Depression is a word I know too well.
In exactly one month, I will be able to say that I’m therapist, so I hear it in class, I see it in the text books, I read about it in the DSM and I see it in my clients. I’m surrounded by it. I’m surrounded with people who are just having a bad day, who easily proclaim that they are depressed. Then I’m also around people who are so depressed, they can’t even mumble the words ‘I need help’.
Depression is more than feeling sad; it’s this deep deep sadness that is very difficult to just brush off. It’s when you wake up and you wish you were still sleeping. It’s when you can’t see any future because you can’t imagine living the next 2years. Constantly.
This poem sort of sums it up. Take a read:
http://www.loveunthorned.com/member/1/b … isticPoet/
According to statistics, many things might contribute to depression. Two of these things include:
1. Genetics (biological)
Chances are if your mother, father, sister, grandmother, Uncle and Aunt has dealt with depression; you might at some point in your life, deal with depression.
2. Situation
Many situations may affect your mood. In this economy, losing a job has become a big reason some people seek out counseling.
Do I have depression?
I can’t answer that and neither will this brief article. However, according to the DSM-IV, to meet the requirements for depression, certain criterion needs to be met. All of them are not listed, but they include:
•Depressed mood most of the day
•Lack of interest in things you used to enjoy
•Significant weight loss or weight gain
•Sleeping too much or too little
•Recurrent thoughts of death or suicide
If you feel you might be suffering from depression, visit a therapist. A list of Christian therapists can be found here:
http://www.findchristiancounselor.com/? … 7QodSjA7-w
A therapist may be able to help you decide what options you would like to take in treating your depression. Maybe it’s some deep-rooted issue that you need to talk about; maybe medication will be the best route. Your therapist will help you decide what’s best for you.
Not ready for a therapist? Consult with a LifeCoach!
http://flavors.me/springboard
'like' them on facebook: http://www.facebook.com/SpringBoardInc
Need help? In the U.S., call 1-800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
Have you dealt with Depression? What treatment method (s), if any, works for you?
LU
Follow us on Twitter @LoveUnthorned
‘Like’ us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/LoveUn … 2288761278
loveunthorned.blogspot.com
Contact us to speak about us at your church at loveunthorned@gmail.com
Reference:
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-IV-TR. Washington, DC: bauer, M., Suppes, P. & Thase, M.
Tuesday, July 31, 2012
Dead Soul by Soulistic_Poet
Distant,
Cold,
Empty,
They look into my eyes,
To examine my soul
And what they find,
Is nothing.
Darkness
Has taken me over,
No light,
No fight,
Just broken.
Body cut up,
But not by blades,
Nor knives,
Nor swords.
It was their words,
Their actions,
Their cruelty,
It was the rumors,
The hate,
The lies,
The betrayal,
The assault of my body,
And the rape of my mind.
Suffering I am,
And I'm running out of time.
A cold heart is what's left of me,
No warmth,
No love,
No hope.
Just frozen,
Frost bitten,
Hypothermia is killing me.
My heart pumps ice,
My blood is hard,
Below zero degrees,,
And melt proof.
My heart bleeds blood,
That's hell proof.
But as cold as it is,
It's still shattered,
With an ice pic of hate,
They chipped away,
Leaving pieces of my heart,
All over the floor.
And they were so slick,
Small were the chips,
I didn't realize what was happening,
Before it was too late,
Now all I have left,
Is broken pieces,
Of a frozen heart.
Alone is one thing,
But loneliness is my thing,
In a room filled with people,
I feel like the room is empty.
But it is I that is empty.
A blank slate,
No memories,
And no plans for the future.
I am not even present,
In present moments.
I float with the angels,
And I dine with the demons.
I watch my body move.
It goes from place to place,
With this flat look on it's face,
Walking on the earth,
But it's soul is lost in space.
Numb is my home,
No joy,
No pain,
No tears.
No faith,
No hope,
No fears.
I am simply existing.
I have the emotions of a brick wall,
Which is ironic,
Since I have made it my mission,
To live within my self made wall.
No one is allowed in,
My thoughts are mine to hide,
My emotions is none of your business.
And all my efforts to keep them from the world,
I end up keeping them from myself.
My feelings and I are strangers,
We haven't seen each other,
Since I was child,
And I'm sure if I see them,
I wouldn't recognize them.
But here's the tricky part,
Numbness still hurts,
And it hurts more than actually feeling the pain.
But since I can't shed my tears,
Survival of a dead soul is my aim.
© Soulistic_Poet, 2012
'like' the fan page at
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Soulis … 5091484160
Cold,
Empty,
They look into my eyes,
To examine my soul
And what they find,
Is nothing.
Darkness
Has taken me over,
No light,
No fight,
Just broken.
Body cut up,
But not by blades,
Nor knives,
Nor swords.
It was their words,
Their actions,
Their cruelty,
It was the rumors,
The hate,
The lies,
The betrayal,
The assault of my body,
And the rape of my mind.
Suffering I am,
And I'm running out of time.
A cold heart is what's left of me,
No warmth,
No love,
No hope.
Just frozen,
Frost bitten,
Hypothermia is killing me.
My heart pumps ice,
My blood is hard,
Below zero degrees,,
And melt proof.
My heart bleeds blood,
That's hell proof.
But as cold as it is,
It's still shattered,
With an ice pic of hate,
They chipped away,
Leaving pieces of my heart,
All over the floor.
And they were so slick,
Small were the chips,
I didn't realize what was happening,
Before it was too late,
Now all I have left,
Is broken pieces,
Of a frozen heart.
Alone is one thing,
But loneliness is my thing,
In a room filled with people,
I feel like the room is empty.
But it is I that is empty.
A blank slate,
No memories,
And no plans for the future.
I am not even present,
In present moments.
I float with the angels,
And I dine with the demons.
I watch my body move.
It goes from place to place,
With this flat look on it's face,
Walking on the earth,
But it's soul is lost in space.
Numb is my home,
No joy,
No pain,
No tears.
No faith,
No hope,
No fears.
I am simply existing.
I have the emotions of a brick wall,
Which is ironic,
Since I have made it my mission,
To live within my self made wall.
No one is allowed in,
My thoughts are mine to hide,
My emotions is none of your business.
And all my efforts to keep them from the world,
I end up keeping them from myself.
My feelings and I are strangers,
We haven't seen each other,
Since I was child,
And I'm sure if I see them,
I wouldn't recognize them.
But here's the tricky part,
Numbness still hurts,
And it hurts more than actually feeling the pain.
But since I can't shed my tears,
Survival of a dead soul is my aim.
© Soulistic_Poet, 2012
'like' the fan page at
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Soulis … 5091484160
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Time By Sean L Brereton
A well-known secret
Falsely telling the truth always.
Tenaciously ticking you off
Here and there.
Making you rush as you impatiently
Pace yourself Like a private college by the Brooklyn bridge.
This was built in 1883.
And that was this evening.
Good night!
Would you like turkey bacon
And orange juice with that?
Embrace yourself and never try to be A punk
Tual timeless tired tyrant
You go out and get wasted
And they say you can never be regained.
What was done in the past can never be renamed.
But the past is the present’s future.
And as it was passing, it will be valued
As presents in the future.
It was a long wait for a short arrival.
Righteous ridiculous recorded reasons requestioned rhetorically.
But we all know how precious time is.
It traps you in the future.
Never stopping for you.
It’s impatient.
Waiting on no one.
Today was fall,
Yesterday is June
and next weekend Is Halloween
and Christmas is around the corner
So we might as leave our Christmas trees up
All year around,
because today is Independence Day
But the forecast said it is snowing tomorrow. So live today like tomorrow and live tomorrow like next year.
Because no matter how many times you ask,
You will never know what time it is.
Falsely telling the truth always.
Tenaciously ticking you off
Here and there.
Making you rush as you impatiently
Pace yourself Like a private college by the Brooklyn bridge.
This was built in 1883.
And that was this evening.
Good night!
Would you like turkey bacon
And orange juice with that?
Embrace yourself and never try to be A punk
Tual timeless tired tyrant
You go out and get wasted
And they say you can never be regained.
What was done in the past can never be renamed.
But the past is the present’s future.
And as it was passing, it will be valued
As presents in the future.
It was a long wait for a short arrival.
Righteous ridiculous recorded reasons requestioned rhetorically.
But we all know how precious time is.
It traps you in the future.
Never stopping for you.
It’s impatient.
Waiting on no one.
Today was fall,
Yesterday is June
and next weekend Is Halloween
and Christmas is around the corner
So we might as leave our Christmas trees up
All year around,
because today is Independence Day
But the forecast said it is snowing tomorrow. So live today like tomorrow and live tomorrow like next year.
Because no matter how many times you ask,
You will never know what time it is.
Author: Sean L Brereton
Buy his book, As Eye See The World
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Even the hairs on your head are numbered
Even the hairs on your head are numbered
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:7
We all get lied to some time or the other. However, I believe that the lies that you end up believing are the worst lies because they have the most devastating effects on you. They keep you up at nights, stopping you from being better, from having meaningful relationship or from loving God the way that you can.
These thorns around your heart; full of lies, pain and shame, are carried around every day weighing you down. Some of these lies started from childhood when you were told by your mom that you were stupid and will never amount to anything. Or when daddy told you that you did everything wrong, and called you worthless.
These things causes our hearts to be scarred filled with pain, guilt, and shame. In response to this, you might have put up a wall for protection. It does more harm than good, blocking out not only the ugly, but the beauty.
So we start believing that the thorns are just a part of life and that we are stupid, and that we aren’t worth it.
Don’t make them win.
God is your creator and He knows how many hairs there are on your body. What a thought! He loves you so much that He took the time out to count the hairs on your head. Such an intricate detail, yet he took the time to find it out, to show you that you are worth it and that you deserve a life that is purposeful and driven.
Letting go of those lies can be hard but knowing that there is a God who thinks so highly of you helps with the process. He loves you so much that He sent His ONLY son to die for you so that you and I can have a good life (John 3:16). Because you are worth it.
So work on those lies by first identifying where they come from. Every time you feel very insecure about something (a job opportunity, meeting someone new, or speaking in-front of someone), try and identify the voice you hear. Is it your father saying you’re worthless, your mom saying you will never become anything, or your own voice repeating their words? Write them down and later on, take time out to challenge them.
For example,
• Situation: New challenging job opportunity
• Thought: I can’t do it because my mother always said, ‘all I’m good for is laying on my back’
• Challenge: She lied because God says I’m beautiful and I’ve accomplished a lot.
o I’m a better mother than she was,
o I got my GED/diploma,
o I have kept this job for 8 months now.
Take the time to figure out exactly what the thoughts are that stop you from accomplishing your goals and challenge them because God loves you and wants you to be happy. He thinks that you are worth it. Isn’t it time you start believing?
Are you Bold enough to share?
-What are your thorns?
-How did you work through them?
LU
Follow us on Twitter @LoveUnthorned
‘Like’ us on Facebook
loveunthorned.blogspot.com
Contact us to speak about us at your church at loveunthorned@gmail.com
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows. Luke 12:7
We all get lied to some time or the other. However, I believe that the lies that you end up believing are the worst lies because they have the most devastating effects on you. They keep you up at nights, stopping you from being better, from having meaningful relationship or from loving God the way that you can.
These thorns around your heart; full of lies, pain and shame, are carried around every day weighing you down. Some of these lies started from childhood when you were told by your mom that you were stupid and will never amount to anything. Or when daddy told you that you did everything wrong, and called you worthless.
These things causes our hearts to be scarred filled with pain, guilt, and shame. In response to this, you might have put up a wall for protection. It does more harm than good, blocking out not only the ugly, but the beauty.
So we start believing that the thorns are just a part of life and that we are stupid, and that we aren’t worth it.
Don’t make them win.
God is your creator and He knows how many hairs there are on your body. What a thought! He loves you so much that He took the time out to count the hairs on your head. Such an intricate detail, yet he took the time to find it out, to show you that you are worth it and that you deserve a life that is purposeful and driven.
Letting go of those lies can be hard but knowing that there is a God who thinks so highly of you helps with the process. He loves you so much that He sent His ONLY son to die for you so that you and I can have a good life (John 3:16). Because you are worth it.
So work on those lies by first identifying where they come from. Every time you feel very insecure about something (a job opportunity, meeting someone new, or speaking in-front of someone), try and identify the voice you hear. Is it your father saying you’re worthless, your mom saying you will never become anything, or your own voice repeating their words? Write them down and later on, take time out to challenge them.
For example,
• Situation: New challenging job opportunity
• Thought: I can’t do it because my mother always said, ‘all I’m good for is laying on my back’
• Challenge: She lied because God says I’m beautiful and I’ve accomplished a lot.
o I’m a better mother than she was,
o I got my GED/diploma,
o I have kept this job for 8 months now.
Take the time to figure out exactly what the thoughts are that stop you from accomplishing your goals and challenge them because God loves you and wants you to be happy. He thinks that you are worth it. Isn’t it time you start believing?
Are you Bold enough to share?
-What are your thorns?
-How did you work through them?
LU
Follow us on Twitter @LoveUnthorned
‘Like’ us on Facebook
loveunthorned.blogspot.com
Contact us to speak about us at your church at loveunthorned@gmail.com
Give yourself a Break!
January is self love month and before the month is over, we would like to give ten, inexpensive ways that you can show yourself love throughout the year!
1.Make your own Orange Juice (Check out our The Dangers Hidden in Orange Juice blog)
2.Eat better potatoes (Check out our Super Potato blog)
3.Spend time Worshipping (watch Alexandrea’s video, ‘How to Actually Study the Bible’)
4.Sleep 8 hours a night. No naps!
5.Get organized
6.Spend more time doing what you LOVE. Be inspired.
7.Read a good, encouraging book (Into poetry? Check out AS Eye See The World by S. Brereton)
8.Start running!
9.Eat breakfast
10.Join LoveUnthorned.com for a lot of information on loving God and self<3
What are additional, inexpensive ways to show your-self love? Share your ideas!
LU
Outside Links:
Alexandrea Wilson, founder of the Mt. Ephraim Center has a video titled, ‘How to Actually Study the Bible’ at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tmec/2012/ … radio-show
Sean L Brereton, As Eye See The World
http://seanlbrereton.tumblr.com/
Join LoveUnthorned.com
Follow us on Twitter @LoveUnthorned
‘Like’ us on Facebook
loveunthorned.blogspot.com
Contact us to speak about us at your church at loveunthorned@gmail.com
1.Make your own Orange Juice (Check out our The Dangers Hidden in Orange Juice blog)
2.Eat better potatoes (Check out our Super Potato blog)
3.Spend time Worshipping (watch Alexandrea’s video, ‘How to Actually Study the Bible’)
4.Sleep 8 hours a night. No naps!
5.Get organized
6.Spend more time doing what you LOVE. Be inspired.
7.Read a good, encouraging book (Into poetry? Check out AS Eye See The World by S. Brereton)
8.Start running!
9.Eat breakfast
10.Join LoveUnthorned.com for a lot of information on loving God and self<3
What are additional, inexpensive ways to show your-self love? Share your ideas!
LU
Outside Links:
Alexandrea Wilson, founder of the Mt. Ephraim Center has a video titled, ‘How to Actually Study the Bible’ at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/tmec/2012/ … radio-show
Sean L Brereton, As Eye See The World
http://seanlbrereton.tumblr.com/
Join LoveUnthorned.com
Follow us on Twitter @LoveUnthorned
‘Like’ us on Facebook
loveunthorned.blogspot.com
Contact us to speak about us at your church at loveunthorned@gmail.com
Organic or Not by S. Brereton
The formula for successfully conducted business is giving the consumer what they want. This has always been the trend since the Marketing Era in business. Well if that's the case, if I am the president of my cereal company and I don't think it's morally right to use car paint (for example) as a preservative in the ingredients of our product but the general public doesn't mind it in their food, then of course I'll use it in our ingredients, especially if our competitors are. One another note, recently the public has become more aware of the advantages of using organic and natural foods and the dangers of doing otherwise. Now, all of a sudden the food industry seems to be cleaning up their act. I hope it bothers you that the people in the food industry always knew of these dangers, but they didn't and don't care.
Like I said, their main focus is profit and our health is definitely not their best interest. Now the trend is organic and natural foods. But how can you be certain that the products are genuinely organic?
How do you know which companies to trust? Well my advice is to trust companies that have always or have already been making organic and natural products. That's apart of their mission statement. For example, a company called Natures Path is and was always known as a company to produce organic and 100% natural cereal despite whether the public wanted organic cereal or not. Now on the other hand a company like Kelloggs (sorry to the founder who happened to be Seventh-day Adventist...no biased opinions here) has not been producing organic goods but may be doing so now to satisfy the consumers wants.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08 … introd.php ---Kellogg's Introduces Organic Cereals ---I don't know about you but I don't trust that. You might say, well none of this really matters because all you have to look for is the round green and white (sometimes black and white) "USDA"- organic label. I hope we can trust that. Why spend more money for something that is "organic"? There is even another organization certifying goods organic called Quality Assurance Intelligence. I'd put my trust in them before trusting the USDA. Anyway, try to get organic food instead of conventional when possible. It's called 'organic' for a reason, it’s good for your 'organs' =) Also, ask God to bless your food and water and you will be fine.
Like I said, their main focus is profit and our health is definitely not their best interest. Now the trend is organic and natural foods. But how can you be certain that the products are genuinely organic?
How do you know which companies to trust? Well my advice is to trust companies that have always or have already been making organic and natural products. That's apart of their mission statement. For example, a company called Natures Path is and was always known as a company to produce organic and 100% natural cereal despite whether the public wanted organic cereal or not. Now on the other hand a company like Kelloggs (sorry to the founder who happened to be Seventh-day Adventist...no biased opinions here) has not been producing organic goods but may be doing so now to satisfy the consumers wants.
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2006/08 … introd.php ---Kellogg's Introduces Organic Cereals ---I don't know about you but I don't trust that. You might say, well none of this really matters because all you have to look for is the round green and white (sometimes black and white) "USDA"- organic label. I hope we can trust that. Why spend more money for something that is "organic"? There is even another organization certifying goods organic called Quality Assurance Intelligence. I'd put my trust in them before trusting the USDA. Anyway, try to get organic food instead of conventional when possible. It's called 'organic' for a reason, it’s good for your 'organs' =) Also, ask God to bless your food and water and you will be fine.
The Dangers Hidden in Orange Juice by S. Brereton
Please be advised, there is a new hidden danger present in our favorite bottled juices. Before we discuss this new danger, let’s talk about the “not so new” ones. First off, we drink juice or should drink juice, primarily because it's healthy and yes, taste good. But when we consider the process in which bottled juices go through, is it really healthy? So the first reason why these juices aren't healthy is because they are pasteurized. Yes, pasteurized. We all see this marked on most of our food products but what does it mean?
Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food. It is also known to prevent spoilage and fermentation.
Now this can be debatable because the USDA and many others will argue that bottled juices are healthy because they ARE pasteurized. However, thought this may be true, because pasteurization does slows down and eliminates bacteria growth in the juice, which prevents you from getting sick. This process also slows down AND eliminates nutrients in the juice, which prevents you from getting sick. A little confusing at first glance, right?
I can't dispute the fact that this process is present in our beverage distribution and manufacturing process for our safety. But at that very same time this heating process eliminates all of the good/healthy things in the juice - valuable nutrients, vitamins, and enzymes. Tropicana developed Flash pasteurization which as a method which isn’t as harmful as pasteurization. In this process the liquid moves in a controlled, continuous flow while held at temperatures of 71.5 °C (160 °F) to 74 °C (165 °F), for roughly 15 to 30 seconds. Better? Yes, but unfortunately your end result still isn’t a raw food.
Now, second reason, the juice is old and probably not organic. Old food lacks essential vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes and much more. Vitamins and digestive enzymes are time, light, and heat sensitive. Non-organic foods contain harmful chemicals such as fungicides, pesticides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers and much more. Also, adding to that, “100% juice”-or not, even if it's organic, if it's bottled, it still isn’t good.
Now let's talk about orange juice. The government allows food companies to add
ingredients to their products without mentioning them on their labels. One newly discovered mystery ingredient added to most orange juices companies which we love called "Flavor Packs" is a chemical used to enhance whatever is left of that dead, watered-down, pasteurized, flavorless liquid. Most if not ALL of your familiar orange juice brands are custom to this. In their partial defense, they have to do it or else they wouldn't be in business. Pasteurizing prolongs shelf life and the chemical additives gives it the flavor of the fruit juice it is advertising. However, I eagerly condemn it!
This article also mentions that most of these companies sit their juice in tanks for up to a year before they are fully processed. Disgusting! I mean if it’s not fresh (days old), the most I would expect is juice that is weeks old. So despite most of these companies "100% juice" and "all- natural" claims, most of what they are doing to juice and putting in it deems it harmful and unhealthy.
My advice to those people that want to drink some good, healthy orange juice is to buy a bag of oranges, and a citrus juicer and make your own juice!
It is a little more expensive, but it is well worth it in the long run, in regards to your health.
It is THE healthy alternative, not to mention it is safe, unpasteurized, "flavor pack"-free and delicious!
http://updatednews.ca/2011/12/17/orange … nded-moms/
My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.l.brereton
My poetry book:https://www.seanlbrereton.tumblr.com/
Pasteurization is a process of heating a food, usually liquid, to a specific temperature for a definite length of time, and then cooling it immediately. This process slows microbial growth in food. It is also known to prevent spoilage and fermentation.
Now this can be debatable because the USDA and many others will argue that bottled juices are healthy because they ARE pasteurized. However, thought this may be true, because pasteurization does slows down and eliminates bacteria growth in the juice, which prevents you from getting sick. This process also slows down AND eliminates nutrients in the juice, which prevents you from getting sick. A little confusing at first glance, right?
I can't dispute the fact that this process is present in our beverage distribution and manufacturing process for our safety. But at that very same time this heating process eliminates all of the good/healthy things in the juice - valuable nutrients, vitamins, and enzymes. Tropicana developed Flash pasteurization which as a method which isn’t as harmful as pasteurization. In this process the liquid moves in a controlled, continuous flow while held at temperatures of 71.5 °C (160 °F) to 74 °C (165 °F), for roughly 15 to 30 seconds. Better? Yes, but unfortunately your end result still isn’t a raw food.
Now, second reason, the juice is old and probably not organic. Old food lacks essential vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes and much more. Vitamins and digestive enzymes are time, light, and heat sensitive. Non-organic foods contain harmful chemicals such as fungicides, pesticides, insecticides, chemical fertilizers and much more. Also, adding to that, “100% juice”-or not, even if it's organic, if it's bottled, it still isn’t good.
Now let's talk about orange juice. The government allows food companies to add
ingredients to their products without mentioning them on their labels. One newly discovered mystery ingredient added to most orange juices companies which we love called "Flavor Packs" is a chemical used to enhance whatever is left of that dead, watered-down, pasteurized, flavorless liquid. Most if not ALL of your familiar orange juice brands are custom to this. In their partial defense, they have to do it or else they wouldn't be in business. Pasteurizing prolongs shelf life and the chemical additives gives it the flavor of the fruit juice it is advertising. However, I eagerly condemn it!
This article also mentions that most of these companies sit their juice in tanks for up to a year before they are fully processed. Disgusting! I mean if it’s not fresh (days old), the most I would expect is juice that is weeks old. So despite most of these companies "100% juice" and "all- natural" claims, most of what they are doing to juice and putting in it deems it harmful and unhealthy.
My advice to those people that want to drink some good, healthy orange juice is to buy a bag of oranges, and a citrus juicer and make your own juice!
It is a little more expensive, but it is well worth it in the long run, in regards to your health.
It is THE healthy alternative, not to mention it is safe, unpasteurized, "flavor pack"-free and delicious!
http://updatednews.ca/2011/12/17/orange … nded-moms/
My Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sean.l.brereton
My poetry book:https://www.seanlbrereton.tumblr.com/
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