Who Is Not Depressed?

Greetings from Future Medicine Now!

Recently I traveled with my wife to the Midwest to see the few remaining relatives I have there. It was a real eye-opener.

My last visit was a brief one eight years ago for my father's funeral. This one was far more social and insightful. A number of factors permitted me to see things I had not seen before. Evening meals were preceded by "Happy Hour." This is an expression I've heard all my life, but the distortion inherent in the concept is now more apparent. Akin to TGIF, "Happy Hour" suggests that the rest of the day is not quite so happy, and we can't wait for this magical time to arrive. More remarkable is the belief that alcohol provides that desperately needed "happiness."

Sue and I sat and watched in amazement as those around us affirmed their endorsement of this concept by sloshing down three glasses of gin before dinner. One of these would have put me under the table.

What does this have to do with depression? Well, it is depression — both the concept of happy hour and the habit of anesthetizing our pain with alcohol (or any other substance or activity) at the end of each day.

This phenomenon is not restricted, however, to my family in the Midwest. Nor is it limited to alcohol abuse. It is a condition which seems to be on the rise worldwide. The human condition of living in mind, ego, and personal will is cause enough to manifest depression, let alone the experience of living on an overcrowded planet where an ever-increasing deluge of information is worshipped as our collective salvation. The outcome of such a creation can only be to intensify our isolation from the Divine and from the true Self.

In short, who is not depressed, in degree?

To Be or Not To Be...

In desperation, many turn to yet another bastion of absolving ourselves of personal responsibility — conventional medicine. Here, the same perspective which engenders "happy hour" attempts to short the biochemical circuitry which permits us to feel our pain — with mediocre to catastrophic results.

Oriental medicine, coming from a perspective of balancing the whole, offers far more gratifying solutions to our deviations from that balance. The modalities of oriental medicine — acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, dietary energetics, tui na, qi gong, and spiritual practice — don't always produce the same degree of efficacy for a given condition. In depression, however, all of these modalities have remarkable effect. And, as usual in this medicine, these benefits come hand in hand with improved health.

I'm not suggesting that the solution to the human condition lies in medicine of any form. I'm merely stating that oriental medicine brings a higher degree of balance to our experience. It can give us a stable, healthy platform from which to take the next step in our journey, enabling us to perceive more deeply the true cause of our discontent.

Bringing the conversation back to my personal karma, let me share this. My mother committed suicide when I was a young teen. The anguish of the human condition was simply too much for her — and she was a very strong woman. Years later, at the time I received my degree in oriental medicine, an Interesting perspective was revealing itself. I had already acquired enough knowledge and experience in this medicine to know that, had its benefits been bestowed upon my mother, her life would likely have been quite different. Having now observed these benefits for another thirteen years, I am still convinced of this ironic truth.

Now, more than ever before, may the wisdom of oriental medicine be recognized and embraced as the standard of care for our physical, mental, and emotional bodies.

Much Love,
Dr. Larry Horton