By Sarah Gardner

“How can you know what is right for the world?
By knowing what is right for your own life.” – Tao Teh Ching

If you or a loved one experience feelings of depression for short or long periods of time, you are familiar with its oppressively heavy cloak.

Studies show that 9.5 percent of Americans 18 and older are diagnosed with depression and 27 million are prescribed medication for their symptoms.

These medications for depression are, by design, short-term remedies which mask – not cure – symptoms, create dependency, withdrawal symptoms, adverse side effects, new illnesses and have an 80 percent relapse rate.

Add to this the fact that depression often goes undiagnosed in a culture where a state of discontent is often the accepted norm, and we start to see that it is time to look at other ways to understand and treat depression.

As a practitioner who sees clients with symptoms of depression, it would not be my wish to take the medications away.

However, I see them as a crutch, and we don’t want to walk with a crutch for the rest of our lives. What we want is for our broken parts to be mended so we can stand on our own two feet.

Popular theory tells us we should use strong medications for our ailments, silver bullets if you will, to make our ailments go away and allow us to function.

Yet, medications do nothing to address the root problem, which can become a ticking bomb.

Indigenous cultures do not have the degree of disconnect from nature and each other that we experience in the “modern” world and typically do not experience depression as we know it.

However, they recognize the journey that brings humans closer to themselves.

They understand that in order for people and cultures to grow, they must face the dark as well as the light. In other words, we must face our discomforts.

To be born, we must die in some way by letting go of our white-knuckled beliefs that no longer feed us in order to rediscover our true center.

As Pema Chodron writes in her book, "Comfortable With Uncertainty:" “Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.”

If your spirit is slowly dying on the vine and desires change, discomfort is a valuable tool to grab your attention.

How do we embrace discomfort in a culture that shuns most everything that doesn’t appear happy?

We want so much to feel safe, but it is precisely that which holds us prisoner to old thoughts that makes us depressed. So we medicate, as unsatisfying as that is.

The purpose of this article is not to answer these questions as much as to open a window into another perspective.

Staying with your discomfort is not an easy task, especially in this world where many feel isolated not only from each other but ourselves.

And many feel ashamed, as if something is wrong with them, when it’s quite possible that you are being pulled by something greater than your understanding at the moment.

There is opportunity in crisis if we are willing to be open and venture into the unknown.

Michael Meade, mythologist and inspired writer, poet and activist, writes: “All creation emerges from the darkness."

There are options for people who want to look beyond the accepted norm, and Seattle is rife with them. There are also lifestyle changes that we can do for ourselves.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is widely known as a viable cure for pain and functional diseases. But, what is less well known is that it is also a powerful tool for emotional healing.

The World Health Organization validates its effectiveness for such disorders.

Mental and physical processes get stuck, and TCM can open us to those maligned and forgotten parts of ourselves in order to rediscover our own wholeness where we can let go of outmoded ways of being and open to new, more authentic versions of ourselves.

TCM can also help us to heal the physical pain that prevents us from being fully present in our bodies.

Healing from emotional illness with TCM is best done with a practitioner who specializes in mental health, as it involves specific methodologies.

The active participation between both client and practitioner is essential to the healing process, allowing a deeply rewarding and lasting experience.

Dr. Friedman Schaub uses mind-activating technologies to work with the subconscious where emotional patterns are formed.

We store emotions from our past and the psyche habituates to them, even if they are negative.

When you can gain access to these subconscious patterns and let them see the light of day, they are freed and released, never to come back.

That, combined with integrating and working with negative core beliefs that we are not aware of, enables Schaub to help patients feel more safety, comfort, self-appreciation and overall empowerment.

Trina Doerfler uses non-entrainment biofeedback to correct emotional “trauma” to the brain that gets imprinted upon us throughout our lives.

Humans contain a cellular memory from birth about what a balanced mental state is, and through her sessions she is able to help people restore that memory.

Doerfler found her calling while looking for help with her daughter’s OCD. When her daughter was cured, she devoted her practice to this unique type of biofeedback in order to help patients heal from a wide variety of emotional illnesses as well as many of the side effects like insomnia.

Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman and Robert Ullman treat depression and mental disorders as well as ADD in children with constitutional homeopathy.

This is not the Arnica you buy at the store. It involves an in-depth, individualized interview and has shown to be very effective.

Cari Dimartini teaches yoga for depression at the NW Community Yoga Center in Ballard.

Her groups meet for eight-week sessions, allowing trust to develop among her students.

The opportunity to freely share is a relief for most people, who often feel alone in their feelings.

She sees the yoga mat as a laboratory to try things out differently, akin to “sitting in the fire.”

People become less trapped in their mental state and more connected to their physical body. They feel empowered to do more for themselves and are willing to take more risks in and out of class.

The body, at the core, is designed to move. Exercise is like an essential nutrient.

Research proves that exercise dramatically affects mood and positive clinical changes in depression. It activates key transmitters related to mood and improves the physical highways by which they travel.

The key is consistency. Some people with mild depression find their symptoms disappear simply by committing to a regular exercise program.

And, of course, food. A well-balanced diet consisting of ideal foods the body needs is powerful medicine.

Equally, the wrong foods over time are a powerful detriment to our well-being.

A decade-long research project has shown that a Mediterranean diet free of saturated fats and harmful oils, low on meat and dairy intake, moderate alcohol use and increased levels of legumes, fruits, nuts, cereals, vegetables, fish and healthy oils, such as olive and Omega 3s, is directly related to healthier mental states.

Emotions need a body to be expressed, and there is a physical basis to every emotion.

If the body is healthy and getting what it needs, our thoughts have a better chance of feeling balanced.

It is important to have consistent mental health support from a counselor or group, especially as one journeys into new and unfamiliar territory.

Your journey may be your own, but your well-being is of benefit to us all.

Sarah Gardner is a licensed acupuncturist since 1994 and specializes in treating depression and other mental health disorders. She practices in Ballard/Crown Hill and can be reached at www.moongatemedicine.com.