Depression
Depression is a chemical imbalance in the body's system. It is a real disorder that affects mood, sleep, appetite, energy, memory, thoughts and feelings, and it should be treated or it can etch permanent pathways in one's life that are negative and unhappy. The things that a person tends to do when depressed, like withdraw, avoid social contacts, quit exercising, are what make matters worse. Although you cannot will yourself out of depression, you can move your body, call a friend, get busy on your to-do list in a very gentle-and-understanding-way-of-your situation. Also, psychotherapy has been found to be very helpful.
"Deciding everything is falling into place perfectly as long as you don't get too picky about place. Or perfectly."
- Brian Andreas
Trauma and Anxiety
Working on the trauma in our lives can look like therapy--sitting in the office, facing the therapist, talking. But this work is different than psychotherapy. Traumatic past events are held in the body and the experience of them can hijack our ability to be present in the moment. It is best released by slowing down and attending to physical sensations with the guidance of a trained trauma therapist. It can sound scary, but the process is usually gentle and manageable.
"If there is any secret to this life I live this is it:
the sound of what cannot be seen sings within everything that can and there is nothing more to it than that."
- Brian Andreas
Transition
Times of transition are rough because in them parts of our identity are challenged and we lose a sense of certainty about who we are. This is a good thing in the long run because who we are is much greater than who we see ourselves to be. But in the moment of transition we can feel afraid, ungrounded, and lost, maybe not even liking parts of ourselves that pop up. If we can stay present in those moments we will be rewarded with more freedom, space, and confidence.
"Directing a chorus of ghosts
and the most difficult thing is keeping them
focused on the task at hand since most of them are hung up farther back in the past than you'd care to remember."
- Brian Andreas
Energy Work
Craniosacral therapy is a kind of energy work that has been around for over 100 years. The work is subtle and so are the effects. It can help calm the nervous system, release held energies from traumatic experiences, and speed the healing of injuries and surgeries. Everybody is built around a blueprint, the perfect form of you. Cranial work can remind your body of its perfection and help it move toward health.