Depression, Anxiety and the Middle Way
Richard Potter
Visiting Lecturer at University of Brighton, Artist, Arts Facilitator & designer of 'creativity4wellbeing' (C4W)
‘The middle path is the way to wisdom.’ Jalaluddin Rumi
‘The secret of health for both mind and body is not to mourn for the past, nor to worry about the future, but to live the present moment wisely and earnestly.’ The Buddha
The Middle Way (or Middle Path) has, for me, always been such a wise way of looking at managing depression and anxiety and cutting the best line through it. The Middle Way has helped me avoid falling victim to extremes, that ‘fight or flight’ response to inner turmoil and accept or abide in that inner discomfort as best I can.
We all want to avoid the pain of bereavement, loss of a good job, trauma and mental illness that might ensue. It’s in our nature, as Freud said, to maximise pleasure and minimize pain. The middle way, as I see it, is a mindful recognition of our own frailty and mortality and allows us to recognise those recurring thoughts that trouble us again and again, without getting attached to them - after all, they are just ‘thoughts’, they come and they go and yet we attach so much importance to them, as if they embody who we really are. If a thought appears then we follow it and like a snowball, these thoughts gather momentum and cloud our mind. The metaphor of ‘thoughts like clouds’, coming and going, has always interested me. We don’t need to identify with the clouds when we realise our own true essence, that of the clear blue sky. If, in our minds, we can hold that clearer, bigger space, it has to be worth practising the middle path and mindfulness, so that in time, we become happier and less preoccupied by our turbulent thoughts.
If you think about it, there is only the present and if you’re immersed in it, then you don’t have to think about it! The Middle Way must embrace the fact that we think, and that we can begin to observe our thoughts, without suppressing or attaching any importance to them. Most of my thoughts seem to be useless, repetitive, negative or pointless and with a certain light-heartedness, I keep Shantideva’s words in mind: ‘If the problem can be solved why worry? If the problem cannot be solved worrying will do you no good.’
Om Mani Padme Hum.
Copyright ? 2017 by Richard K Potter BA Hons PGCE MA www.creativity4wellbeing.com and www.richardkpotter.wix.com/richard