I was 26 when I experienced my first episode of major depression.

Back then, I didn’t realize I was depressive. All I knew was that it was winter in New York City, and that there was an invisible force sucking me into a vortex of despair.

If you know my story, then you know that qigong is what eventually pulled me out of the vortex. To this day, qigong is my medicine.

But there was something else that helped me get through an especially tough winter — a different kind of medicine.

If you struggle with depression, especially if you struggle with dark thoughts as winter takes its grip, then this article is for you.

Reading this article might just help you to save two lives this winter.

A Beggar on Every Corner

The year was 1998, and I was walking down Broadway near Columbia University. My mission was to get a slice of pizza.

I had graduated from Columbia four years earlier. But things had changed for me since college. Depression had me in its grips, and I was hardly functional.

That’s why getting a slice of pizza felt like a mission. Just leaving my apartment was an accomplishment.

As I was walking to the pizzeria, I saw a man that I recognized. I had known him for years. His name was Charlie, and he was homeless.

Throughout the 80s and 90s, the homeless were part of the landscape of New York City. They were on every major street corner, begging for spare change to survive.

Early in my adult life, I made a decision to always give something to them. I would give spare change, buy them a slice of pizza, or give them a cigarette. (I smoked back then. Here’s how I quit.)

Even though I was unemployed and fighting off my depression, I offered to buy Charlie a slice of pizza.

Pizza as Big As Your Head

Back then, Koronet’s Pizza on Broadway near 110th Street sold slices as big as your head for $1.50.

I’m not exaggerating. Look at the image above, taken by a guy named Adam. (You can read his review of Koronet’s here.)

I bought 3 slices, one for me and 2 for Charlie. Then we sat at the pizza counter.

As we ate, I mostly listened.

Charlie told me how he had tried to move to Atlanta to avoid the harsh NYC winters. He had family down there.

“What happened?” I asked, folding my pizza in half the way any self-respecting New Yorker always does.

“Never made it,” he said.

He told me how the police had beaten him up for sleeping on a heated ventilation grate.

He told me how he had gone to a homeless shelter to heal his injuries, but instead got robbed.

“All my money for Atlanta, gone,” he said. “Lost my coat too.”

He still had a coat, but it was worthless. It was a jacket for autumn or early spring, not for a NYC winter. No way.

I noticed that talking with Charlie made me feel better, even though there was nothing good about what he was saying.

I empathized with his suffering even though my own suffering was totally different.

I was aware that I was a white man with tons of privilege speaking to a black man with none, but I didn’t have thoughts of guilt or shame running through my head.

Instead, there was one thought that kept playing through my depressed mind:

“I can do something.”

I’m Not Powerless

There’s a powerlessness in depression that sucks the hope right out of you.

(As an aside, that’s one reason why I love qigong so much. It makes me feel that I have power over my own health. If you haven’t ever tried qigong, then you can learn a simple technique right here for free.)

When you’re battling depression, you feel like you have no agency over your life, no power over your thoughts or emotions.

Sitting there with Charlie, I suddenly felt my power start to return.

Maybe I was powerless to do something about my own suffering, but I could certainly do something about Charlie’s suffering.

“Will you be here tomorrow?” I asked.

He said yes, but his eyes showed that he never really knew what tomorrow would bring.

The following day was bitterly cold and overcast. I remember that I didn’t want to leave my apartment. Hell, I didn’t want to leave my bed.

During depressive episodes, the mornings were the worst for me. That’s when the dark demon grabbed me. Getting out of bed was a daily battle, not because I was sleepy, but because I was enveloped in a fog of despair.

And the cold seemed to make everything worse, as if my energy was being diverted to keeping me warm rather than keeping me from the depths of despair.

But I had a date with Charlie, and somehow, that gave me strength. So I bundled up, and stepped out into the cold.

Stepping Into the Warmth

The previous night, I had packed a garbage bag with old clothes. Charlie had 2 inches on me, but I figured it would be close enough for jazz.

I carried the bag over my shoulder as I walked.

It took me a while to find him. I never did figure out how he chose where to stand. To me, it seemed like some sort of mysterious fishing technique.

“Rough night,” he said, shivering. “Too cold to sleep.”

I wondered how many rough nights he had had in his life. Was it hundreds, or thousands of rough nights?

I swung the bag from my shoulder. Charlie looked confused, but his face lit up as I unpacked it.

Gloves. A sweater. Wool hiking socks. A hat.

And then the pièce de résistance.

“Merry Christmas,” I said, pulling a winter coat from the bottom of the bag.

“Christmas,” Charlie said quietly, as if remembering a long-forgotten word.

His eyes began to water, and it was only a matter of seconds before mine did the same.

“Give me a hug,” I said.

You’ve got to understand that this simply wasn’t done.

Beggars like Charlie were basically “untouchable”. They were filthy and smelled awful. Most of them used paper cups to beg because they knew that people didn’t want to touch their hands.

But I didn’t care about any of that.

I wanted Charlie to have some human warmth to go along with the warmth of his new clothing.

So I gave him a big hug right there on the street.

How to Save Two Lives

Two years later, I was walking down Broadway with a friend.

I had moved to a new neighborhood, and didn’t see Charlie as often. But I saw him that day, wearing my old coat.

I gave him a hug, much to my friend’s surprise. I also gave him $10. I was employed again, and finally had some money coming in.

Charlie gave me a thumbs up sign and a big smile as we walked away.

“What’s the story there?” my friend asked.

“Oh, I gave him that coat two years ago,” I said. I noticed that I had a big smile on my face.

“You probably saved his life,” my friend said. “That was a harsh winter, and I heard that a lot of beggars died.”

“You might be right,” I said. “Maybe I did save his life.”

What I didn’t say was this: He probably saved mine.

Depression is Invisible

Back then, I didn’t talk about my depression. I’m honestly not sure if my friend knew that I was depressive.

And if he did, I doubt that he knew I had been suicidal.

It wasn’t until much later that I started openly talking about those dark thoughts.

Unfortunately, this is common among depressives. Because of the stigma, we hide.

Chances are, you have a friend or a family member who is suicidal. But you probably don’t know who that person is because they hide it so well.

I was 26 when I gave that bag of clothing to Charlie. Years later, I was shocked to learn this fact:

Depression is the 2^nd leading cause of death in 15-29 year olds. [source]

In other words, I was right in the danger zone.

Winters are especially tough for depressives. The combination of the holidays, the colder weather, and the lack of light can be fatal.

Depression kills 40,000 Americans every year, and that winter, it could have killed me.

But it didn’t kill me. And it didn’t kill Charlie. So who saved who?

The Method

If you’re depressive, then like many of us, you may struggle to get through this winter.

For some of you, your life may be at risk.

But there’s something that you can do. There’s a method that works.

I’m not talking about qigong or meditation. Those things work too. But right now, I’m talking about giving.

Giving is medicine. Research shows that doing good is good for you. [source]

Giving is good, but for depressives, certain kinds of giving can be better than others.

For example, it’s good to give to charity. I give every month to several clean water charities through Global Giving. (Always do your research before giving to charities to make sure that money is reaching the needy.)

But if you are depressive, I suggest that you focus on a specific type of giving: Volunteering.

Why Depressives Should Volunteer

Doing good is good for you, but it’s better if you can actually interact with humans (or animals) who are suffering.

It’s the interaction that turns volunteering into medicine for depressives.

Here are 11 creative ways you can volunteer.

Had I anonymously given Charlie some money or clothing, it wouldn’t have helped me as much.

Read this awesome PDF to show how volunteering can help you in a variety of ways.

If You Need Help Right Now

Some of you probably aren’t ready to volunteer, and that’s okay.

If you need to talk to someone, then visit this site right now: 7 Cups of Tea.

You can talk or chat with trained active listeners 24 hours a day.

Or if you’re having dark thoughts about harming yourself, then please call 1-800-273-8255, or click here:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

Seriously, these people can help you, even if you don’t know how. Just call, or go to the site and chat with them. Do it now.

If You Want To Help Depressives

If you want to help depressives and you have some training, then you can volunteer to be an active listener on the 7 Cups of Tea site.

Giving is good for everyone, whether you are depressive or not!

After Winter Comes Spring

I live in Florida now, so I no longer battle the cold.

And my depression is well managed, thanks to qigong.

But you know what? Winters can still be tough for me.

They are tough precisely because I know that there are thousands of depressives out there who won’t make it through the winter.

My heart goes out to them.

This post is my way of helping them make it to spring.

If you found this post helpful, then please consider sharing it using the links below. Maybe it will reach the right person, and maybe it will even save a life (or two).  

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Here’s a Method That Is Helping Depressives Get through the Winter appeared first on Flowing Zen.

I owe my life to the practice of an ancient healing art called qigong.

Those who haven’t experienced depression firsthand, or seen it in a loved one, might mistakenly think that I’m being melodramatic.

When I say that I’d be dead if not for qigong, I mean it literally, not figuratively.

Depression is deadlier than you think. It kills. It almost killed me.

Each year, 40,000 Americans commit suicide. Of those, 90% are connected to a diagnosable case of clinical depression.

In the U.S., suicide is the 10th leading cause of death for all ages. For comparison, homicide ranks 17th.

And it’s getting worse. In the 25-34 age group, depression is now the 2nd leading cause of death.

Finding Qigong

That’s why I’m so grateful that I found qigong (and later tai chi). Otherwise, I might have ended up as a statistic.

Qigong is all about flow – flowing movements, flowing energy, flowing with the breath. Learning to let it flow was a lifesaver for me. It has been my path through the darkness and the pain.

Qigong (pronounced “chee gung”)  is a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine. It is similar to but simpler  than tai chi, less athletic than yoga, and more accessible than sitting meditation. In my experience — both as a “patient” and a healer — it is one of the most effective depression solutions anywhere on the planet.

When Antidepressants Don’t Work

Antidepressants have undoubtedly saved lives, but they are not for everyone. They certainly weren’t for me.

You may be surprised to learn that a $35 million study showed that antidepressants fail to cure the symptoms of major depression in half of all patients, even if they receive the best possible care.

Half!

In other words, of the 18 million Americans suffering from depression, 9 million are still desperate for solutions. This says nothing of the countless Americans who suffer from depression, but go undiagnosed.

We need other options for these people. In my opinion, qigong provides an excellent option.

The Cause of Depression

Qigong is actually a branch of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), along with acupuncture, Chinese herbology, and Chinese massage therapy.

According to TCM, depression is caused by a disharmony of yin and yang.

When our energy systems are functioning optimally, then yin and yang are harmonized. This harmony is represented by the familiar yin-yang symbol.

But if this energy flow is blocked, if there is disharmony of yin and yang, then depression and other illnesses can creep in.

By practicing qigong daily, we gradually restore the yin-yang harmony throughout the body. We do this by removing the obstacles that are blocking the smooth flow of energy in the meridians, or energy channels.

As the energy begins to flow smoother and smoother, the body and mind naturally start to heal.

While healing my depression, my aching low back pain also disappeared, I caught fewer and fewer colds and flus, I got rid of my chronic bronchitis, my heart murmur gradually disappeared, my anxiety leveled out, and my energy levels went through the roof.

I just wanted to feel normal again, but qigong helped me to feel ALIVE.

Strategies for Depression

The first, and perhaps the most important, technique for depressives is called Smiling from the Heart. The technique is easier to experience than to describe. When done correctly, Smiling from the Heart has several effects:

• It relaxes the nervous system.
• It shifts the brain waves into the Theta state.
• It activates the internal energy.

Smiling from the Heart is critical for depressives. It’s also challenging. When my teacher first asked me to smile from the heart, I thought to myself, “If I could smile from the heart, I wouldn’t be depressed!” 

It is essential that depressives make the effort to smile from the heart each and every practice session. I and my students are living proof that depressives can learn to smile from the heart. It just takes practice, and perhaps a little encouragement (which is what I’m here for!).

Depressives can think of Smiling from the Heart as physical therapy for their energetic “heart”. After months in a cast with a broken leg, learning to walk can be difficult. It does not happen over night, but rather step by step.

Technique #2 – Lifting the Sky

Another great technique is called Lifting the Sky. In my school, it’s the first exercise that new students learn, but it also happens to be fantastic for depression.

Qigong is much more than just physical movements.  If physical movements alone could cure depression, then depression would be cured with this article.  Unfortunately, it’s not that simple.

Nevertheless, Lifting the Sky is an excellent way to start.  The physical movements feel good, and they give people, especially depressives, something to latch the mind on to (something that depressives don’t get with sitting meditation).  In time, and with proper instruction, those movements can be turned into more powerful energy exercises.

Quality vs. Quantity

Some Qigong styles require an hour or more of daily practice. For depressives, this is a deal-breaker. They simply will not succeed with that approach. I speak from experience.

With my students, I emphasize a high-quality 15-minute routine. For depressive students, even that can be too challenging. For them, the 2-Minute Drill provides an excellent solution. Again, I speak from experience.

Many people are surprised to hear that I started out as a bad student. For almost 2 years, I failed with qigong. That’s because I was trying to practice for 30 minutes a day.  It just didn’t work.

Everything changed for me when I resolved to practice the 2-Minute Drill every day, no matter what.  I made that resolution on January 1st, 2000 and I haven’t missed a day of practice since.  (You can read more about that story in my post 8 Tips for Building Discipline.)

Hope

One of the best things we can do for depressives is to give them hope.  And there is abundant hope.  Qigong provides a viable, practical, and economical solution to depression.  It can also be used alongside traditional treatment methods.

Here is my vision.  One day, if myself and other teachers do their jobs well, then millions of people will be turning to qigong for solutions.  Yes — millions.   Why will so many people turn to qigong?

Simple.  Because it works.

As someone who has battled clinical depression for years, I want to help.

I would ask you to help me in my mission by sharing this article with anyone suffering from depression.  Please help me reach them.

If you know someone who suffers from depression, then please, please, share this article with them.  It might just save their life. 

From the heart,
Sifu Anthony

The post Depression Kills, Qigong Saves appeared first on Flowing Zen.