I'm Still Human: Understanding Depression With Kindness (Expanded Edition - 2021)

hearing voices, extremely restless), meditation is not suitable;
stabilization with medications and family support are more
important at this phase of the illness. Venerable Kumara shared
that for people with mental illness, such as depression, it is better
to meditate while walking, as it is easier to practice awareness that
way. They can also do that in daily activities, e.g. sweeping the floor,
exercising, washing. It is important that we do not use meditation
as an avoidance strategy to run away from life’s problems, stressed
Ven. Kumara.
Yet another asked if depression is genetically inherited. Dr Phang
said, "Yes," but it is not an unavoidable condition. That is why some
people with a family history of depression do not get it. There are
many things that we can do to influence gene expression and
prevent depression. Related to that, someone asked Venerable
Kumara whether depression is due to past kamma? "If you are
referring to something bad you did in the past life, I honestly don’t
know. What we experience now is a result of past conditions. We
can't change that. What's important though is how we relate to
what is happening now. That's the new kamma that would make all
the difference. For example, if we regard depression with kindness,
then that's good kamma; that is a condition for the healing of
depression," commented Venerable Kumara.
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