Thus, Spake GB !. Review on Handling Depression

Desire is the root cause of all sorrows. Thus, Spake my illustrious predecessor-GB(Gautam Buddh) centuries ago, sitting under a tree at Gaya; after His relentless pursuit of Truth. I was introduced to this milestone statement while shuffling through my history books during my school days and the worth of this statement was nothing more than 1 mark which I could score in Fill in the Blanks or *Match the Following.

Many seasons down the line, as more wrinkles grew on my face, as the lines on my forehead shed their shyness, I discovered THE Truth in this. If I were to put it in contemporary terms, it would be'When there is a gap between what you expect and what you get, it results in sorrow'. IT professionals would probably define it'When What you see is not what you get, its sorrow'.

Sorrow is probably an ancient word. Today, its more commonly called Frustration. People who have one leg on Ancient beliefs and other on the Modern World call it Omen & Destiny. Many frustrations invariably leads to Depression, also conveniently substituted with the word Stress. Loosely called *Pressure *too. All these, in today's context more or less mean one & the same.

Who qualifies to face Depression: Well, almost everybody.Be it a kid studying for an exam owing to his own rank expectations or parental pressure *or a person facing peer competition in this office or a *bahu *who finds the going tuff in her *saas' house.(Hope Ms EK doesn't get an idea for another depressing soap - Kyunki Sauce bhi kabhi Tamatar thi).

What is Depression - The Ultimate Truth: Centuries after He attained Salvation, the younger Gb(Ganesh B) saidEverything is in the Mind*. Accepted its borrowed, but with a purpose. The first time I was told this(1994), it only evoked question marks all over my face. Today however, the simplicity and yet the depth of this statement amazes me and has since then become my Guide,

Philosopher and a Friend.

Let me explain this. Lets assume you like Gulab Jamun very much. Wouldn't you be Happy if I were to pop one for you. Happy Indeed Yes? And, then I give you another. Your Happiness increases two fold. I pop a 3rd one, and now you cant believe your luck. Seeing you increasingly Happy, I pop the 4th one. Aahh! What's that? The look on your face is changing. You actually have a snare, and a weary n irritated look. You are actually saying'No! Enough Enough. I don't want anymore.' Wasn't the Gulab Jamun supposed to make you Happy? Well, here comes the twist. You had associated Happiness with the Gulab Jamun, in which case you should have taken the 4th, 5th & so on and got onto your path of Infinite Happiness. However, happiness was NOT in the Gulab Jamun, but in your Mind. You(your mind) *conceived *Happiness when you got the 1st, 2nd or 3rd Gulab Jamun. The state of mind changed when I gave you the 4th one. But it was the same GJ as the first three.

I remember an instance when my wife was sick & I very sheepishly told her its just a State of Mind. She had wanted to throw the nearest object at me as if to retort'Do you think Im lying that Im sick?'. No. She wasn't. The Mercury inside the thermometer would have jumped higher than the Olympic Gold Medal winner. What I meant was, while you are really sick, how you react now, is purely a function of your State of Mind. So, you can either choose:'Ohh! My body is paining, my eyes are burning. Let me sleep for sometime. Im feeling very weak' & you will indeed go to sleep. Or you can choose:'To hell with my fever, im going to cook, go to office, drink cola' and indeedyou will have it that way.

Many Rags to Riches story have been scripted purely due to fantastic orchestration *of the state of mind, rather than divine luck being bestowed on them. You have the greatest film actors who had slept on roads and had they scarified themselves to a negative state of mind, we would have been deprived of their brilliance on the silver screen. And yet, there were many who did succumb, and in Mumbaiya Hindi *unka tho patta kat gaya.(Im expecting a very interesting argument on this, which If asked I will answer thru comments. Avoiding here owing to the 8000 restriction. Clue: Poor man).

Now, getting an idea, what is Depression? Well, the answer is simple. There is NOTHING called depression. You are just transiting from one phase of mind to another. And this brings us to the amazing Power of Mind below.

Change your Past: If anybody challenged you that you can change your past, you probably have only one conclusion - This guy is insane. Let me assure you its possible. Imagine I meet you when you have just had a great salary hike(>30%) and a promotion, I meet you in the bar, and ask you'Buddy howz ur life been?' Immediately you pour out all those success stories, those thrills & fancies you had, those applauses you got etc etc. And months later when you are just sacked from a job, I meet you in the same bar and ask you'Buddy, howz ur life been?' and you shower me with stories of how even in your college days you always tried and tried, but luck never favoured you, how your boss gave preferential treatment to your colleague who hardly reported on time at the office, how people often fail to understand you etc etc. Same Life. Same Past. But once its been hunky-dunky and months later it metamorphoses into Hell. Hasn't your past changed? Doesn't this prove the State of Mind theory in the most conclusive manner! That is the Amazing Mind. The Infinite powerhouse. It can make you, or break you. And *YOU CHOOSE WHAT YOU WANT IT TO DO FOR YOU.

Depression Cures: Alas, the simplicity of the State of Mind definition of Depression ends there itself. With the definition. Practical implementation requires effort, greater understanding of oneself, and avoiding the tendency to externalize your problems. People often innovate methods to cope with Depression. Some listen to sad songs, some go on a long drive, some just recoil near the window staring at the empty sky. But these are like pampering yourself with more sympathy, it only deepens the depressive state. These are like gobbling 2 Disprins when you have a headache. Temporary Relief. Another situation like this, and you go into another round of depression. How many Disprins can you take? Somehow, you need to eliminate the root cause. While eliminating may not be an easy exercise(though with time, its possible), you can definitely do well to minimize it. How? ACCEPT IT. Accept the *problem.

If your mother in law has a tendency to throw tantrums every time you put extra salt in the Dal, ACCEPT IT. Accept, doesn't mean your Mom-in-Law is right in saying so. She might be the most stupid female you have come across in this universe(Why do I see so many heads nodding in appreciation?). Acceptance means you'Expect' it. Since you Expected it and you got it, there was NO GAP. So, NO Frustration. NO Depression. Wow!

Depression Curing Catalysts - *Pls refer the comments Section *. But Please ignore the FIRST comment.

Gb