Talk With 23-Year-Old Depressed Emigrant

By Reza Ganjavi

She's a bright, talented, highly educated young woman who left her home country for Europe to advance her studies. She said the stresses of a messed up political system and challenges of migrating made her stressed and depressed and the doctor gave put her on SSRI: Asentra/Sertraline/Zoloft. Now she views the medicine as a crutch. She got off it from April to September but started again when going got tough.

I don't provide medical advice. But I find it a pity that so many people reply on anti-depressant chemicals which can mess up the brain and a person's natural ability to be happy. It doesn't solve the problem -- it's like a pain killer to make a situation more tolerable -- at a very high cost. I'm much more interested in solving problems than throwing chemicals at them and I believe most people have the ability to deal with life's challenges -- but it's a matter of being enabled, training, using those skills, and having the confidence of innocence that their mind, heart, body, God, universe, love, angels, life, will support them in dealing with problems! Here's a list of ideas around this topic:

We get used to solving/having problems and when we don't have a problem we make one to have/solve.
Human brain is used to being in a state of having a problem.
Human brain easily slips into a state of having fear.
We think with words -- be careful about using big negative words -- it affects the brain/nervous system. For example, you said, "I have big problems that will never be solved". If you go into it you'll find out this is not really true - I don't know all your big problems but even the example you brought is not a doomed condition. Making such big statements is sensational -- but they can debilitate the body/mind and hinder the possibility of change.
Most people who are depressed don't have a pathological problem -- it's behavioral/psychological. Psychological problems can be solved with insight.
Reduce your exposure to pulsed microwave radiation - it's been shown to induce depression.
SSRIs, medications, etc., are not the answer in most cases -- and most people who start on psychotropic drugs never get off them.
Gradually free yourself up from medications.
Pay attention to all your thoughts and feelings during the day, and your dreams when you wake up.
Writing is golden: emptying/seeing issues from a different angle/etc., - it's therapeutic.
Solutions are in the understanding of problems.
Differentiate between practical aspects of life and psychological aspect. Be able to tune in and have a calm state inside which is independent of everything that happens outside.
Be a light to yourself. Explore, find roots of sorrow -- dig it out and hang it upside down!
Be pragmatic. If you can change something do it - if not, being depressed about it doesn't make any difference other than to hurt yourself. Being depressed and then taking medication to soothe the pain doubly hurts you.
You're 23, bright, intelligent, talented, good genes, good family, beautiful, educated... you have everything going for you to have a happy, rich life. Life's doors are open to you. You make your future. Smile so the world smiles back at you.
It's important to understand facts. To understand one's condition. Accept the parts that one cannot immediately change. If a circumstance cannot be changed, there is no reason to suffer over it. For example, you view having an Iranian passport is miserable because of the way you're treated in the airports, etc. At the moment there's nothing you can do about it, therefor there's no reason to actively suffer over it -- and you don't need medication to lessen your suffering if you're not suffering to begin with and if you are, you can end that suffering without medication.
Have a can-do attitude.
I am not a licensed psychologist or psychotherapist - and I'm not a psychiatrist so what I tell you is not medical or professional advice -- seek such advice from a professional. I just share my impressions/experience/ideas.
If I were on SSRI, and didn't have a pathological cause for depression, I would gradually put away the SSRI -- and be prepared for a period of withdrawal -- physically and psychologically -- and during that time (and forever) take real good care of the body, sleep enough, lower my exposure to pulsed microwave radiation, eat healthy, not eat dead animals, take vitamins (a multi-vitamin and vitamin C as a minimum), exercise (go for a walk, do some gentle yoga stretches), maybe even be open to having a lover if the universe deals that card, and give it some months to go back to normal.
You're young and you have a wide-open future -- but you need a good clean clear brain. SSRIs are not your friend, in my view.
Learn where thought belongs and where it doesn't belong. It belongs in practical areas of life and not psychological. I sent you some books to check out - also check out the writings on my website: www.rezamusic.com