeed, an excellent one. During the three months of my own Happiness Makeover, I found myself truly becoming happier. I felt more energized and motivated to pursue my life goals.

More valuable than that, the experience helped me to clarify my life goals, in the sense that your program encourages people to look at core strengths and values, and it encourages people to discover their authenticity, to become the fullness of who they are.

I find myself now, after a month out of the program, continuing to enjoy the benefits of the program. My attitude about life, work, and people, has improved. I see my life as an adventure unfolding, which is exciting, especially compared to my previous feeling about my life which was "It's pretty good, could be better, getting through it."

As you can see, I am an extremely satisfied customer. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Walter E. Jacobson, MD

P.S.

In one of our collegial conversations you posed a question as to whether I believed a program like yours could take the place of an antidepressant. To best answer that I first need to clarify my position about depression.

There are many different types. One type is the result of a pure chemical imbalance in the brain that has nothing to do with the way people think, the way people perceive themselves and the world, or the circumstances that happen to them. In this type of depression it comes down to the brain having a chemical/physiological disorder which a medication can correct.

I would not make the case with this type of depression that a Happiness Makeover, a CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy) program, or any non-pharmacological program, would deliver the results that psychotropic medications would.

However, this scenario, in my opinion, makes up the smallest category of depression. I believe most depressions are a consequence, to varying degrees, of the way we think about ourselves and the world, and the strategies we have developed for coping with life.

For this type of depression, I believe it is possible that programs such as yours, which are directed at non-pharmacological interventions, if conscientiously practiced and applied, could be just as effective as medications.


Walter E Jacobson, MD


I will briefly provide you with the 5 steps to sustainable happiness and offer you a video with a deeper explanation....

Five steps to sustainable happiness

1. Happiness Decision
2. Happiness boosters
3. Happiness Challenges
4. Heart based maps
5. Faith


All in all, I am compassionate for the suffering you have endured from your depression. I understand that depression is a specific, personal, and multifaceted, condition. The video above is only a beginning into the process of the hard work it takes to feel better using happiness science. I would like to inspire you to be open to the possibility that you can end your suffering from depression. 


Aymee




For more information, comments, or questions contact Dr. Aymee at http://www.blogger.com/www.draymee.com.

4 comments:

  1. Dr. Aymee has clearly never been clinically depressed. Oh GOD, I wish it were that easy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for your comment. Honestly, there was one time in my life where I would say I was down in the dumps yet once I made clear decisions on how to remedy the situation, my fog cleared and blue skies set in. I have helped people who have been depressed for the past 15 years. Positive psychology is something you have to do for yourself, otherwise happiness will remain a mystery. I am here for you if you want a free consult :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Being "down in the dumps" is dramatically different than being clinically depressed.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes, I agree. Depression is a very serious condition.

    ReplyDelete