Does spirituality cure depression or manage depression?
Does meditation cure depression or does it only manage depression? Other mental illnesses also? Okay, see, this is a little complicated question. I would answer it in three different points.
First is that, as I said, sometimes mental illness can have a neurochemical component to it. But it is not healthy to presume that that is the case. I am feeling depressed, just take some pills.
That can create dependency on the pills. We need a multi dimensional approach to it. If my relationships are horrible, if my career is down the drain, if my health is poor and I feel depressed, there are reasons to feel depressed.
Just taking some pills is not going to solve the problem. I need to address those issues also as much as I can. So same way with respect to meditation, so what applies to meditation also applies to meditation.
It is not that everything else in my life is wrong and I meditate and everything will be solved. Meditation can give me the inner strength and with that inner strength, I can work to address the relationship issues, the health issues, the career issues. So it is not that meditation is like a magic wand that will solve all problems.
During meditation, if we do it well, we will feel good, we will feel peace, we will feel power, we will feel a sense of purpose coming into us. And with that power and purpose, we need to act in our life. So in that sense, when our life is still a mess, meditation can help us to at least manage the causes of depression so that we don't get overwhelmed by it.
But if we make it a habit to meditate regularly, then we can also fix the things that are wrong in our life. And in that sense, depression, if it is coming from some external causes, which may be snowballing in our mind, so we address those causes in a reasonable way. And the depression will not only be managed, but will get cured.
Now, in some cases, in a person's life, everything else is right. But still they are feeling depressed. Then, we need to check whether there is some neurochemical imbalance which is causing that.
Then some medication may also be required. But, that medication, we don't want dependency on that. Unless it's a serious problem within the body because of which it's not able to produce certain chemicals or whatever.
So, meditation will give us that perspective. Do I need this? How long do I need to take it? Because sometimes, doctors might just recommend it indiscriminately. Just keep taking it.
So, we need to be building ourselves internally and then externally also. And as we keep doing that, gradually the causes of depression will decline and disappear from our lives. Does meditation also make us dependent on meditation? I won't use the word dependence.
I will use the word empowerment. It's like, if you exercise regularly, then you feel empowered by that exercise. If you have a regular routine for exercise or workout, that empowers us and then we do it regularly, not because we are dependent on it, but because it gives us strength.
So, meditation can make us strong if we are weak. And if we are already strong, meditation can make us stronger. So, it is a source of empowerment and healing.
Does it answer your question? Is there something else on your mind? Thank you.