The emphasis of President Obama's health reform bill is on shifting America from sick care to genuine wellness, focusing on disease prevention rather than treating illnesses and conditions after they occur. The essential thesis is that heart disease, diabetes, prostate cancer, beast cancer and obesity are largely preventative by changes in nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle.

I believe depression can be added to that list.

The process I use is a Mindfulness Meditation. It's a technique easily learned and adaptable to use in your home whenever you experience those black thoughts that rumble through your head. In a single session in my office I can teach you how to fix your attention on the sensation your body is experiencing and to create an image that describes the feeling. By observing what is happening to you physically as the thoughts flow across your mind, an "eureka" moment occurs - you become aware that your feelings are merely one part of who you are, they are not you! Your attention shifts from WHY you are depressed (a shadowy and often painful analysis) to HOW are you feeling (readily answered by identifying an image that describes the nature of those feelings). The process separates you from the depressive feeling... and lifts it.

You come to realize that bodily sensations are correlated to internal emotions. And by focusing on how we experience the physical feelings themselves rather than on why we feel powerless and sad, depression can be prevented.

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