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paul
USA
1 Posts |
 Posted - Sep 13 2005 : 8:21:52 PM
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Hello,
Does anyone have information to share concerning the effects of antidepressants on the yogic purification of the nervous system.
I have searched the web but have not found anything useful. I'm wondering if antidepressants might somehow interfere with the process,
or not?
~Paul |
Edited by - AYPforum on Feb 05 2007 08:54:25 AM |
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Ute
39 Posts |
Posted - Sep 13 2005 : 11:52:14 PM
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Paul, that is a good question! I don't know wht the "official" answer is, but I have taken anti-depressants in the past and felt that I still progressed in my sadhana during that time. Serious depression does impede one's practice, for sure  . As a teacher, I would not advise students to undertake intense yogic practices unless they were emotionally stable.
Blessings,
Ute |
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david_obsidian
USA
2602 Posts |
Posted - Sep 17 2005 : 09:02:12 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by paul
Hello,
Does anyone have information to share concerning the effects of antidepressants on the yogic purification of the nervous system.
I have searched the web but have not found anything useful. I'm wondering if antidepressants might somehow interfere with the process,
or not?
~Paul
Hi Paul,
I don't think there is any rule that antidepressants interfere with sadhana. By the way, it is common for us to have prejudices and negative emotional disposition towards substances which are new to us as a species (I call this the "anti-artificial fallacy"). As far as I am concerned, every substance should be evaluated on its own merits, whether new or old. Newness is no guarantee of badness and oldness by no means a guarantee of goodness.
There are a lot of different antidepressants, and their efficacy varies a lot person to person. Person 1 may find medication A better than medication B; person 2 may find medication B better than A. Whereas this variability exists with physical medications also, I have a feeling that it is higher for psychoactive medications, though I have no sure knowledge on that. Therefore I expect that if a drug 'interferes with sadhana' for one person, it will not necessarily do so for another, by any means.
I took an antidepressant for a patch once further in the past. My overall view is that it helped me considerably, including my sadhana.
Many people do not understand real depression at all, by the way, including many doctors. It is a very significant and real condition and the treatment should be approached on many levels at once. Above all, avoid any 'either-or' thinking regarding its treatment. This can abound in this area for whatever reason. You may see an automatic tendency to say 'You don't need this, you just need that'. You aren't showing any tendencies yourself towards that, by the way, since you are contemplating both medication and sadhana; but watch out for it when you get advice from people. I would say to keep up that approach, and expand it still further, figuring out if you need to add life-style changes, relationship management and development, outlook modification, diet, exercise, elimination of negative substance, various therapies if appropriate, 12-step program (if applicable to you) you know, the works.
Depression is rarely caused by just one thing, and is rarely cured through just one thing.
I'll give you one interesting intuitive tip though, maybe of interest to someone doing sadhana. The development of depression is not always bad in itself. Sometimes (there is no always with depression) something worse was released before it sets in. For example if someone is running on the fuel of say anger and/or, say, narcissistic relational mechanisms, when they start to pull away from them, depression can start to set in. In such a case it's as if the old fuelling system is being rejected by the body and that is a good thing. The transition from smoky, toxic fuel to more smokeless fuel can leave a shortage of fuel (and direction) for a time. Not all depression is like this, but some of them can be like this to a greater or lesser extent. It is a good thing to keep in mind because 'sadhana' can help trigger such a transition.
I hope that was helpful,
Best,
-David |
Edited by - david_obsidian on Sep 17 2005 09:07:49 AM |
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AYPforum
351 Posts |
Posted - Feb 05 2007 : 08:54:25 AM
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| Moderator note: Topic moved for better placement |
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medications and the subtle energy
