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Depression, Anxiety, and Anger = Awesome Trio
Depression is defined in the dictionary as: low spirits; gloominess; dejection; sadness…Psychology: an emotional condition, either neurotic or psychotic, characterized by feelings of hopelessness, inadequacy, etc.”
Anxiety‘s dictionary definition states: “a state of being uneasy in mind, apprehensive, or worried about what may happen; concern about a possible future event…Psychiatry: an intense state of this kind, characterized by varying degrees of emotional disturbance and psychic tension.”
Anger is defined as: “a feeling of displeasure resulting from injury, mistreatment, opposition, etc., and usually showing itself in a desire to fight back at the supposed cause of this feeling…Synonyms: anger is broadly applicable to feelings of resentful or revengeful displeasure; indignation implies righteous anger aroused by what seems unjust, mean, or insulting; rage suggests a violent outburst of anger in which self-control is lost; fury implies a frenzied rage that borders on madness; ire, chiefly a literary word, suggests a show of great anger in acts, words, looks, etc.; wrath implies deep indignation expressing itself in a desire to punish or get revenge.”
If you ask yourself a sincere question: Can I relate to these definitions? Have I ever experienced them? The answer would have to be a resounding, “YES!” Because, whether you acknowledge these ugly feelings or not, the human condition dictates that they are all part of our emotional makeup.
Then the question arises: Are you currently experiencing them in any form? Are you stuck in a loop where all you can do is think about what happened? This could include incidents that occurred many long years ago, last week, or right now.
Are you aware that depression is actually unexpressed anger, which then turns inward, wreaking havoc with every part of you? There are many avenues which you can follow in order to find an answer to your particular brand of it: Books, Classes, Meditation, Breathing, Learn to Forgive, etc. One suggestion I have seen is to write everything down and then mail it to that person, or just express it and shred it. Another is to exercise it away as you think about whatever it is. Another is to pound a pillow, expressing it as you think about it.
Depression also includes sadness and malaise. It can be due to the loss or illness of a loved one or an irresolvable situation, where the Pushmi-Pullyu from the Dr. Dolittle story, enters in. Just recognizing your emotions and the situation can help in enduring whatever is going on. Sometimes that is the best we can do.
Anger is not pretty. It can be extremely destructive in all of its forms. Women, more than men, tend to hold it in until it bursts forth like a raging torrent, usually over something trivial. All you have to do is look at the event and see if the words are commensurate with the situation. Usually, it isn’t. Then you have to look for unresolved issues that occurred prior to the outburst and see what the real driver is. Men tend to be more reactive to situations, responding immediately to it. Their fuses tend to be a lot shorter. This can be a good thing, but also not-so-good, depending on the outcome.
Let’s talk about the idea of FOXHOLES. Soldiers of old dug holes in the ground to protect themselves from the enemy. These holes were dubbed foxholes. In this analogy, think of yourself as being in a hole in the ground, protecting yourself from all incoming issues. As these incidents occur, you grab them instead of letting them pass you by. In lieu of handling the ones you grab at the time, you stuff them into your foxhole, literally filling it up again. You can see how easily your foxhole becomes full, and you are vulnerable because there is more incoming, with nowhere to stuff it. So when the next one comes in, you overreact because your foxhole is full. The other thing about stuffing foxholes is that, the longer that particular thing is in the foxhole, the harder it is to resolve. The idea here is to take care of all incoming problems and not stuff it in the first place. (Of course, if you had just let them pass by without dwelling on them, it would be a non-problem.) The only way to get the foxhole empty is to look at each thing you have stuffed in there and find a way to resolve it. Easier said than done, you say. I agree, but it is absolutely necessary.
Have you ever seen a mother or father with a difficult child, who just keeps pushing and doing inappropriate behaviors? They usually forebear action, especially in today’s world, until something happens which pushes them over the edge. Then they overreact with angry words, actions, etc., that are not in line with what just happened and a punishment that is not commensurate with the child’s behavior mistakes. This causes confusion for all.
In the Bible, Ephesians 4:26 states: “Be ye angry, and sin not; let not the sun go down upon your wrath:”
My husband and I agreed from the very beginning of our relationship that whatever issues arrive during each day, we would take care of them before we went to bed that night. We would then resolve whatever it was, no matter how difficult or traumatic, to an acceptable level, kiss each other, bless each other, and go off into the Land of Nod peacefully. In all these years, we have never had any “Foxhole” troubles. Life is so much simpler this way. The resolution is accomplished more easily and appropriately.
Have you ever heard a couple arguing about incidents that happened long ago, dredged up in a moment of anger to be thrown in the other’s face? This is a full foxhole, folks. It appears as if by magic, but trust me, it’s not.
The most insidious factor of the Awesome Trio of Depression, Anxiety, and Anger is that they come to you in a complex mix of worry, fear, and trepidation. They are usually part of your foxhole before you realize what is occurring. How can you solve that? It is simple: When you finally recognize it, do something about it. Find a resolution that works for you. Do not let it just stay where it is, causing trouble, ulcers, and affecting your health, because it will not just go away. You will have to find a way to dissolve it. Action speaks louder than words.
Another aspect of this Awesome Trio is that we can assimilate it from the world outside of us: All you have to do is pick up a newspaper, read news on inline, or turn on the TV to the news. The horrific is common fodder for broadcasting. We react to some of it in a personal manner. Yet we can do nothing to change whatever happened, is occurring, or may come down the road. There are just simply horrid instances of every form of malice and ill will out there. Somehow, it ends up in our personal think tank as we find it abhorrent to us in so many ways. We ponder on it. Some of us respond and take some sort of action to assist whoever it is that needs help. Sometimes there is nothing we can do, ever. Yet it stays in our foxhole unless we take some action to either bless them on their way or otherwise resolve it so we can get on with our lives.
Living can be messy. It is not happenstance. We must participate in our lives to the best of our ability.
Are you willing to entertain the AWESOME TRIO of DEPRESSION, ANXIETY, and ANGER ENDLESSLY? Or do you want to find a way to process the causation in order to resolve whatever it is in a timely manner? It is, after all, your journey, health, emotions, ulcers, and life. No one can do it for you. You alone must make the choices that will make the difference.
God’s blessings upon your journey!
Depression, Anxiety, and Anger
Remember Lot’s Wife
The whole world knows the story of Sodom and Gomorrah. As Lot and his family were leaving the city, they were forewarned: Do not look back! In Genesis 19:17, it states, “Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain; escape to the mountain, lest thou be consumed.” In Genesis 19: 24-26, it says, “Then the Lord rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the Lord out of Heaven; And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and that which grew upon the ground. But his wife looked back from behind him, and she became a pillar of salt.”
There have been some astute astronomers who state that a meteor did, in fact, strike there. Who is to know for certain? It is a fact that the whole region contains pitch, a petroleum derivative which is flammable and is still used in making torches and charcoal.
In the Lamsa translation of the Bible, it comments that, ” ‘She became a pillar of salt’ is an Eastern idiom which means, ‘She had a stroke, or she was paralyzed and dead.’ In the East, when a man becomes paralyzed or has a stroke, the people say, ‘He has turned into a rock.’ or ‘he has become like a stone.’ ”
It goes on to state: “Lot’s wife had been reluctant to leave the pleasant gardens and orchards of Sodom. She had doubted her husband’s vision and the divine warning. Her sons-in-law had thought Lot had lost his mind and that he was mocking when he told them of the divine warning asking them to leave the city. Evidently Lot’s wife also did not believe the city would be destroyed.
When Lot’s wife disobeyed the divine command and stood up and looked behind and saw the city of orchards and lush gardens and everything which had been dear to her heart, on fire, and the smoke rising to the heavens, she had a stroke and she became hard like a block of salt or flint rock, which is also called salt, and she was dead. Such blocks of salt rock are still to be found in Sodom.
The catastrophe and the loss of her daughters, her sons-in-law, and her other relatives were too much for a woman who had been brought up in the luxuries of Sodom and who had no faith in the God of her husband.”
Emmet Fox states: “Never look back. Always go right ahead. Even if you are quaking, go right ahead. No matter how unattractive or how dangerous the road ahead may be, it is better than the road back. The road ahead may be veiled from sight; but you must teach yourself to regard the unknown as friendly. Remember that God is always on the road ahead.
Psalm 143:8 ‘…cause me to know the way wherein I would walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee.’ “
My point? Our personal histories have a way of projecting themselves from the past into each today and our tomorrows if we let that happen. All you have to do is focus on the past in lieu of the present. Very simple. Not hard. The past, no matter how good it was or how bad it was, is unchangeable. You may take lessons learned from your past and make better choices today because of them, but you cannot change history. Mostly, we concentrate on the bad stuff. Have you noticed that tendency in yourself? Actually, even the good stuff can influence and change your present as well. We try to hang on to it because we think it was better than our present. Then it becomes life defeating because it, too, is unchangeable in the mists of time.
Time does not go backward and does not tarry with yesterday. All you have is today to make different choices so it will change your tomorrow.
I fully appreciate Fox’s point: “go right ahead.” Regardless of your past, good or bad, you have to formulate a new plan of action so that you can begin again to live the life that God has for you. You must begin it NOW! The only place that will effect a difference is NOW!
Are you willing to let go of your yesterdays/history? REMEMBER LOT’S WIFE! Are you willing?
God’s blessings on your journey!
Garden
Flowers
Light
Light has been of interest to mankind from the very beginning, before men ever wrote down a word. It has been a part of worship since that time. Every single tribe, kingdom, and religion has Light in it somewhere. You can see it in cave petroglyphs and pictographs around the world. In short, you can find it as a basic element of mankind’s history.
Light has even become synonymous with Wisdom and Understanding.
The Mayo Clinic has even researched it as a healing mechanism for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) — a depression that occurs during fall and winter. Their recommendation is to buy light boxes/bright light therapy boxes and use them 30 minutes a day. Amazon and WalMart have models available from $70 to $300 for blue light therapy.
Ergo, light is a component of our physical health as well. Amazing!
Light, of course, emanates from the Sun in all of the above. Hence, the Sun and Moon becomes a part of the mysteries surrounding these stories.
From the Egyptian Ra, Norse Sol, Vedic Hinduism Surya, Greek Helios (Titan) and Apollo, Arabian Al-Lat, Australian Bila and Walo, Hittites Wurusemu, Babylonians Shapash, Cherokee Unelanuhi, Japanese Amaterasu, and Inuit Malina, it turns out that all of the world just has a different name for the same idea. Even Jesus Christ and Christianity is not exempt from it as demonstrated in the Bible as it exists today.
We are all concerned, in our own ways, with the words and meanings that we attach to our belief systems, to the exclusion of all others. Yet, even the Christ was concerned with Unity, including wisdom and understanding.
Perhaps we should be looking more to how we are all trying to get to the same place, even though it has a different name, instead of tearing down anyone who does not “think like us” or the “mini-me” concepts.
I have always wondered how each tiny division thinks it has the only answer and is the only “right” to be had. How could that be possible? How could a God, who created such individuality in every person, giving us the ability to make choices – and suffer the consequences of those choices – be so small as to make one sect “right” and the rest “wrong?”
Look at the differences in the Protestant religions alone. Even the Catholics are no longer just one religion. The Eastern Orthodox Religion, who possess the earliest known transcripts of the Bible, is different still. This does not include any of the names that I started this blog with. God made each of us like the snowflake, each of which is unique and not like any other.
In the Bible in John 12:35,36, Jesus said, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have the light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light.” And in James 1:17, it says, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”
That is pretty clear to me. I like the sound of “children of light.” How about you?
In the New Age/New Thought/Metaphysics concepts is the idea that God appears to you within your own framework of your understanding. (See my blog archive on God Is A Chameleon.) That does not exclude the idea that Multiplicity is what it is all about.
Dr. Marcus Bach and wife spent their lifetimes, living with different peoples of different religions. He sought to learn how we are all really trying to get to the same place, just a different name. The below Mandala represents his life’s knowledge, which he made into a six-foot Mandala, in his home. Please consider this carefully as you look at it:
Dr. Marcus Bach Mandala
If you were to study this Mandala, it would be clear to you that, regardless of our personal beliefs, we are all driven by the same wants, needs, and desires. We cherish our loved ones, children and families. There are no political lines to be drawn, where someone on this side is right and all the rest are wrong. That is only a myth which drives the power of those who try to control and manipulate the masses, regardless of country.
John Denver sang the song, “One world.” It truly is.
If we are to be “children of light,” each one of us is responsible to make a difference by living the tenets of our belief system, whatever that is. Let us not be concerned with the division principle, but by the multiplication laws.
In Ken Keyes, Jr., book, “The Hundredth Monkey,” he very clearly documents the idea that: “When only a limited number of people know of a new way, it may remain the consciousness property of these people. But there is a point at which if only one more person tunes-in to a new awareness, a field is strengthened so that this awareness reaches almost everyone!” In his book, he talks about monkeys learning to wash the dirt off sweet potatoes, until it finally reached all monkeys everywhere due to the Hundredth Monkey Phenomenon. It has been documented by scientists for years that chimps, wild gorillas, etc., also demonstrate the use of tools for various reasons…checking the depth of a pool, opening nuts, etc. But it does not stay with just isolated groups…it spreads!
How about you? Are you willing to be that Hundredth Person to step outside your comfort zone, live by the beliefs you say you have, use them every minute of every day, and be one of the “Children of Light?”
Do you believe you, as just one person, can make a difference? Trust me, you can! Are you willing to try?
upliftingthoughts4u 