Aspire Magazine: Inspiration for a Woman's Soul.(TM) Dec19/Jan20 Aspire Mag FINAL | Page 65

Learning to Heal from the Inside Out Happily, there is a less-known but powerful and ever-increasing army of doctors, therapists, scientists, researchers, biochemists, and other experts who have been steadily building a mass of documentation over recent years about another approach to treating depression. The specific methods and strategies they recommend may differ somewhat from professional to professional. But what each of these insightful experts have in common is this: They believe passionately in the ability of human beings to heal, from the inside out. Now, this is not some newfangled, unresearched, pie-in-the-sky, quirky medical view. This perspective is consistent with the deepest, oldest wisdom human beings have had for millennia about the healing process. For example, Hippocrates, the widely acknowledged father of Western medicine, taught that the human body possesses the capacity to heal itself, from the inside out; and that a healer’s job is to help activate and strengthen those innate healing capacities within their patients. And Eastern medicine has long been a practice of identifying blocks or obstacles to wellness, and removing them so that the healing energy within the individual can carry out its innately designed work, bringing that individual to full wholeness and health. In recent years, these ancient perspectives on healing have been joined by modern scientific research. Joel Fuhrman, Mark Hyman, Dean Ornish, Caldwell Esselstyn, John MacDougall, Colin Campbell, and many other health and science professionals have bountifully documented the impact of simple lifestyle and nutritional adjustments that can powerfully promote healing and wellness. And most recently, researchers have discovered that even the human brain itself—that most complex and intricate of physical organs—likewise has the power to regenerate itself - to heal itself, from the inside out, through a process known as neuroplasticity – the innate capacity of the body to continuously generate healthy new brain cells, from birth to old age. Now that’s hopeful science. Those are ideas that can heal, and inspire, and facilitate positive action. And they are ideas that can powerfully work for you, and for your loved ones – if you will learn them, and then carefully apply them. So – Where Do You Start? There is much to learn about emotional and physical healing. Don’t expect instant results or effortless relief. You’re going to have to work for this. But it is doable, step- 65 alternative views of depression. And those other less-advertised, less profitable views, in my experience, hold infinitely more powerful and hopeful keys to actual healing, actual happiness, actual recovery. And best of all, these are strategies you can learn to apply for yourself and your loved ones – starting today.