Does Reiki help with depression?
When people inquire about Reiki, one of the most frequently asked questions is whether Reiki helps with depression. Reiki is a form of energy healing that may influence our emotional well-being. It's not just about whether it helps with depression; it's about understanding the process of energy treatments. I won't go into the medical aspects of depression because I'm not a licensed psychologist, even though I have studied it at uni. Instead, I'll share insights from an Energy Healing practitioner's point of view, and talk about depression from the perspective of energy and its flow.
Before delving into talking about the benefits of Reiki energy treatments, I always find it important to mention that there is a balance in the Universe, and an orderly flow of life force that facilitates our existence. It is no different when it comes to the Universe we hold within our bodies. There is a continuous flow of energy that is intertwined with our bodily, emotional, and mental processes.
Depression isn't a modern condition, yet it is something we suffer from and try to aid, and heal for a very long time. Although the term "depression" came into use in the 19th century as "mental depression," replacing "melancholia" as a diagnosis is definitely not a new age discovery. It isn't something that wasn't medically recognised, mentioned, treated or didn't exist before, we can say that it is as old as humanity itself.
Being a human being isn't only about walking, sleeping, eating, thinking, eliminating and procreating but it is also about sensing and feeling. And as humans we do feel and sense a lot. It's simply impossible to go through life without it. Feeling, understanding and managing them is a part of the human experience. At times, life circumstances inevitably push us over the limit of how much input (physical, emotional or mental stimuli/impulses) we can bear. Everything we then experience would exhaust us emotionally and physically to the point that we crush, just like any computer, when overloaded, and a depressive state will eventually occur. Regretfully, we only have a little written evidence that history left behind, but it is enough to understand that already in Ancient Egypt, Greece, China, India and the indigenous communities this emotional mental physical state didn't go unnoticed. Briefly, this is what I found:
Ancient Egypt:
In ancient Egypt, the most well-preserved papyrus Ebers that was written around 1500 BCE, mentions some teachings that are thought to date as far back as 3000 BCE, amongst which are medical texts describe somatic, (physical, involving the body as distinguished from the mind or spirit) emotional, and psychological symptoms of depression with language that foreshadows clinical descriptions of mood disorders today.
They note this: "...the mind in the heart which goes up and falls down," "the mind kneels, his heart in its place, his heart becomes weary, he eats little and is fastidious," and "his mind is drowned, this means his mind is forgetful, like one who is thinking of something else… as if his mind is dark." The ancient Egyptians focused on the somatic aspects of conditions we would describe as mental disorders today.
Ancient Greece:
The father of modern medicine, Hippocrates described depression as a condition called "melancholia" and believed it was caused by an imbalance of the body's four humors: black bile, yellow bile, blood, and phlegm. Hippocrates described melancholy as a state of extreme sadness, and listed symptoms such as poor appetite, sleeplessness, irritability, and agitation.
Ancient China:
Early medical experts believed that mental illnesses were caused by a number of factors, including an excess of emotion, an inability to control desires, depletion of "vital energy" from the organs, and the community to which one belongs. In traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), depression is called Yu Zheng. Which literally can be translated as not flowing, entangled, blocked, clogged, or stagnation. TCM views depression as a disturbance to the shen, which is roughly translated as "spirit". They also consider stagnation syndrome to be closely associated with depression. Stagnation syndrome is a diagnostic entity in TCM that's characterised by somatic symptoms without an identifiable organic cause. Key treatments would be, restoring balance to strengthen the Qi and removing stagnation, reconnecting the spirit: and guiding the shen to reconnect with a deeper sense of self, and finally, alleviating feelings of being stuck, guiding Qi to move more smoothly, which can help ease feelings of being stuck emotionally or spiritually.
Ancient India,
Depression is mentioned in ayurvedic (Indian traditional medicine, Ayurveda is translated as study of life) classics in various scattered references. It is both a state of emotion (manasika bhava) as well as a disease (manasika vyadhi), and depression may even extend up to somatic level. As there are multiple correlations, understanding the pathology of depression by means of ayurvedic basic principles such as sharirika dosha (bodily humor), manasika dosha (attributes of psyche), satwa bala (strength of mind), jnanendriya (sense organs), karmendriya (motor organs), agni (biological fire), dhathu (tissues sustaining the body), srotos (energy channels or pathways of the body) and ojus (vital essence of life, life force) is essential.
Indigenous Navajo Nation,
Tears and sadness are natural, the elders have taught them to be mindful that grieving can overtake us in a negative way. All the stress, the anxiety, the depression can impact anyone physically as well as mentally. When thinking about health and healing, many people focus only on the physical being, but there are many more layers. We are interconnected, not only between mind, body, and spirit but also with external elements like the environment and our social world.
In Reiki, depression is regarded more as an energetic state of the body, where the energy isn't moving effortlessly but in a more erratic way. In some parts of the body the flow would be too intense, even forceful, whilst in others minimal or hardly detectable. Instead of radiating openly, and embracingly outward into the world, it self-consumingly spiralling inward and downward, restricting a person's harmonious flow of energy and confining it in certain areas of the body. Doing so it's breaking the spirit and consuming the person from within. Hence, the person is fatigued, and powerless, muscles feel heavy, not grounded, and insecure about who they are and what their purpose is. They are weak-willed, unable to bring positive changes, or at the very least see the reason why they should change their lives as disappointment is inevitable in the end nonetheless.
In Reiki, there is a concept called Byosen. The word consists of two parts, "Byo" meaning ill or toxic, "Sen" meaning glands of the body, or lumps. When this Byosen is detected, it means there is an obstruction in the circulatory system, restricting its natural flow. Life-force energy (Qi) is directly linked with our circulatory systems within the body. In Reiki, when one experiences emotional or psychological pain - their body gets to be treated first. The body, mind, and spirit are considered as a unified whole, inseparable and interdependent. They can't function independently, as everything in the body is interrelated.
Since the spirit "resides" within the body, our thoughts and mental processes are also part of the body's internal processes thus, all of it is viewed as a part of physiological activity. Therefore the heart of all ailments of the body and mind should be treated with focusing on helping the energy flow within the body, so our life force begins to move naturally again, and without obstruction. The goal is to detect the Byosen and apply Reiki to help the flow of Qi.
There are three major points inside the human body where the energy transforms. Lower tanden, middle tanden and upper tanden.
These important points of the body harmonise the entire bodily system. Representing the physical, emotional, and cognitive centres of the body. When it comes to energy healing, the word spiritual, or spirit isn't some supernatural concept like a ghostly figure or an ethereal being or state of some sort, but it is our vital energy combined with consciousness, and willpower, our very drive, strength, and zest for life. A person with a strong spirit is a person who is grounded, well-balanced, with positive self-esteem, and a well-functioning immune system. Somebody, whose life force is strong and flows without any obstruction. A person like this will embrace life changes as part of life, and adapt best to their abilities. On the contrary, a person, whose life force flow is constricted, will experience various emotional imbalances which altogether would weaken the spirit within, making it hard to accept change, or the ability to adapt with life's situations.
Depression isn't something that occurs out of nowhere and all of a sudden, but it is a result of various factors that get accumulated (physical, and emotional wounds that we "collect") over time. It is more like the destination where one gets after experiencing too many of these powerful emotions, such as overthinking/overworrying, anger, fear, too much joy, and grief for an abnormally longer period of time.
Mikao Usui, the originator of the Shin-Shin Kaizen Usui Reiki believed that as humans we should be aware of how excessive our emotions are and our daily choices and deeds influence the quality of our life. For this reason he created a Kototama (a concept of repeating words as a mantra) as a daily reminder that with the right mindset we can help navigate ourselves through hard and overwhelming times:
"Just for today don't be angry
Just for today don't worry
Be grateful
Finish your duties fully
Be kind to others"
In Japan, but to be fair in most old beliefs they believed that everything has spirit. Everything has energy, including words. Words are the ultimate expression of the heart and mind. When we get told off and receive negative feedback, the energy of these words is destructive to our inner spirit, yet when we get praised, complimented, or acknowledged, we feed our spirit and we feel accomplished and empowered. The nature of the energy we receive and the one we emit hold the key to transforming our lives for better or worse.
It's important to realise that our perception of the world and others directly impacts our energy. The way we feel when we take in information through our senses affects our energetic vibe, which then circulates within our body. Each time we register information, its energy aims to connect with and become part of our own. This process prompts our mind to create thoughts based on the sensations and feelings we experience, leading to a natural physical response. That's why managing our emotions is so important. Of course, this is a challenging practice that requires a deep understanding of how things manifest around us. It's not something that comes easily or quickly. Reiki sessions on the other hand are straightforward and don't use up your energy. All you do is relax on a treatment table and let the practitioner handle the work. Even if one doesn't feel their depression disappear instantly, each session they feel a little lighter, a little more hopeful, a little more loved with better prospects in their lives, and desire to carry on and gain valuable experiences as gifts that life has to offer.