Depression Anxiety: The Feel Good Handbook by Dr. David Burns

The reasons for suicide can be complex depending on the person. From personal experience, I can say that it has to do with someone feeling a lot of pain coupled with the desire to escape that pain.

Of course, your thinking, as Dr. David Burns points out in his “Feel Good Handbook” (which I highly recommend to anyone suffering from depression, anxiety, or suicidal thoughts or plans) is often distorted at those moments. Your thoughts of hopelessness, sadness, guilt, etc. can overwhelm you. Still, Dr. Burns through a cognitive therapy approach makes clear that our thoughts and attitudes create our feelings.

The good news is that we can control our thoughts and by them our feelings through an inventory of our thinking. Once you reexamine the cognitive distortions, then we have a chance of overcoming depression or anxiety. At times, medication, anti-depressants, is needed, particularly when you are likely to harm yourself and you have clear intentions to do so.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports 16% of the American population suffers from depression severe enough to warrant treatment i.e. not just occasionally feeling “blue,” and 13% suffer from anxiety disorders. Many people who suffer from depression also suffer from anxiety. The cognitive distortions are similar for both of them according to Dr. Burns. Of course, this is unreported cases. The actual numbers could be significantly higher.

If anyone has more information on this important topic, your thoughts would be appreciated.

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Nexus Excerpt: Compassion for a Dying Fish

They walk further. The air is filled with death. In front of them lies a pond, which is mostly mud now with a small amount of water in the center.

Just a month ago, a beautiful pond existed, filled with life and water. Now, the sun shimmers on the cesspool and glows on the floating bodies of dead fish. The whole pond eerily glistens with their silvery carcasses.

Logan shudders at the sight. Then, he hears splashing in front of him. A large fish, whose eyes seem to look directly at Logan, is encased in mud madly struggles, gasping for air. It desperately attempts to breathe in the stagnant remnants of its watery abode. Suffocating, it slowly is dying. As Logan surveys the pool, he realizes that the struggle for survival is not only with this one fish but is common to the entire pond. Every living fish struggles for oxygen in the still, muddy pool. How will they survive? Their companions have lost the contest and their corpses float as reminders of how close death is to life.

Now, Logan feels a sense of overpowering empathy in his heart. In an instant, he connects to the struggle of the fish. He can feel its life ebbing away just as his own life had lost its vitality. Sensing its pain and loneliness, which are no different than his own, he gently touches the fish that is now still. In his mind, he can hear its heartbeat slowing, slowing and then stopping until the silence of the now becomes deafening. The fish gave up its struggle and in time it accepts the inevitable, death; then the struggle ends as its consciousness, vitality is finished. The circle of its life is completed. He had accompanied the creature in its final journey. He felt at one with the creature as his awareness expanded, as tenderness filled his heart. He is now filled with sorrow and resolutely asks himself: How can I rescue the remaining creatures from dying in this agony?

He feels a warm hand on his shoulder, which makes him shudder and then relax.

“Logan, you showed compassion for it. You accompanied it. There is beauty in comforting the dying,” Chandra consoles,…

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Nexus Excerpt: Story of Guru Nanak

Soon Celeste begins to conclude the evening with a story: In India, a high government official, Malik Bhago, once invited Guru Nanak while on his journey to attend his feast. But, Guru Nanak stayed instead at the home of a poor carpenter, Bhai Lalo, who earned his money by honest work. Guru Nanak shared in his coarse bread instead of Malik Bhagos feast earned through exploitation of others. Malik Bhago was persistent and asked a second time. So the Guru took Bhai Lalo with him to the officials home. With great anger Malik Bhago said to Guru Nanak: You are dishonouring the high caste by eating dry chapattis in the house of a low caste carpenter. My feast will offer you delicious food. Why do you refuse to eat it?

Celeste paused for effect, then continued: Guru Nanak took Bhai Lalos dry chapatti in his right hand and Malik Bhagos fried bread in his left hand. When he squeezed the right hand the people present there saw drops of milk dripping from it. When he pressed the left hand with the Malik Bhagos fried pancakes, everyone saw blood trickling from it. The Guru uttered: Look Malik Bhago, wealth gathered by cruelty towards the poor is like sucking their blood, which you have done. You had invited me to partake of blood, leaving food pure as milk. How could I accept it? So according to Guru Nanak its better to earn little money with honesty than to amass wealth by devious and crooked means.

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