Hi folks

[SophiaGrace]

Was the depression from losing your father? You said that his death occured 14 years ago and if you are 40, I suppose that would put you in your mid twenties or so that he died? So, I will assume that the depression was caused by your father's death. In which case I don't blame you for hiding under your covers and being depressed. That's a huge life event that shouldn't happen during your twenties. I mean, yes, everyone eventually becomes orphans at some point but when things happen at an age they aren't supposed to, it hurts more I think. Feel free to tell me if I got the situation and timing totally wrong about your depression.

I'm glad you found something that helped you cope. Currently I am hoping my new anti-depressant helps me cope with my depression, but it being my third one, I am having doubts it'll work. I've always been a little curious about Tai Chi, it seems to be about controlling your breathing along with slow fluid movements that involve lots of physical control. I assume it reprograms the emotional centers in your brain, much like meditation would. Am I right about that? And, I assume that you alter your teaching for senior citizens and for others to meet them at the level they are at.

Your doggie is the cutest. EEEEEE! You'll have to excuse me. I love all dogs and miss my dog of 17 years that I grew up with. So every dog I see I just want to squish them and hug them (including yours). Since you said that Lurchers are a very active dog, do you go outside a lot with Flay? Does he give you an excuse to get out of the house?

 

[Alma lost her spoon]

I lost my father when I was 21, I was rather a 'late baby'(my mother was 39 & my dad was 53 when I was born) & all my grandparents were dead before I was born. I have come to learn(the hard way) that the normal progression of things for most people is that they go through the loss of their granparents before they lose their parents & so the experience does what it can to prepare(not that anyone can really be prepared) for the loss of their parents.

Add to this that my mother was a narcissist, & had grown up in a convent where she had been abused(by the nuns I might add) which robbed her of her ability to love. My dad was my rock, he loved us, when I was born my mother made it clear she didn't want me & was uninterested in me-these days they would diagnose it mainly as post-natal depression-I think it was PND combined with her other issues to be honest(she was diagnosed later on-in the 80s-as also having schizophrenia-lets just say she wasn't a very happy bunny) & my father looked after me from the time I was a baby.

So as you can probably imagine, my dad was the world to me, when I lost him I lost the plot entirely & it took me a very long time to be able to deal with life in general.

I began Taijiquan training when I was 29.

You're spot on with your thinking about Taijiquan having meditative qualities, & what we are working to achieve by practice is to combine & harmonise our body, mind & spirit & working to be in total control of our vital energy-this benefits ourselves & has a positive knock on effect to the wider world around us too.

Also, yes, Taijiquan can be practiced at whichever level is suitable for the participant(I also teach qigong which lends itself very well to more senior students).

I really hope you have some positive results with the anti-depressants, my doctor has been very understanding when it's come to treating my depression without use of chemicals. I did try anti-depressants early on & they didn't really work for me plus I've reached a point, after taking so many bad things in my earlier years that I try to be careful about what I put in my body-but it's a very personal thing-I have a number of friends who have had great success with anti-depressants.

I shall give Flay an extra cuddle from his Auntie SophiaGrace tonight <3 he loves cuddles.

 

[SophiaGrace]

Hi Alma,

Sorry for the long delay in response. I've been really busy with Grad School orientation and I've become exhausted due to not sleeping enough. I'm back now after sleeping like a rock last night even though I left all the lights on in my room.

It sounds like, since you are speaking in the past tense that both of your parents have died. At least your father gave you a loving nuturing environment growing up so your ability to attach to others was not affected like your mom's ability was. It sounds like you able to break that cycle of attachment issues and it seems like you were able to work through any issues you might have inherited or learned through growing up in an environment in which one of your parents had mental illnesses.

I'm sorry you lost your father so young. I'm glad you were able to eventually learn how to function without him though. It sounds like it was a very hard time for you.

My mom teaches yoga and meditation so what you are saying about Taijiquan being something all-encompassing in terms of healing sounds very similar. In yoga you learn to harmonize the flow of energy (called prana) to fix disease in the body.

You know, I'm not sure my antidepressant is working. I seem to be able to feel the same emotions as always. I was hoping they'd remain muted, but I still have some time to go yet until the medication fully saturates into my system. Antidepressants take a long time to do so, around two to four weeks.

I'm still waiting and hoping.

I hope Flay enjoyed his cuddle.

 

[Alma lost her spoon]

Hey SophiaGrace, no need to apologise-I've been a little 'away' recently also.

My mother died a number of years ago too, yes, I'm sad to say I'm not even too sure when it was(maybe about 10 years ago now-I'm working out that I didn't have Flay when she died). Her passing didn't really mean so much to me as there was no depth of emotional attachment with her.

I hope your anti-depressants start working for you soon, do you have any activities or hobbies that you can use as a focus to help you?

 

[SophiaGrace]

Hey SophiaGrace, no need to apologise-I've been a little 'away' recently also.

My mother died a number of years ago too, yes, I'm sad to say I'm not even too sure when it was(maybe about 10 years ago now-I'm working out that I didn't have Flay when she died). Her passing didn't really mean so much to me as there was no depth of emotional attachment with her.

I hope your anti-depressants start working for you soon, do you have any activities or hobbies that you can use as a focus to help you?

For me, if there's no emotional attachment, it's easier when people pass away. This was how it was for me when my paternal grandfather passed.

I don't have any activities, no. :/

 

[WallflowerGirl83]

Hello & Welcome to the Forum!