Summary: (http://www.mortylefkoe.com/wp-content/uploads/marty_lefkoe_headshots_053_2-01_edit_235-150x150.jpg)It is possible to permanently eliminate your depression. The purpose of this post is to assure those of you who are feeling depressed (or who know anyone who is depressed) that it is possible to get rid of it totally. I was depressed for about 30 years, so much so that I thought of suicide frequently. I haven’t felt anywhere near depressed for over 15 years. If I can do it, you can too. (http://www.mortylefkoe.com/wp-content/uploads/bigstock_Sunny_Days_Ahead_Sign_4313446-300x164.jpg)Depression is ultimately the result of feeling hopeless and helpless. It is experienced as an overwhelming sense of despair. Unfortunately, this mental disorder is very prevalent, with estimates that almost one in six Americans will experience depression in their lifetime. Moreover, many people whose symptoms are not serious enough to be classified as chronically depressed still experience bouts of despair that they are unable to shake for days on end. There are some people who claim that depression is chemical and that the brain of depressed people is actually different than the brain of normal people. A study conducted a few years ago did show that MRIs of depressed people were different from the MRIs of “normal” people. The study went on to describe, however, how after a few months of cognitive behavioral therapy the brains looked the same. In other words, it is more likely that the mental state caused the changed brain state than an abnormal brain state produced depression. Luckily, depression, like most mental problems, is the result of beliefs and conditionings, all of which can be eliminated by the Lefkoe Belief Process (LBP) and the Lefkoe Stimulus Process (LStimP). The following is a list of some beliefs that clients with depression have identified and eliminated. Can you see that almost anyone with most of these beliefs would have to feel depressed, at least to some extent? If someone didn't have any of these beliefs and, instead, held their opposite—such as "I control my life, not other people or circumstances" “My life is whatever I make it,” “I am good enough, important, and deserving”—could they possibly feel depressed? Say each of the following beliefs out loud. If any of them resonate with you, it's a belief you hold. Even though you may have held it since you were a child, and even if you've tried a number of ways to get rid of it, LBP can assist you to eliminate it. Typical beliefs that underlie depression * I'm powerless. * I'm not good enough. * I'm not deserving. * I'm inadequate. * I'm not important. * I'm worthless. * I'm not lovable. * Who I am is not okay. * I have no value. * There's something wrong with me. * Happiness doesn't last. * It's not safe to be myself. * Life is hard, painful, a struggle, and stressful. * Being responsible is a burden. * I have to be perfect or people won't accept me. * I can't have what I want. * I don’t matter. Ruth eliminated her life-long depression Ruth Bonomo of Westport, CT, who used the LBP to eliminate many beliefs like these, described how she totally ended her life-long depression: "I used to walk around enclosed in a veil of depression, fear, and self-loathing. I was always at the edge of the pit, ready to jump in and relinquish responsibility for my life and how it was turning out. I was on the verge of abandoning my family when my son became ill. After he spent several days in the hospital I realized I better get myself together; this kid needed and deserved me and I needed to be a responsible parent. "I found Shelly Lefkoe and the Lefkoe Belief Process. Immediately I began to shed emotional pounds. It was as if I had been running around on an exercise wheel in a hamster cage my whole life, and now I was free.
