Ask The Master: 13 Oct 2007

Q. When does worry become depression?

Depression is nothing but the clinical name for chronic worry.

What is chronic worrying?

The mind is an excellent recording system. It stores your negative thought patterns, your complexes, your worries. Whatever you teach the mind, it learns and repeats faithfully. So watch what you tell your mind!

For instance, suppose you experience a failure in business. To make it worse, your marriage breaks up around the same period. Chances are that you'll begin to believe that something is wrong with you, that whatever you touch is bound to be a failure. By continuously repeating this negative idea to yourself, you help it get even more deeply rooted in your memory. And as time passes, the mind begins to automatically play back whatever you have taught it, even in other situations, disturbing you without your knowledge or permission. This becomes a habit for your mind, resulting in a serious inferiority complex.

Just as poor eating habits ultimately cause fat deposits to accumulate in your body, or cholesterol to accumulate in your arteries, constant worrying can actually cause worried to solidify in your Being. And just as cholesterol creates blockages in your arteries, depression creates energy blockages in your Being. Depression is felt as a total low, a state past all hope. It is a state where we have handed over our controls to a monster we have created ourselves.

On the physical level, worry quickly manifests itself as ailments of the stomach (just check how often you need to visit the restroom on the day of an exam or a job interview!). This is significant, because worry is closely connected to the Manipuraka Chakra, located in the naval region. The energy of this chakra, which controls the functions of digestion and elimination, gets locked by constant worrying.

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This excerpt has been taken from the book: Uncommon Answers to Common Questions