Depression and Breathing

Any negative emotion you can breathe through in an optimal balanced way for a long enough time will lose its grip on you.

If you think at all in holistic terms you MUST include breathing as a huge component of depression. 

Depression is mental/emotional challenge of global proportions, affecting at least 340 million people worldwide and more than 18 million American adults. Furthermore, major depression is a leading cause of disability. This condition is characterized by sad moods seasonal or otherwise, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-esteem, disturbed sleep and appetite, low energy level and the decreased ability to concentrate. These problems often become chronic or recurrent and prevent those affected from performing everyday tasks and family and occupational responsibilities. See also hypochondria.

“Depression is a chronic, disabling lifelong illness that requires a well-tolerated treatment that provides both acute symptom relief and continued benefits,” stated Harold Sackeim, Ph.D., professor, department of Psychiatry and Radiology, Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York State Psychiatric Institute.

From Mike:  Baloney. It does not have to be life long. It can be transformed into vitality and strength of purpose in an instant or sometimes longer. Intention and persistence are the keys.

HEART CONDITION
In the June 2001 Health magazine, Brenda Penninx, a gerontologist at Wake Forest university, reported that she "followed 2,900 patients, both with and without heart disease- for four years to trace the effects of depression. Patients with depression were almost 4 times as likely to die of heart disease as were non depressed patients." 

From Mike: The heart often goes into spasm due to lack of oxygen. Depression and shallow breathing are interdependent.

Pregnant women who exhibit depression in their last trimester (high cortisol, high norepinephrine, low dopamine levels) gave birth to infants who also exhibit atypical norepinephrine and dopamine levels. The infants born to depressed mothers also showed inferior performance on infant tests for orientation, reflex and excitability. Lundy, et. al. Infant Behavior & Development, 1999, vol 22(1), 119-129. 

From Mike: I have observed abnormally low carbon dioxide levels in third trimester pregnancies due to size of fetus inhibiting mother's breathing depth and ease. This gives way to many fetal health complications including compromised nutrients to the placenta.

This is by no means a complete list but some symptoms include:

Persistent sad, anxious, or “empty” mood.
Feelings of hopelessness or pessimism.
Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, or helplessness.
Loss of interest or pleasure in hobbies and activities that were once enjoyable, including sex.
Decreased energy, fatigue; feeling “slowed down.”
Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions.
Trouble sleeping, early morning awakening, or oversleeping.
Changes in appetite and/or weight.
Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts.
Restlessness or irritability.
Persistent physical symptoms, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain that do not respond to routine treatment.

Research shows that people who are depressed tend to skip important checkups and health services. Encourage your depressed friends or family members to get their healthcare back on track.

A little like Charlie Brown, I think of depression as poor posture inviting a "depressed chest" and shallow breathing; a chest that has been temporarily or permanently compressed inward or held back from expanding.  When someone feels "down" or is experiencing a "downer" this is a metaphor for downward compression of the chest inability for the rib cage to raise quickly and easily.  I believe it is largely the breathing mechanics and nervous system enervation  (not just oxygen alone) that lightens up the entire body and opens up the mind body spirit interaction to address these negative states of being (depressions). Breath is life and when your breathing is restricted your options in life become severely limited. There has never been a depression I cannot improve or eliminate using enough deeper but balanced breathing, over time. One must also consider diet including conditions such as hypothyroidism, hypoglycemia, diabetes. How quickly we oxidize our food is also very important. 

Estrogen can block the activity of B6, forcing it out of the body.  

Email from a subscriber
Dear Michael: I was not surprised to read your article linking depression to breathing.
I have been suffering very deep depression over the past 11 months, and recently have discovered myself that throwing my shoulders back and taking few long deep breaths has the amazing effect of overcoming what I would consider to be extremely severe depression. I came about this discovery by chance a few weeks ago and it has proved so successful that today I performed a search on the internet to see if there were any medical studies linking depression to breathing.

I naturally tend to hunch my shoulders over, and it was under my chiropractor's advice that I started doing exercises to open my chest cavity and correct my posture.