Polar Shifts 04/10/2011
 
I like to write about what's happening in the world.  Anyone that's paying even a modicum of attention realizes that there has been quite a few natural and not-so-natural disasters recently.  Most distressing has been the events of the earthquake(s) and subsequent tsunami in Japan. Its bad enough that thousands of people have gone missing as a result, but the effects of the nuclear power plant meltdowns has a lot of us really distraught.  Of course we all (I hope) try to do what we can to offer some relief in times of great suffering like these.  This is also a time when kids will come to parents for words of comfort and security assuring them that they are safe.  I tell my kids what I feel is the best response for each scenario, but sometimes I'm stumped.  Although I personally maintain that for every problem there is a solution, its not always easy to allay the fears of younger family members. Sometimes just letting them they're loved is all that's needed. 
One of my older kids is relentlessly interested in the prophecies around 2012. She has read the books, watched the youtube discussions, and seen the films. She is convinced that we will wake up on the morning of next year's winter solstice to a world that has turned on its head, literally.  It is in fact true that our planet is in a state of change, be it through the climate or the shifting tectonic plates, but how do you tell your teenager that a shifting of the earth's poles is normal and happens every umpteen thousand years?  Its much easier to explain bipolar disorder than the earth's shifting alignment. 
I am not going to go on about whether the prophecies of 2012 are "true" or not, that's something for a different debate in a different arena, but I am going to say that we as the grown-ups need to at least be a little knowledgeable about what's happening to our planet and what MAY or MAY NOT occur.
Whether you believe that the morning of December 21st of next year will be wildly different than that of the same day a decade before is up to you.  Different religious beliefs and hold different views of these things, but it makes sense to me to focus on the one thing that those in the "2012-will-be-the-dawning-of-the-age-of-Aquarius" tribe insist is vital, and that is LOVE.  After all the videos and lectures and books and whatnot that I have (not-so-enthusiastically) explored, those that seem the most "together" are the ones that are proclaiming that love truly is all we need.  And that makes sense to me.  Love. One of my favorite four-letter words. 
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Depression is the biggest mental health issue in America today, with almost 19 million Americans suffering from the disorder.  That's just under 10% of the population struggling under the weight of this disorder.  To break it down even more, that is basically one in ten Americans is wrestling with depression.
So, naturally, it's no surprise that researchers and the those in the mental health field want to know just what does successful treatment of depression look like. In a study that was done at Chicago's Rush University, it was discovered that patients diagnosed with clinical depression have better outcomes to medical treatment if they have belief in a concerned God. This study's actually building on an earlier study that showed us that those that had a religious belief were somehow protected from symptoms of depression. Mystical stuff? Maybe. But it's turning out to be true, nevertheless. Now this is taking into consideration that the patients in the study were all taking antidepressant medications, it's just that those that had a firm belief in a benevolent God simply fared much better.

The underlying feeling that was key in the improvements was the feeling of hope, which typically accompanies spiritual beliefs. What's more, the improvements that were seen were directly tied to the belief that they had a God, or Spiritual Being that cared. That was the key...they believed that their God or Higher Power cared about their well-being.

So if you are seeking treatment for depression, of course medications are important in finding relief, but on top of that, it's a great idea to let your therapist know where you are in terms of religion and spiritual matters.
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