This post was inspired early this morning by an article I read about a woman who is certain that Cognitive Behavioral Therapy saved her life. It’s an amazing post and I highly recommend that everyone read it HERE. I know that it has encouraged me to look into CBT in my own town and hope that maybe sometime in the future I can also use the therapy to elevate my method of thinking.

The problem with the way that mental health is being treated nowadays is that it is often stigmatized, swept under a rug and often forgotten. Because of this, people are told that there is something ‘wrong’ with them and that they are flawed human beings. That a pill of Wellbutrin, Zoloft or Paxil will ease them into normalcy.

They are dead wrong.

Having mental health issues is a normal reaction to the way modern society treats its citizens: Buy a car. Buy a house. Work all day. Pay the bills. Lose your job. Scrape on by. Lose everything.

That’s just one very small example of a common problem.

What pills don’t do is teach you how to cope with the debilitating effects of an abusive childhood. Pills don’t take the pain away from abandonment or ridicule. Pills don’t teach you how to change your attitude from negative to positive and they don’t resolve feelings of guilt or mourning.

What pills DO have is a ridiculous amount of lobbyists and dangerous side effects. Pills DO net pharmaceutical companies over $115 BILLION dollars a year.

This post is about my own opinion on treating mental health issues. I believe that inherent in every human being is the ability to overcome any and all psychological walls. I strongly advocate the use of natural methods such as meditation and energy work to help realize what it is that each person needs help with. In addition, I believe that talking about your issues to a licensed professional without the use of psychotropic medication can be ideal.

A professional therapist can help you isolate the root of your problem and provide you with tools to help you help yourself. We have been raised in this culture to believe that we lack personal power and that we lack the mentality and willpower to heal ourselves. I strongly oppose that notion and I know that every human being is capable of amazing things and that the mind has nearly limitless potential.

It is my own personal belief that the term ‘chemical imbalance’ is something used by medical professionals to make a patient feel as is something is wrong with them that needs to be fixed with more chemicals. What every person fails to remember is that we are all chemically different from each other…and I am sure that if every person on Earth were tested for ‘chemical imbalances’ we would all be on some sort of medication.

** IMPORTANT TO NOTE** There is a difference in mood disorders (of which is the focus in this post) and brain diseases such as Schizophrenia, Dementia and Alzheimers which should definitely be treated medically.

If you’re suffering from a bout of sadness, loneliness or strife, I hope that this post has inspired you to realize you carry within yourself the tools to a better life and that talking to a licensed professional can help you gain some fresh perspective.