I collect interesting articles and save them in a folder on my computer. Some are for my own education or entertainment, some are to share with an interested person, and some hold information that might make my Compassionate Clearing newsletter articles more interesting.
I was stumped on this month’s write-up for you, so I began to scroll through my collection of articles. To my surprise, I encountered two essays that contradicted one another – one posted February 2016 (Depression is a Disease of Civilization) and one in October 2016 (1300 Year Old Depression Pills). Since my clients report having more depression than usual, I stopped and read both.
In the first article, the author states “Depression is a global epidemic. It is the main driver behind suicide, which now claims more than a million lives per year worldwide.… It robs people of sleep, energy, focus, memory, sex drive and their basic ability to experience the pleasures of life…But depression is not a natural disease…depression is a disease of civilization. It’s a disease caused by a high-stress, industrialized, modern lifestyle that is incompatible with our genetic evolution.” Take note that the author blames modern lifestyle.
In the second article, I was informed that archeologists have dug up an ancient center for drug production in Turkey. Yup. You read that right.
“Seven hundred small glass and ceramic bottles containing ancient medicines have been discovered during excavations in Turkey. The medications include 1,300-year-old antidepressant pills and drugs for heart disease… According to Hurriyet Daily News , there were a lot of mortars, pestles and a big cooker around the bottles. The researchers believe that the site was a center for drug production. Archeologists also found many spatulas and other medical tools…
The laboratory may have been destroyed during the attack of the Avar Empire in Istanbul in 626 AD, as evidenced by a fire layer dating to between 620 AD and 640 AD… the medications discovered in the bottles contained Methanone (an antidepressant) and Phenanthrene (used for heart disease). Both were made from local plants, which were also found during the excavation, and which are known to be the source of many drugs.’”
He goes on to say: “Ancient Greeks, Vikings, Caucasians, prehistoric Siberians and Mongolians, and ancient Chinese emperors were all taken with the medicinal properties of the wild herb Rhodiola rosea (golden root or roseroot). …new research has shown that this ancient medicinal herb (is) effective in treating depression.”
I love collecting strange factoids, and I love reading about ancient healing methods. Now, you may think me callous, but finding these two articles within minutes of each other made me laugh.
Will I share some of my thoughts on how to get rid of depression you may be currently or recently feeling? Not today, dear readers. (Check out my archived article “Depression and Passion”). I just wanted to assure you that if you are feeling depression, you come from a long line of people experiencing depression from all over the world. But also, to assure you that things will improve and you will soon be all right. This won’t last forever. Now go on and laugh.