From Long Term Depression to Light in One Night?

by AM Tadas on October 12, 2011

Here is a story of an unbelievable transformation; a story even I would have a difficult time believing if it wasn’t a close friend who was involved. Her name is Sofia. She wanted to share this with you in case you find yourself suffering from life draining depression.

“I had an acute psychological break (APB) in September last year. I was totally overwhelmed in dealing with the circumstance, people and events. It was scary to the degree that I couldn’t handle any contact with people. I stayed in solitude for five months. Became very depressed and cried constantly. My meditation teacher pushed me to see a doctor in December. Then, I was forced to ER by my psychiatrist and involuntary admitted into hospital because of severe mental distress in January. I was continually treated in the hospital after released from the hospital three days later.

My condition was really bad. I was so depressed, and extremely low on energy so sleeping 12-16 hours per day felt like the best thing to do. I could barely perform even the most basic daily survival tasks. There were dishes piled up in the kitchen sink and garbage everywhere. House was a mess. Hunger to me was only a body sensation. I grew used to it. I ate only a few biscuits daily so I could take the medicine without throwing up. I lost 8 pounds in the past two weeks. I laid in bed – no energy and zero motivation to do just anything. Life was nothing but fear, confusion, helplessness, hopelessness, and meaningless. My only hope was to end the suffering somehow…

One day, I accompanied an American friend to see a Chinese doctor. She asked me to translate the doctor’s diagnosis for her. They gave me a free coupon, so I gave it a try next week.

[Feb 19,2012] At the clinic, it was also a teaching facility. Dr. Li asked me,

“What would you like to be treated for today?”

“Uh… I don’t know.“

“Wow! You are here to challenge me or what?!“ Then, she asked “Are you in pain?”

“No, I have no pain at all. Please just check on my health condition. I got this free coupon and would like to give it a try.”

She checked my pulse for about 2 minutes, turned to the students and said, “Her Yang energy (male energy/vital energy) is extremely low. Just look at her face! It’s gloomy, dark, and looked like she didn’t wash her face for a long time. There are dirt and dark spots all over.”

All the students came looking at me. I felt embarrassed. (How could you say that, doctor? I’ve washed my face, okay?)….. Well, I guessed that she was describing the impression to the students.

Then, she told me that my emotion swayed a lot. I must have felt distressed. I confirmed her diagnosis.

“See if you can make me look better.” I said.

“Well, I cannot do that, or otherwise I’ll do it to myself so I can look ten years younger.” She laughed and declined my request. She misunderstood me. I was referring to her description earlier about the dark face. Anyway, she treated me with acupuncture for about 30 minutes. I felt nothing special at the time.

Later, I noticed that I was feeling VERY hungry. Like I said, I had become used to the hungry feeling that it didn’t bother any more. I finished a good portion of the meal that night. Comparing to a few biscuits per day, that was a huge change.

Renewed Life

I woke up naturally around 4am, no struggle, well rested. I felt a little hungry. Right away, I was in the kitchen… EATING. I looked around the house. I started cleaning, cooking, and ate even more. Then, I noticed that my feet were comfortably warm on the cold kitchen floor. Wow! How can this be? I realized that something was very different; after all, my hands and feet have been always cold, pretty much all my life. Feeling such kind of warmth in my feet was heaven.

Mentally and emotionally

I started noticing the other shifts that had happened on me. I am energetic, but not manic. I am in action without hesitation. I get things done easily in no time. My mind is focused, clear, and sharp with good memory comparing to how it was before. I feel happy, joyful, and calm. I felt that my condition was the same as ten years ago before I ever had depression.

Believe in positive

My thoughts are automatically going to my loved ones, people who love me, care about me, and have always been there for me. It appears to me that finally I have the first real experience of their existence in my life, how they truly connected to me, and bonded with me. This is totally a flip to how I felt for them before. They were always there, but I didn’t care. I felt disconnected, isolated. They just somehow appeared insignificant to me. On the same token, the distresses and negative thoughts that used to bother me so much, even caused my breakdown just automatically became insignificant. I couldn’t believe that my perceptions about life could change just like this… overnight… Wow… I have a sense of purpose, self-worth, and stability. I feel secured, loved, and confident.

Overall, it has been a long time that I haven’t been feeling so well. I feel fully recovered from depression. Looking back, that was about ten years when things started getting difficult. My mental condition deteriorated, became dull and gloomy, over time that I was not aware. I am amazed at the work that this doctor had done for me. She did make me feel ten years younger inside. It was such a dramatic change in my life. I am exactly the same person with same set of values and habits. The change is completely effortless for me. Can you believe it? Honestly, I couldn’t if I didn’t experience it myself.

Filled with love inside, I move forward to the next chapter of life. Long term depression cured overnight ???!!!”

I was quite amazed and super happy for her and of course, naturally – very curious. I asked, “What in the world did this lady do to to fix you so quickly?” Sofia explained what she learned: “She treated my depression by dredging the life force (qi) channel. That allows the qi to flow and to nurture my spirit (shen), and enable the healing power within.”

Having done some Qigong (similar to Tai Chi), and after experiencing some measurable results on my vitality I now hold Daoist practices closer to heart and have a newly discovered fascination with Chinese medicine. If you are suffering from depression see if you can find a professional acupuncturist in your area to consult with. You never know, Sofia may not be the only person for whome this ancient healing art had made such a dramatic difference.

[stextbox id=”info” image=”null”]If you have had similar results or have an interesting story of your own about recovering from depression, please share in the comments. [/stextbox]