Cranial Sacral Therapy for Depression
Healing depression requires that we remove the cause of the condition. Depression may come from a physical imbalance through a restriction of a cranial bone or perhaps a chemical imbalance caused by diet. Most likely the most causative factors of depression originate from our spiritual and emotional bodies, not the physical.
Our discomfort lays primarily in our feelings and thoughts which may produce secondary symptoms in our physical body. Whether we realize it or not, our conscious and unconscious attitudes (belief systems) and feelings (emotions) powerfully affect our health and disease of our body and mind.
Cranial Sacral Therapy offers a new approach to addressing depression in all these planes. On the physical level Cranial Sacral Therapist with light touch and gentle manipulation are trained to move restricted cranial bones providing physical relief. This change in the Cranial Sacral System may also affect the emotional body creating positive attitudinal changes in an individual. On an even deeper level Cranial Sacral Therapists/Sacred Journey Therapists are trained to work with clients in trance state or “alpha state” allowing the client the space to surrender into somatic emotional release. This method has become recognized by medical professionals and psychologists as a useful tool in releasing trauma from the body/mind.
Depression is more pronounced in our subconscious level. This is why people suffering from this condition often cannot understand why they are experiencing these “heavy” feelings and struggle with finding a way out. While medications such as antidepressants seem to be a quick fix, they do not address the underlying problems and are rarely a long term solution. Not only do antidepressants come with significant side effects and dangers but recent studies have raised questions as to their effectiveness.
The shamanic approach to Cranial Sacral Therapy offered at Beyond Wellness not only has become beneficial in treating depression, it is used to assist with a host of health problems.
Beyond Wellness Recommendations: Cranial Sacral Therapy
Facts about Antidepressant medication
You’ve seen it in television ads, read it in newspaper articles, maybe even heard it from your doctor: depression is caused by chemical imbalance in the brain that medication can correct. According to the imbalance theory, low levels of the serotonin lead to depression and medication works by bringing serotonin levels back to normal. However, the truth is that researchers know very little about how antidepressants work. There is no test that could measure the amount of serotonin in the living brain – no way to even know what a low or normal level of serotonin is, that alone shows that medication for depression fixes these levels.
Serotonin levels increase and balance itself naturally through Cranial Sacral Therapy, Meditation and Exercise.
There are many different types of drugs used in the treatment of depression, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) atypical antidepressants, tricyclic antidepressants (TCAs) and monogmine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs). Side effects are common in all antidepressants. For many people, the side effects are not worth the trade off. The most widely prescribed antidepressants come from the class of medications known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) (Prozac, Luvox, Zoloft, Paxil, Lexapro, Celexa).
Common side effects of SSRI antidepressants:
Nausea
Insomnia
Anxiety
Suicidal thoughts
Dry mouth
Constipation
Tremors
Sweating
Sleepiness
Fatigue
Headaches
Restlessness
Decreased sex drive
Dizziness
Weight gain or loss
Diarrhea
Antidepressants help to regulate or control mood, by suppressing emotions into the body. As the result the depressants cause the wide range of side effects in the physical body. Also, antidepressants are not selective to what emotions are being suppressed. While you are feeling lower levels of anxiety, fear, insecurity or worry, you may also be feeling lower levels of excitement, love, passion or happiness.
When Cranial Sacral Therapist work with clients suffering from depression they may induce altered states of consciousness or (Alpha State) to help modify behaviors by releasing “heavy emotions” from the body , uncover suppressed traumas and provide relaxation.
One of the ironies of Depression is that it requires full mental alertness for the mind/body to think through its causes and take behavioral corrective action. Prescription sedatives, on the other hand, act by dulling, or depressing brain function, to create sensation of calm. The use of sedatives can make it difficult to get mental grasp on one’s stress problem and take the internal steps needed to eliminate it.
Cranial Sacral Therapy provides the Body/Mind/Spirit connection we so often hear about in Eastern Philosophies. This suggests that the Body can heal itself if the body+mind+spirit are working in sync or synergy with each other. If one part of the body is not functioning correctly then a person will experience uncomfortable symptoms. These symptoms may manifest physically or emotionally, as in the case of depression. Nausea Insomnia Anxiety Suicidal thoughts Dry mouth Constipation Tremors Sweating Sleepiness Fatigue Headaches Restlessness Decreased sex drive Dizziness Weight gain or loss Diarrhea.
How can we heal ourselves with depression or anxiety?
MEDITATION
“Meditation…is the intentional directing of attention to the clear aspect of one’s own inner nature”, Roy Davis.
The use of Mediation for healing is not new Meditative techniques are the product of diverse cultures and persons around the world. The value of Meditation to alleviate suffering and promote healing has been known and practice for thousands of years.
There are many different types of Meditation practiced today which are based on different principles. They can be roughly classified into five categories depending on whether they are based on the body or mind and whether they employ control or letting-go mechanisms as a means of achieving a meditative state.
– The first category of Meditation, based on body control, is incorporated into certain types of yoga to unite body and mind. This type of Meditation is concerned with the body assuming a certain posture. The spine is kept straight and the body remains still and immobile. This lowers the metabolic level and reduces stress.
– The second category of Meditation, based on control of the mind, utilizes concentration, contemplation, and visualization to achieve the meditative state. Concentration involves focusing the consciousness on a single simple object, such as a black circle. Contemplation uses the continuous repetition of a word of syllable. Visualization uses a scene complicated enough to require focus and attention by the meditator. Many cultures use mind control in their Meditation and some have religious connotation. Examples include the repeated intonation of vowel sounds, chanting of Buddhist Monks, repetition of prayers such as the Hail Mary, and war chants of Native Americans.
– The third category of Meditation is based on the “letting-go” of the body. One technique involves the deliberate relaxation of muscular tension.
– The fourth category of Meditation is based on the “letting-go” of the mind. The mind remains passive and open to whatever enters it, in the here and now. By leaving the mind open, the individual is able to retrieve insight into a particular problem or the answer to a question concerning his health.
– A fifth category of Meditation could be the most powerful. This pertains to “letting-go” of the mind and connecting with our heart space. The Heart is a place of “Feeling”. It is a place of “higher Consciousness”. Here we feel totally centered and have the ability to tap into our “Higher selves”, our Spirit.
Research has shown that Meditation can contribute to an individual’s psychological and physiological well being. This is accomplished as Meditation brings the brainwave pattern into alpha state which is a level of consciousness that promotes the healing state.
There is scientific evidence that Meditation can reduce blood pressure, and relieve pain and stress. When used in combination with biofeedback, meditation enhances the effectiveness of biofeedback.
ESSENTIAL OILS
Essential Oils may be used in conjunction with Massage Therapy or Cranial Sacral Therapy.
When inhaled a complex chain of events within the body is put into motion.
The gaseous molecules stimulate receptors in the olfactory lobe of the brain which then triggers an electrical signal in the limbic system (portion of the brain concerned with emotion and motivation), which in turn further influences the release of hormones and neurochemicals to produce a sense of well-being.
EXERCISE
Cardio/weights/yoga is a great way to transform the way we feel about ourselves and boost of self-confidence.
Regular exercise is a great way to bring your body in line, and the levels of stress, anxiety, and depression to comfortable levels. It increases levels of Endorphins, the hormone of happiness.
After several months of regular exercise, you develop an increased sensitivity to endorphins (a higher high from the same level of endorphins), and endorphins that are produced tend to stay in your blood for a longer period of time.