Throughout this pandemic, depression is hitting us as a whole. As social distancing measures continue, loneliness is at a record high. So many of us are separated from family and friends: connections that are vital to our mental health.
Amidst all this, we need to take a step back and ask ourselves: are we okay?
If the answer is no, remember: you don’t have to feel this way forever. While depression makes it easy to feel stuck and hopeless, the truth is that we have a choice. We can stay in stress and fear, or we can move forward and be pulled by possibility. And if your choice is the latter, plenty of resources and guidance are available to you.
The Sanctuary’s holistic depression treatment program not only remedies depression, but leads you towards a rich, full, and meaningful life. We are open and accepting clients for in-person residential treatment, which includes:
- Therapies to alleviate COVID-related stress
- Psychoeducation and energy healing to shift your perspective
- Functional medicine to address depression in all of your bodily systems
- Specific dietary planning to heal your brain from the effects of depression and create health
This all takes place at our small, secluded campus outside Sedona, Arizona, steeped in the healing properties of nature.
How COVID Affects Depression
If you struggle with depression, you’re familiar with its symptoms:
- Finding it hard to get out of bed
- Spending a lot of time in your bedroom
- Withdrawing from social situations
- Eating more, or less
- Exercising less
- Sleeping more
- Binging on TV
- Feeling generally bored and lethargic
Because social isolation makes life look a lot like this, it can easily trigger another episode of depression. “Those who have already experienced a depressive episode can be very cued by what’s happening now,” says Minnesota-based psychologist Dr. Maggie Perry.
Conventional remedies are also limited. For example, CBT therapists often use a technique called “behavioral activation” to steer clients away from habits that worsen the depression. This involves doing things you don’t feel like doing, such as:
- Going for a walk when you feel like staying in bed
- Meeting up with friends when you feel like staying home alone
But the social distancing measures currently in place make taking these actions a challenge.
Feelings of excessive guilt, worthlessness, hopelessness, and helplessness also characterize depression. The inflated sense of responsibility for not getting others sick can also contribute to these, making depression worse.
If this is the case for you, there’s nothing wrong with you. In fact, countless other people experience the exact same thing.
Have Compassion for Yourself
Everyone is affected by our current reality. Even very experienced wellness practitioners, including our staff here at The Sanctuary, have at some point been gripped by fears. But this doesn’t have to be the end of the story.
When you’re depressed, you’re more likely to interpret reality negatively. This can overwhelm your thinking and make it hard to do much of anything. That’s why when you’re in this state, it’s important to give yourself credit for everything you do. When everything feels hard, the smallest act takes courage – and is, therefore, a small victory.
Even though it seems hopeless, it’s entirely possible to make a change. Progress is a process, and it starts with meeting yourself where you’re at.
Healing Depression and Building Resilience at The Sanctuary
One of the greatest detriments to our immune system health is stress, and a leading cause of stress is fear. And this is exactly what so many of us are dealing with now. To address this, our holistic depression treatment program encourages immune health for the spirit and soul.
Heal Your Whole System
Conventional therapy primarily treats depression with medication, and our holistic approach includes medication reviews with our on-staff psychologist. But we also understand that the human body is capable of so much more than mainstream medicine realizes. We use a functional medicine-based understanding of how all of your systems work together to optimize your ability to heal.
Harness the Power of Nutrition
Immune health doesn’t thrive when your body is inflamed – and inflammation comes from what you eat. When we’re depressed, we often overeat or increase our intake of processed foods and sugar. At The Sanctuary, we not only serve a nutrient-packed diet of clean, organic foods but also hold classes on nutrition for recovery so you can continue eating for mental wellness, for life.
Connect With People and Nature
As humans, we need connection with each other to thrive. Our mental health also benefits greatly from being outside in nature. But the current state of social isolation, combined with a constant intake of negative media, raises our stress hormones and weakens our immunity. The Sanctuary’s natural setting is the ideal place to take a break from the collective stress and reconnect with yourself.
COVID Protocol: Staying Healthy and Safe
Depression is an urgent condition and treating it is essential. That’s why we’re committed to staying open and delivering our full program, in person, until we’re instructed otherwise.
We conduct our programming as safely as possible, following the recommendations of our governing legal agencies as well as our board of medical and clinical advisors. At our small, secluded location, all clients are screened for COVID-19 upon arrival and monitored regularly throughout their stay. We’re happy to help you make any arrangements you need in order to feel safe, including private ground transportation.
This policy is updated regularly as rules and regulations evolve.
Choose a New Way
Even in depression, we have a choice. We can choose to backslide into a reality that we don’t want to be in, or we can choose to move in the direction of possibility and hope.
Sometimes, a depressive crisis is a wake-up call, signaling to us that we want to live differently.
The time to heed that call is now.
Contact us today to learn how you can stop simply managing symptoms, and finally be recovered.
He is the Founder, Administrator, Counselor at the Sanctuary at Sedona. He has a BA in Political Science and is currently Senior teaching staff at Four Winds Society, an international school of energy medicine. His credentials also include being an Ordained Minister; a Certified Shamanic Breathwork® Facilitator; a Founding Member Society for Shamanic Practitioners; a Member of Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology; a Member of the National Institute for Holistic Addiction Studies. [email protected]