Is money a cure for depression?
64The Beatles
The Beatles had a hit entitled Money (That's what I want) , which simply explains why being rich is a very desirable way to be. John Lennon belts out: "The best things in life are free but you can keep 'em for the birds and bees..." because he wants money, and of course, in real life he got a tremendous amount of it!
The song states that although you cannot buy everything with money what it cannot purchase the singer has no use for anyway. This is a very materialistic way of looking at life but I can see a lot of sense in it all the same. I am sure you can see the logic in it too, and that is why the song became such a big hit. It was about something that the vast majority of people want and need.
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Money (That's what I want)
Money (That's What I Want) was originally a 1959 hit single by Barrett Strong for the Tamla label, and was written by Tamla founder Berry Gordy along with Janie Bradford. It was to become the first hit record for Gordy's new label.
The Beatles had a massive hit with their cover of the song in 1963 and there are loads of other cover versions by all sorts of singers and bands.
Looking at the video I have included here I note that The Beatles are positioned on a checker-board of black and white squares. They were certainly playing a winning game when it came to becoming fabulously wealthy and famous!
Money
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St John's Wort, Prozac and cures for depression
I see a lot of cures for depression and anxiety advertised but got to thinking that maybe the best way to make someone happy would be to give them a lot of money! It certainly can get rid of the stress factor in many people's lives.
You need money to pay for these cures and for your health. St John's Wort capsules or tablets are not free and neither is Prozac. Whether you subscribe to mainstream or alternative health treatments, or a combination of the two, you will usually find that you will need to pay unless you are covered in some way. Health comes at a cost and I mean physical and mental health!
Look at the lifespans of very wealthy people and they often live into their eighties or nineties but compare this with poor working class people and there is no comparison. This is not surprising because for a start the rich people get the best food and healthcare.
I know I feel a lot happier and confident when I know I have enough money for my needs than when I don't. It is obviously a source of stress and worry if you don't know how you will pay your bills, your rent and for you daily needs.
Ask yourself this simple question: am I happier when I have money or when I don't? I don't think many of you will be able to say you are happy without it!
Personally I don't really understand how people can say we don't need money. I can exist for a while without money but that is how it feels - existence and not living! I know I cannot get very far without money and whilst I may happen to know a lot about what wild foods can be foraged for it is not exactly an enjoyable diet a lot of the time.
Some people talk about bartering and exchange of services as the way ahead but this doesn't work very well in the real world. If I go to the shop and want to buy some food they will expect money. The same goes for my electricity, water, telephone and Internet, and I cannot pay for any of these services with anything but money. If I want to catch a bus, train, take a taxi or fly, again they all cost money.
Most people are in the same situation because they live in a system where the only way you can get what you desire and need is pay for it. There's nothing much you cannot pay for if you have the money so it is hardly surprising that so many people see making money as their goal in life.
Money pays for quality of life. There's no doubt about it! The quality of products and services we can buy are usually governed by how much we are prepared to pay. The cheap versions are never as good as the expensive ones, no matter what people may say.
People admire other people who are rich too. Even if it's only because they hope to somehow get a share of the wealth or something, the rich person is still a lot more attractive than someone who is poor and struggling.
The Beatles - Money (that's what I want)
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The future
With the ongoing economic crisis people are talking about a collapse of the money system but I really cannot see how this could be possible. What is going to replace it?
There has been a lot of talk in conspiracy theory circles and elsewhere about suppressed "free energy" discoveries by inventors like Nikola Tesla, but whether such technologies exist or not I see no signs of those in control of the world making them available. It's more of the same. Sadly more wars and more destruction of the environment in the search for gas and oil, more control by the petrochemical industries and Big Pharma.
It is said that hemp is the solution to world problems. It can be used to make fuel, fibre, clothing and food. It is indeed true that this plant can supply so many of our needs.
However, the global corporations and the banks are all about money. They don't show any signs of changing. The very wealthy are in the process of becoming even more so whilst the poor are getting poorer. Is this wrong? Obviously, yes, it is but that doesn't change the world situation. People will have to do that somehow!
So what is the answer to all this? I don't think anyone really knows. We will just have to see how the future turns out and do what we can.
It is said that money is the root of all evil but perhaps money isn't the real problem? Perhaps how it is spent and how it is acquired is?
I know most of the problems I have encountered in my life have been ones that money could have resolved. My current needs and my future are all dependent on money.
Money is what I want, just like it said in the lyrics of that Beatles hit. And in the words of another famous song "Who wants to be a millionaire?" I do!
Copyright © 2011 Steve Andrews. All Rights Reserved.
Money (that's What I Want) on Wikipedia
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Thank you, snakeslane!
With my morning mood, cup of tea, and this great read, my mind reels toward the past seeking an answer to the dilemma this article presented.
Arriving first with Twin Son's of Different Mothers, Dan Fogelberg & Tim Weisberg, and their song 'The Power of Gold' comes to mind. Yet, harmonically playing along side peppering those sentiments flowed 'Money' by Pink Floyd, from the Dark Side of the Moon.
Today, my hope is my meds do arrive, waiting patiently for a few ducats to make that purchase, depending on the teachings of cognition and behavior to survive.
Reading the lyrics of this Beatles song while pondering the thoughts of this article, I get stuck with happiness being a key while remembering money is only symbolic and a tool for bartering. Hubpages has taught one thing for sure, no matter how much one has, well this article has brought to mind, more is needed to provide more to others of need.
I lived 17 months almost without money (about 1.50 Euro per day), it was the best time of my life!
Thank you for your feedback, tsmog and nextstopjupiter!
Nextstop, how did you manage that? Where did you manage that? I would have thought that such a life must have been stressed to the max and horrible! I take it that is all you had left after you'd paid rent etc? What did you eat? I can't get much at the shops here for 1.50!
Sadly, I am much happier when I have money, more that I NEED, to supplement the other wonderful things in my life like my family and pets and all the little things that are free that make me so very happy every day. I know that when I do have extra money, I am overall much healthier and less apt to get even the common cold. I am more productive, have more energy, and have a lot more to give and share. I'm sad about this, and am this way because society is not such that one can barter very easily or the like; I feel that if money were something else (if that makes sense) then that would make me happier. This is definitely something to ponder, and realize. I would much rather have money than a little blue pill. And think about it, Yoko and John would not have been able to do all that they did together in the exact way they wanted to were it not for money. Money was part of their freedom. Wow Bard of Ely, I could go on and on. This hub has sparked my imagination and thinking juices. Lovely. A must share.
Frieda, I am the same. I am far more productive, healthier and more energetic if I have money. It is also very true that stars like John and Yoko, and indeed any celebs we admire for their music, acting or whatever, we wouldn't even know about if a lot of money wasn't behind them!
I worked in volunteer projects for free food and accommodation in five different countries, I hitchhiked about 12.000 km all over Europe, I found accommodation on couchsurfing ..., everything for free. To find out more, you can read my hubs!
Thanks for explaining! Sounds wonderful! I never had much success with hitch-hiking and have written about some of my disastrous experiences. Nowadays I couldn't do any of the things you have done because for a start I have a cat that depends on me being here.
Money, the medium for exchange for goods and services. I was born poor. Made millions and lost it twice. I learned money gives you choices. After your basics of life are obtained, everything else is simple math of how many zeros in your checking account.
I have learned money cannot buy happines. Money cannot "rent" happiness! I do not remember her name..!
Perhaps the lack of money is the "root of all evil!"
To not have money for the basics is not fair. Life is not fair. How we react to not having money defines who/what we are. Each have our unique skills, and abilities to produce money.
When I was an administrator in high school, I would hear students complain, "...that is not fair..." I would agree and tell them life is not fair, now what are you going to do?
Each of us have our own battles and challenges. As you noted there is no ONE solution.
Life is a process and then we die. We have choice to decide what to insert on our headstone where the 'dash" is between our birthday and death...
When one is given to depression, there is a huge inequality of life. No simple answers.
It serves no pupose to rationalize, "I know, others may have it worse."
When one's soul is burning with depression, one does not reflect on others...
The daily effort to put one foot in front of the other is an accomplsihment.
Well done and articulated!@
Flag up!
Thank you dallas93444, for your thoughtful feedback! Perhaps your quote that "lack of money is the root of all evil" is more like it! I can see it that way! I know you are right about what it is like when depressed too. A depressed person can draw no comfort from reflecting on the misfortunes or fortunes of others. I also agree with you that money gives you choices, choices you do not have without it. As the saying goes: "beggars can't be choosers"!
I did read about in the USA where they had support groups for lottery winners. It seems that some people suffered so much stress, winning so much money, that they needed to go to support groups.
Yes, I know from experience that poverty is not a lot of fun. Yet, even very rich people can suffer depression or even commit suicide. So although money can be a big help, happiness also depends on your attitude of mind.
So I think for some people, money can bring them happiness, but for others, no amount of money can ever do that.
Yes, it is true that some very wealthy people self destruct or commit suicide even but I think the majority tend to live longer and happier lives than those of poor people. I was shocked by how many of my former neighbours in the Ely council estate were now dead when I visited in 2009. Not old people either but middle aged, if that! I asked after two married couples that lived in my street and they had died. That was an example that showed me that working class people can have very short lifespans. I would put that down to stress and poor food due to lack of money.
Very interesting hub. Let me start by saying the quote "money is the root of all evil" is misquoted and incomplete. The original quote is in the bible, and it says "the LOVE of money is the root all evil." The Love - meaning an insatiable appetite in the original translation. The defining element is the greed, not the object. Money is by itself neither neither good nor bad. It is what it is, by the value we attach to it.
Money is a system we have developed for ourselves for convenience. It helps us to conveniently exchange value. Unfortunately due to the greed of man, this exchange is not always fair. Those who (by fate or luck) possess the most needed service or object tend to monopolize and lookout for their own needs. Having money definitely makes life easier and perhaps more enjoyable as it gives one options. But having money and lots of it, is not the antidote for depression or for that matter living a happy life. Statistics show that there's enough wealth on earth today to go around everyone and completely eradicate poverty and disease, with enough wealth still renaming to be explored. But this won't happen. why? GREED and SELF-SEEKING - "the Love of Money!"
Thanks for explaining that, Fuller-Life! Having money works for me against depression though and gives me a much happier life!
Check out Gary Tibbo from Toronto on Markus Rothkranz's video, "Free money, Free food."
It is on youtube.com.
This man has no job, yet he has found a way to survive and owns three houses from recycling ten hours a week.
He forages for wild food and he is totally self-sufficient. The system is making people depressed because people are dependent on other people to get their money and food. I watch many survival videos. I found one from a woman on youtub.com as well.
These people seem to living off of very little, but they know about wild food, foraging, and the tools that you have are of great value Bard. What book do you recommend on foraging. I want to get one badly! These are invaluable tools, not just for poor people, but for anyone who wants to survive in the real world.
Every kingdom can come to an end. The Fall of Rome,and many kingdoms have fallen and risen in the history of the world. Look at videos from Michio Kaku. He is a physicist who claims that Nasa reported to Congress that Solar Storms will inevitably shut off our power on many continents for tens years. All POWER. This would send the world back 100 or more years. People rely on technology and the system. People who live in cities have very little chance of survival. Mother nature and God is in control.
Hey Steve,
Happiness comes from within.
Happy people are grateful people. There are many unhappy people who are rich or even famous. There are unhappy people who have food on the table every week.
Happiness does not come from external things. The most materialistic people feel that the more things they consume the happier they will become. People feel that popularity and fame may bring them happiness. Happiness comes from being grateful, extremely grateful for what you have in life. People who focus on what they don't have, will ultimately focus on what other people don't have. The glass is half full for people who are healthy.
Healthy people are not rich and they are not people with money. Don't be fooled. Some of the poorest people are the happiest. It depends upon the person. Happiness is a choice. You have so much more than so many people Steve.
Hate to spam you but you need one more video. You can delete it if you want. You really need to find new associates. There are people who are constantly judge people by what they have or don't have. They are sick people. Stay away from them. There are many unhappy people who insult others who don't have the status of material things that they feel they should have. It is more important to compliment people on their personality, than their nice house, nice car, nice clothes etc...Stay away from materialistic, shallow people and you could be more happy. We live in a country with much abundance and people are dropping dead of cancer left and right. Steve Jobs was rich and he just died of cancer. He was 54. He created Apple. He was well-known and he had an eating disorder. He was an unhappy man who died young.
Please watch this video.
Steve, find new friends. Do not surround yourself with status conscience people who are materialistic. They are unhappy people.
Contentment comes from within!!!!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzxRDsBtXrM
this video may cheer you up and cheer up people who are afraid of the Solar Storms that may send us back in time 100 years. People need survival skills, not just knowing about wild food. Check out Michio Kaku's videos about the Solar Storms. People with money who live in cities will be the last people who survive on this planet without knowledge of food foraging, hunting, fishing, purifying water, growing and storaing food etc...
I watch survival videos constantly. Please recommend a good foraging book for me. I forgot the one you recommended. I am not doing this because I am dirt poor, but no one is secure Bard. No one is immune because paper money can not be the security of people.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyN8fNebJAs&feature
When the Solar Storms hit, only people with these kinds of survival skills will be manly or real men.
I am not a real woman. I subscribed to a woman who teaches survival skills and foraging and this man right here is the kind that could survive more readily then some rich cat in the city with survival skills.
People who rely on the system become unhappy because their security is in the system. Rome fell. Kingdoms fall, empires fail and systems do go under. Paper money is not security. Unlike what the system tells us.
The people who are part of the system are UNHAPPY.
They also make the world unhappy.
I subscribed to his videos. Survival does not come from making money in a city and relying on the system for security.
The Solar Storms are inevitable.
What will you do to get meat when you can't go to the grocery store?
Marissa
1: What dallas93444 said.
2: From your reponse to his comment, "A depressed person can draw no comfort from reflecting on the misfortunes or fortunes of others." Agreed.
Conversely (having been not rich as such, but in at least a comfortable enough position from self-earned business success to pretty much 'not have to worry about the price') depression - of the lifetime clinical vs short term reactive kind - respects no boundaries, is untroubled by material wealth, and overrides 'mental comforts' at will.
Few of the rich or famous folks who check out do so because they're idle and bored. As with the rest of us who are so afflicted, suicide offers an open invitation, and presents a beguiling argument, almost every day.
Perhaps they feel they can afford to accept it.
I have seen the Gary Tibby video and posted it at Facebook and yes, I know about all that stuff. I nevertheless maintain it is very hard to be happy when you have bills to pay and not enough money. Markus who is promoting Gary has plenty of money and is after your money in that video. He is selling his DVDs. It is a worry and a stress not having enough money if living within the system. How can it not be? If I don't pay my rent then I have nowhere to live. If it was just me, well, OK, I can move on but what about the cat that depends on me for a home? She can't! Cats need stable homes and are not geared for travelling. The video of Gary shows that he has a house and gardens. He is in a totally different situation. He has security of a place to live and he has gardens to grow food in. I have a rented apartment and a small balcony so a totally different set of circumstances. Foraging for food here is only easy in the wet seasons. In summer most of the edible weeds have all died down. Again a totally different set of circumstances. He is in Canada and I am on an island off the coast of North Africa! As for Michio Kaku surely he is very much within the system with plenty of money, paying his bills and taxes etc with no worries. I agree with you that "contentment comes from within" but how can one be content when you are unable to pay rent and utilities? I am telling it how I see it and I know that when I had a proper job and regular income I was a lot happier because I was not worried about how I would pay for things.
PS The foraging book that has become a 'classic' is Richard Mabey's Food For Free.
I just think it a shame that money has such a grip on our society. Money isn't just about buying all the material things of life. It has also become a symbol of success. If we are poor then society sees us as unsuccessful and a loser, but if we are wealthy we are seen as a success and a winner. (Even if we have inherited the money). So money has a lot to do with our feelings of self worth and how much people respect us.
Another thing money gives us is power. Very rich people can impose their views on the rest of society. The people we see on TV are all rich people, and they can use it to influence us, or buy politicians. Even someone like John Lennon was respected because he made a lot of money and he could use his fame and fortune to influence the world. If he didn't come a successful pop singer we woudn't have heard anything about him.
I really think it is a pity it has to be all about money, but looking at our world, then we have to admit that money has taken over everything.
I agree, William! That is how I see it. I am well aware that anyone with a lot of money gets looked up to and has the ability to get whatever they want to say broadcast whereas those who are poor do not unless they get supported by a rich sponsor! Yes, the majority of people in the news are all rich people.
The Hindu caste system classes the very poor as the untouchables and their condition is blamed on their karma whereas a rich Brahmin deserves their lifestyle. I think this is more nonsense and a justification to oppress poor people!
Don't be sad Steve. It is easy to do. I know.
The world is unstable and insecure for people who are rich too. You have the outdoors close to your home. You can make or purchase bow and arrow etc...I am not buying Gary's DVD's. I have been turned off by Markus's contant talk about wrinkles and Veganism. He may know about wild food but I would rather get a book from someone who is not wrinkle obsessed. I think that Markus is shallow and money hungry. Tim Jones videos are more real. He is just a guy out there showing people survival skills. Michio warns people and he is not secure because he has money.
YOU are more secure Bard because you know about foraging.
Anyone with survival skills is more secure. If you have land it may help, and being near or in the country would help, but are not in a cold or harsh climate. You have many things going for you. Vocabulary and grammar unfortunately will not get people far and even money when the Solar Storms hit. Please stop acting as if people with land and money have so much more than you do.
No one owns the world and they can't take the earth and their possessions with them. Please try to cheer up. These people who sell these DVDS are often full of themselves. Markus's has showed off his house many times and brags about the farrari he owned and how rich he was in the movie industry. He is a major turn off to anyone real and secure. Please recommend a foraging book for me from someone else. Try to write one yourself Steve. You would be an excellent author for this kind of thing.
There is a guy named Junkman who is african American who recycles. He had nothing to start with. He encourages people to recycle to make extra cash.
Smiles...
I am very content and healthy but my neighbor just insulted me and said that I don't own a lexus and that her daughter owns a mercedes benz. She is bragging about the status of her daughter all the time and the thirty thousand dollar wedding ring she has. I am not impressed and this woman is so insecure. She also is very over-weight, had breast cancer, and she is taking Zoloft ( a drug from depression.) Her daughter's husband who buys her things is looking at porno on the net and then buying her expensive items. Money can NOT buy happiness. If someone respects people who are rich or with people with money, they are not worth knowing.
Then this other woman was talking about the importance of perfect skin etc...People have no grip on reality or what is important in the world. Sure nice skin and a nice car looks nice to whom? What is most important in the world????
I try to stay away from very superfical people as I don't think it would be good to be dragged into this.
You said that Michio has money and that means he will survive the Solar Storms? What? The Solar Storms mean NO banking, no transportation, no ability to ship gasoline, kerosene etc..Our normal way of life will be pushed back into the 1800's. I refuse to let other people make me unhappy. My neighbors feel that I should be over there so they can insult me and put me down so they can feel happy. If they can't insult me to my face about what I lack they will email me and write insulting messages. Well, she is on Zoloft and very very unhappy. She has a nice house to live in, a car and food on the table.
People are not content or grateful for what they have.
The ONLY people who will survive the REAL world, will have SURVIVAL skills. The only people. You can own land but if you are weak physically, mentally and dependent on the system, you will not survive long. Only people are rough and able to know about foraging, wild food etc...will survive in the long run. People who rely on four wheel drive and fireplaces will have a wake up call. Survival is more than owning land and a four wheel drive. Tim Jones and people like him are being insulted because he lacks some education. He has common sense. His kind will survive in the REAL world. Survivors are the content people of the world too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TEWviFsGiM&feature
This video shows us how to hunt for wild Red Deer.
Wild food foraging is not just about plant food.
We can't survive on that. Survival is why people are distressed today. There is too much dependency on the system and when the system fails, the rich will not be the first ones to survive. People with survival skills, the physically healthy, outdoorsy, fit, hunters, fishers, wilderness outfitters, gardeners, foragers will be the first ones to survive. In the real world we can not survive in a world that is surrounded around a false sense of security and paper money. Paper money can not feed us in the long run. We live in an unknown universe. Solar Storms could turn the rich upside down.
Thank you for all you have posted, Marissa! I appreciate what you have said! Yes, I know that if the current system's energy supply structure and supply of food is cut then most people are in a real mess and I could get by because I know what is edible out there. We are not in that situation yet and I am looking at my current life and money is needed to pay for basics. I am currently writing a book on herbs for the Llewellyn company who have shown strong interest in what I am doing. It's not confirmed they will publish me but looking likely! The book I recommend to you is Richard Mabey's Food For Free. It has pictures and descriptions of lots of wild foods and suggestions for how they can be eaten and he grades them A to C in usefulness. It was written for a UK/European readership but many of the plants, trees and fungi are also found in the US. He includes shellfish too. A point Markus makes is that so many of the edible plants grow all over the world and its right. Dandelions, Chickweed, Nettles and Mallow are all examples.
Today, I am in pain. All over my body. I have been hikikng two hours a day and go out about six o'clock am.
I live in a very hilly area now. We had a black out for six days due to unusual weather and my heater of my car has been destroyed by rodents and without heat, the frost and ice from snow will keep me from going out to work or to buy food. Some people will have to help. I went to the car insurance company for help. They may pay for it. I am not going to say that I am worried, because worry will not help matters. It takes years off your life. I am not giving Markus more money because I don't like his attitude. He flaunts his successes in a way that I find distasteful. He promotes free wild food for poor people, then he goes to the expensive healthfood store with the money people give him and he buys expensive healthfood items. Thanks for the tip on the book. I am happy and content because I refuse to become worried about pains, lack of money and broken cars. I am sorry for you Bard and it makes me feel badly that you are worried about money like this. I wish I could help.
Recycling is a good way to make extra money and you need a vehicle. I can't lift heavy objects or I would do it.
I have some jobs but I give for free and the world is a mess right now without the Solar Storm. Unhappiness is an epidemic. The system makes people feel inferior and worthless since everything is centered on people who are rich in the media and they are getting constant praise.
I have to rest my body. I am aching all over. I wanted to build my body up but I am soar. It is not good. It is no wonder alot of humans had short life spans years ago.
Find a group of people who are into wild foods, hunting in your area. I think that survivors are the best people to know. Good luck with your bills. I am sorry about all this. I don't want you to become homeless!
Marissa, the problems you have are greater than mine and I really hope you can get the help and rest you need! I agree with you that worrying is no help! I am OK, not depressed just confronted again with a problem that keeps recurring - that I don't have enough to pay my rent in one go and I hate being in arrears. This home is needed for my cat more than me. If I didn't have her I could leave here, go to another country, go back to the UK but I can't leave my cat. I hate being caught in the money system but that doesn't give me any way out of it. I am aware I am in a trap. I am looking for a solution. I am sure I will get by but it is still a problem. We need the rains here before the best time for wild foods arrives with wild mushrooms and edible weeds. The island transforms rapidly but when it's dry and hot its not much good for foraging in most parts unless you like prickly pears. There are loads of them on the island. Pick them for free on waste ground or buy them in a shop! It's that crazy!
A reasonable definition of "depression" is being stuck in space. This can be a place or a mindset. No one is depressed who can move out of one space into another, with understanding. That doesn't mean things are perfect! But at least one does not feel trapped. My experience.
Well, I have to admit I do feel trapped! You are lucky if you are not!
Well you may be right. I don't always feel lucky, though. It seems that the way out of being stuck is to see what is without judgment. Whatever is in front of you simply is and has no moral quotient.
That viewpoint also kind of strips off the game, though. Up to thee and me how we want to go about it.
We seem to be taught that happiness comes from the material world. So if we have a lot of money, a beautiful wife or husband, as well as being famous, we should be happy. So because of this belief, people do strive and desire such things.
But this is not the only path we need to follow to find happiness. For instance, Buddhism teaches meditation as the path to happiness.
We can also work directly with our own mind and find happiness by deliberately choosing what we want think or feel. If we practise meditation and self-awareness, we can find within our own mind, thoughts that make us happy or unhappy.
This is all about taking control over your own mind. If certain thoughts come to your mind that make you unhappy then you can choose to change them to thoughts that make you feel better. Also, if you do come across thoughts that are making you feel happy, then you can encoarage these thoughts and stay with them. You can also try and remember these happy thoughts and feelings and go back to them when you don't feel very happy.
It is true, people claim they don't have control over their own minds, but like everything else, it is a skill that comes with practise. The more we deliberately choose to think what thoughts we want to think, the easier it becomes. Most people are controlled by habitual thoughts, if these habitual thoughts are happy and positive, then this is not a problem, but if these habitual thoughts are negative and makes a person unhappy, then that is a real problem.
So a person who is depressed is someone with habitual unhappy thoughts, so it is about changing these habitual thoughts. It is very difficult to turn off these habitual thoughts, but what can be done is to be aware of them and then deliberately choose thoughts that make us feel better. If we persist in doing this, we can create after awhile, new habitual thoughts that give us relief from the negative habitual thoughts, we have unwittingly created.
This is not a quick fix, like drugs or material things, you have to persist in this and work at it, over a long period of time. But it is worth the effort. Doing this has personaly helped me.
Steve,
I do feel that people in general feel trapped today. Some people are trapped in their jobs, marriages, or their situation.
It is the way our world is set up these days. People have a false sense of security. There are many more pressures in the modern world than ever before.
The people in power have made our world very complex, and yet people are living longer lives that are filled with diseases, meds, depression, and the processed foods which the modern world offers.
I think that people are mostly obsessed with money and status and I think that beauty and health (which I think go hand and hand) is something that is not valued in modern society.
The mainstream media does not promote healthy young people. They are dying of drug over-dose, missing teeth, over-weight, but they are young. Being young and rich is what is being valued, not health or beauty.
The values are very shallow. I think that health is wealth. Modern society is pushing money, status and youth and that is it. Modern society knows that people should exercise daily, but they have little value on health wellness. Pop culture today is about boozing, going out drinking with friends, smoking pot, eating junk and processed foods, feeling crappy on the SAD diet. "Standard American Diet." I was dumped for a woman with Lupus. Men prefer women on dope, junkfood and men are looking mostly for women to cook junky crap for them and unhealthy foods. So many Americans are fat these days and people love it. They wallow in it and they love complaining about their health problems. People are looking for mates who are not super healthy or super upbeat. Happy people are shunned in the media and not given work. Happy people are popular with people.
If you are a depressive and your lifestyle fits into that, you will be more successful in the world today.
Look at the Beatles and the stars of today. They seem very unhealthy. They promote unhealthy people in general.
Weak people. The Beatles did alot of dope. Their lifestyles were not robust and super healthy.
Look at Justin Bieber. He is filmed going to Mc.Donolds to pick up shakes and fried chicken. Lady Gaga was falling off stage because they thought she had lupus and she was fainting. Adele is over-weight. Amy Winehouse just died. We know why. Madonna admitted to taking drugs in her early years. Ellie Goulding admits that she thinks that drinking is normal. (I don't think drinking alcohol is normal) Kate Bush smoked. Tori Amos had terrible health problems for years and several miscarriages. Like I said, I was dumped for a girl with Lupus. The man wanted to marry her and not me.
I am extremely health conscience.
Most men that I meet don't exercise daily and they exercise once a week at best. They look for women who don't exercise or eat properly. Everywhere I go people have big stomachs or they are depressive on their junk diet. If you ae super healthy, you will not be popular I meant to say. Look at Ophra Winfrey. She was not healthy yet so popular. There are pictures of our president with cigarettes hanging out of his mouth. Our other president did cocaine. Health is beauty in my mind. Now in other people's minds beauty is just youth.
People are obsessed with YOUTH not healthy today. Botox injections and plastic surgury is running wild and people value youth at the cost of their health.
newday, what is that causes my trapped situation is I live with a cat and I live in a situation where I have irregular income and on both counts this causes a trap. I am unable to take the cat and go back to the UK or try another country without getting a lot of money and putting the animal through a nightmare experience. I would need around 1,000 pounds to pay for the vet treatments, flight cost that is more than double human rates, and a fee for a pet travel agent to handle the booking. My beloved cat is subjected to around 8 hours of travel and 4 of which are in a cargo hold where she will not know what is going on, will be scared and I will not be there. If I fail to do that I must continue to stay here and that means I must pay rent. If I am unable to it is bound to make me sad. I do not like letting my landlady down and why should she be deprived of her income because I fail to make enough? Also what is that adds to the problem is I am currently owed money by a magazine publisher who has just gone to Egypt so had the money to do that but not to pay me! That is what is. I am unable to be happy about any of it! William, meditation, positive thinking etc do not solve any of the above problems. What solves them all is money. If I had enough I wouldn't have to consider leaving so wouldn't need to consider putting my pet through hell and paying a lot to do so, if I had enough money I wouldn't have to be unable to pay my rent, if I had enough money I wouldn't have to be annoyed by not being paid.
Marissa, I agree with all you've said there. The entertainment world is full of drugs, drink and unhealthy lifestyles and this is promoted by the media.Even hit songs like Amy Winehouse's Rehab do this. It is 'normal' for stars to go to rehab! They are not happy or healthy or otherwise they wouldn't need this in the first place. Personally I think the vast majority of people are in traps even if they cannot see them or deny them! Being an addict is a trap so all celebs who need to go to rehab or cannot quit their addictions are in a trap!
Bard, Making money is something I'm not very good at doing either, but i am aware that my inablity to make money has a lot to do with the way I think. I probably have what some positive thinking books call a 'poverty conscious'. Looking back in my life i have had oppertunities to make far more money than i have, but I have sabotaged myself whenever I got these chances. Because of my negative thinking about making money.
So I have come to realised that if I want to make money I have to change the way I habitually think. I know it is not easy to question and change the habitual thoughts you have for most of your life. But I know from experience that if you only focus your mind on the problems, then nothing changes.
There must be something about your life that is positive or makes you happy. If you can find a way to focus you mind on anything that is positive, then it can change the way you think, and you can then see your problems in a different light.
You are a very talented person, and I know you are aware you should be doing a lot more with your life, than you do. It is habital negative thinging that is not allowing your talents to flower. And it will be positive thinking that will allow you to make the most of your talents.
I know you have been out there promoting your songs and working on your books, to make money. The very fact you are willing to do this, means you have a positive belief in yourself. When you feel positive about yourself then you have the energy to persist in doing these things. It is when you feel depressed and sorry for youself is when you want to give up. And also, as i have found, if you feel depressed, you can sabotage yourself or not see or take oppertunities, when they appear.
So your state of mind is very, very important, in how you can get out of the trap you are in.
William, I don't think it has much to do with my state of mind but the state of other people's minds and what they want. I mean I am writing a hub now not about stuff I am passionate or knowledgeable about but about a load of crap that most people look to buy and sell on eBay. The most popular item is a games console. I have never had one, don't want one and know nothing about them. I have recently written about a species of spider that I have living here but hardly anyone is interested in that. I have a hub about two endangered species of flowers and hardly any traffic. A botany expert might think it was great but there aren't many of them around! People don't care about endangered flowers or unusual spiders, they are far more interested in games consoles, ipods, iphones and other stuff that is mass marketed. Spiders and flowers make me happy but like I say hardly anyone is interested in them as subjects. I had a conversation some years ago with a friend who is into Law of Attraction but she calls it Kriya Yoga and anyway she had concluded that my mind is full of thoughts of how well the Monarch butterflies are doing, for example, and that that is brilliant, but does not generate money. There is a butterfly gardens here but it has had to struggle hard to keep going and has been closed down several times. Also the trap I am in is created by other people who make rules and regulations like those governing the transport of pets. All the positive thinking in the world cannot change that. So I cannot leave here unless I get a lot of money to pay for this and agree to something I am against. If I do not do those things I am in this trap.
Steve, I am sorry about your situation. You had a teaching job and there must be something out there for someone with an English degree.
Are there no English teaching jobs or maybe you could tutor people in English and do this freelance?
I always tried sales jobs if I could not get the job that I wanted. There are temporary agencies. Aren't there temp agencies there in Tererife?
Anyway, celebs are not the only ones who are unhealthy. I just told you that some man a few years ago dumped me for a woman with Lupus and another man dumped me for an avid pot smoker. A man I know now would rather be with a woman who rarely walks outside for fresh air and he occasionally smokes weed. I don't meet extremely health conscience men or women. I am extremely healthy and that isolates me and other people like me from society. My neighbors or associates always offer me junk and I have to say no. The healthfood store in my area sells healthfood junk and I have to say no. If you go out and hike two hours a day and eat a very high raw diet with organ meats and fish, people think they would rather spend time with people who are not that healthy.
That is why people are SAD. Depressed. Their ratio between Omega 3 fatty acid and omega 6 is imbalanced. People think it is only life that brings them depression. NO, their diet and their lack of exercise does. Omega 3 ratio is very important for happiness. People who get too much Omega 6 will increase their chances of diseases and it causes depression in humans.
I know worrying about money can throw people off. I know this from experience but there are other factors that make life hell for people. Unhappiness is an epidemic and people with jobs are miserable too.
I do have a boyfriend, kind of. His name is Joachim.
He talks to me everyday, but he is struggling with depression even though he has some kind of money.
He is a very SAD and depressive person. He is not upbeat, positive or happy. This is causing us problems because i am super healthy and happy because I choose to be. I have my moments though and I do tend to worry alot about money. Money causes alot of people depression bard. You are not alone. In fact money is the primary reason that I worry. These days there are few people who don't worry about money, the future etc...
Marissa, I did three days work for a school here last month - teaching kids and staff about plastic pollution of the oceans - and have another two days coming up later this month. I am getting a thank you letter from the school and one of the children's parents apparently phoned in to say how impressed their daughter was with me. This is all great but not a regular source of income as yet. It helps my CV of course! Yes, there are agencies here but work goes to those fluent in Spanish first which I am not and there simply are not the vacancies anyway. Lots of people have had to give up and leave the island, lots of businesses are closed. I am trying something new here: not writing about what interests me or I am knowledgeable about but writing about what people want to buy most of which are items I don't want, need or even know what they are! The most popular item on eBay at present is a Nintendo DS! I can write about endangered flowers or unusual wildlife here and it gets hardly any traffic. The masses are not interested in these subjects. They want junk that has been mass-marketed to them. I'll get by!
I know the feeling Bard, I am very interested in Goddess Theology, but most people find it too esoteric, so i keep quiet about it.
I don't think i can say anymore about the trap you are in. The point is that if it is what you say, that it is down to how other people think. Then you are helpless and at the mercy of others. If it is about how you think and the law of attraction, then it means you can do something about it, by changing the way you think.
I have believed that i was helpless to do much about my life, up until the last few years. And i have to say, the feeling I can do something about my life by working on changing your thinking, is far more preferable than thinking I am helpless. But that is my experience.
I do hope things work out for you.
Well to get airlines to change rules I would have to be a very influential and powerful person and even then it would be difficult! I saw a report the other day of some airline in court over the death of a dog in the cargo hold and they were fined a lot of money because the dog belonged to someone deemed very important. I know other people who have been forced to pay and put their pets through this that have told me they would never do it again! Just because many people do do this and most animals survive doesn't make it right and the costs are insane! Very many people are cruel and irresponsible when it comes to animals and this society on the whole is guilty of speciesism. Best I can do about it is write about it and register my disapproval for these things.
The subject you mention of Goddess Theology I am pretty sure if I wrote about it I wouldn't get much traffic and if I wrote a book on it it would be very hard to find a publisher. Publishers would say there isn't a market for this. My argument is that the markets that there are and the products that are popular are created by big budgets and advertising, so again it comes down to vast amounts of money and those that have it control society! If large amounts were invested in promoting Goddess Theology then it would be popular but who is going to put up the money?
Steve, I had a cat years ago, but I have not had a pet of my own for a long while. If your life is difficult in terms of paying the bills it is best from my perspective to love animals who are in the wild and not to own one from yourself. Now you are in thinking that going back to Wales where you have family may be the best thing for you, yet you are thinking of your pet cat. I understand how deeply attached a person can get with an animal.
This is why I don't have children or a cat. You have to think of your own survival. I don't want to sound harsh, but if you must leave your cat to live a better life where you have family, then so be it. I am sorry to say that. It is hard. That is why I no longer own animals.
I had my cat shipped once and they had to drug the cat to put her on the plane. It was not going from one country to the other though. I am not sure what the rules are there. Perhaps you could get a job outside of your field. People are mindless today. They are into ipod, cell phones, technology, and everything that will not help them survive in the real world if and when we have a Solar Storm situation or other problem within the economy. This is why we need to focus on hunting, fishing, foraging, and wilderness survival. Maybe if you go back to Wales you can relocate somewhere near the wilderness. I believe the chance of survival is much higher in the more rural areas. Take care.
Yes money does seem to control our world. I can see Bard that you have a very powerful desire for a lot of money.
According to what I read in positive thinking books a powerful desire can be a great help in getting what you want. It is just about getting intouch with the powerful feelings you have for money. You can also visualise how wonderful it would be to have a lot of money and try and get into good feelings about it.
Marissa, the situation is that I deliberately resisted taking on a dog or a cat for all the 25 years I lived in Ely in Wales and then came over here and within months found my landlady was leaving and not taking her cats. I couldn't abandon them and they were now my friends. The other cat was poisoned which was horrific enough in itself. I do not understand how people abandon animals. They do it all the time but I see it as evil! If I go through with moving out of this country and putting my cat through a horrific experience to do so is going to cost around 1,000 GBP. The least quote for a one-way flight for a cat was 595. You also have to pay for a course of treatments by a vet to qualify for a Pet Passport and get a pet travel agent to handle the booking for the small number of airlines that accept pets and pay them too! Because of all this a lot of dogs and cats get abandoned here and most of them end up getting killed or living horrible lives in the small number of shelters that are over-burdened and underfunded.
You are right, William! I know I keep going on about my cat but again if I had a lot of money I could pay for her to be looked after if I wanted to go away. I could pay for the Pet Passport procedure even though I don't agree with it but get it over and done with and then never make the mistake again. I could pay for a better place here for the cat and I to be living so we had a garden and a better quality of life. I am determined to get a book deal that will make me some proper money. The Llewellyn company is a big publisher and that will be a help. I have nearly finished doing the herb book they are interested in.
I said a prayer for you last night and I am sorry that you are going through this. Yes, abandoning animals and people is horrible. Don't you have a dad in Wales and a son?
They may miss you so much. Don't they need you?
Thank you, Marissa! My father is regaining the ability to walk after he had a hip operation in the summer. He can get out and about again now so is a lot happier and is on the mend. I visited him in September and we keep in touch on the phone. I saw my son a lot then too and he was in hospital because of his epilepsy and was kept in for over a month which was terrible but he has been out and doing OK since.mid-Sept. It was all very worrying and stressful end of August and early September but that has gone.
I am sorry to hear about the stress of going back to Wales because of health problems your son was experiencing.
I am glad to hear your father is functioning better.
Good news. Here is an article that confirms what I already know. The article is about couples who are not materialistic and how they are happier with each other than their materialistic counterparts.
Thank you, Marissa! I am having a look at that link now!
snakeslane Level 7 Commenter 6 months ago
You covered this well Bard of Ely. I hope you get what you want. Money is something we take for granted when we have it, but when it's gone it can be literally the end of the world. It is so easy to sit in a warm comfortable house, well fed and healthy and talk about "values". But when you are poor, you have no voice. Regards, snakeslane