What causes our sad moods? Anything that lowers our mental energies can produce depression. The physical causes may be a virus or infection, nutritional deficiencies, cancer, auto-immune disease, or any serious disorder. For some patients, depression may purely be a suppression of our mental energies.
It may be easier to appreciate this process if we understand that we are immersed in infinite energy and our mind and body are filters for this energy. The less filtering we do, the more energy is absorbed. (This may account for great amount of energy that children have.)
Some of the filters that prevent energy from entering our bodies are poor-quality food, guilt, anger, fear, feelings of inadequacy, etc. All of these negative filters can prevent energy from entering our mind and body, contributing to worsening mental and physical health. One can use the sun as an analogy of this filtering mechanism: We are all exposed to the sun’s rays, but to avoid excess sun energy we have mechanisms that prevent excess exposure – such as UV-filtering skin lotions, sun glasses, tans, hair, hats, and roofs.
A possible solution to depression is removing the obstacles to energy and recovering the innate happiness, peace and joy within us all. Often, energy impediments are misconceptions about our value, our reason for living, or our purpose in life. In chronic depression, they may have been negative memories dating back to our childhood – a history of emotional, physical and sexual abuse is not uncommon in patients who suffer from depression.
Anything negative, whether it is a thought, belief or physical agent, can block our energy and mood. That is why solutions must include a person’s desire for a better life, along with the progressive break-down of these energy blockages.
In Eastern medicine philosophies, all diseases result from an excess or deficiency of energy as well as an imbalance in the body.
For example: Mood depression is caused by a deficiency of kidney and heart energy.
Psychological and emotional health is governed by the heart energy.
Mental thought, memory, moods and anxiety are related to the kidney energy. The suppression of kidney energy can contribute to adrenal dysfunction and lead to an imbalance of excitatory brain activity. This altered brain chemistry can cause anxiety and depression and sleep disruption.
Terms like “kidney-energy deficiency” or “heart-energy deficiency” are simply concepts created by Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) practitioners to describe interrelated functions of the organ systems and energy pathways in the body. These practitioners believe that the body’s health is strongly related to the current balance or imbalance of all of these organs and energies. Various TCM modalities are used to restore or maintain this healthy balance such as meditation, Tai Chi, Qigong, Yoga, dietary recommendations, acupuncture, and herbal supplements.
For people suffering from depression, there are many natural dietary supplements that help support the body. These include 5-hydroxytryp-tophan, tryptophan, SAMe, St. John’s Wort, niacinamide, Vitamins B6 and B12, essential fatty acids, NADH, and tyrosine. Herbal supplements that support both kidney and heart energies can also be very effective in promoting optimal body and energy balance.
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About Dr. Graeme Shaw, MD
Dr. Graeme Shaw received his medical training at Creighton University of Medicine and is Board Certified in internal medicine. Dr. Shaw has offered herbal dietary supplements formulas in his personal practice for many years and with many satisfied patients.
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