Depression is another of those conditions that, for many people, seems to come just by chance, and when it’s affected them once, it has a tendency to revisit them again and again. Most solutions for depression focus on drug treatments, ways of living with it or long-term deep psychotherapy. However, the Lightning Process has helped many people who suffered with depression to make rapid, lasting and permanent changes; allowing them to free themselves forever from the threat and spectre of this horrible condition.
The Lightning Process has a fundamentally different approach to the other therapeutic options mentioned above. It considers that depression is simply the result of using a particular set of brain pathways which process, or filter, information about the world in a ‘depressing’ way. Most people suffering with depression will recognize some of their tendencies to view the world in a particularly ‘flat’ way, seeing the hopeless bleakness of their situation. Through the process of neuroplasticity (the more you use a brain pathway the stronger it becomes, as described in more detail in chapter 6), these pathways, and therefore these ways of thinking, become very dominant. It is important to recognize that, although this change in brain function is a result of our thinking processes, it isn’t through any conscious choice to be this way or think this way. It is simply the result of certain situations we come across that shape our experience of the world, and the continual activation of these very particular pathways.
Armed with this knowledge, the solution to resolving depression becomes much more simple. All that we need to do is avoid these pathways and start activating the pathways that stimulate more reasonable ways of thinking about the world. When viewed in this way, we can see there is much less work to do, that we don’t need to be bombarding our nervous system with drugs to suppress certain neurotransmitters (whose function is to block ‘bad’ pathways and open up ‘happy’ pathways), or even delve really deeply into our past or our psyche. We just need to change the pathways that we are using the most.
What follows are some personal stories of those who decided to recharge the pathways they wanted to exercise the most and found their route to a better future.
Emma had suffered with bad depression, on and off, since her teens. Learning the Lightning Process was a challenge because the ideas it presented to her, and the possibilities that it offered, were so different from everything she had ever been told about her depression and her future.
However, she did recognize that the options she had prior to the Lightning Process weren’t really working very well for her. Her life was blighted by the depression, which could come at any time and ruin everything for weeks and months. As a result of these failed attempts in the past, she was determined to use the Lightning Process to follow the path that others had taken to successfully resolve her depression. She said:
The Lightning Process was incredible – everything has been going well since. The fact that I could have talked myself completely out of hideous ‘depression’ in one hour is pretty incontrovertible evidence that it is optional. Something really sunk in, and I feel like I’m learning more and more, so thanks very much.
When I caught up with Emma a few years later, she reported that her depression was now a thing of the past:
It is astonishing to think how much power it used to have over me, and how, before learning the Process, one upsetting event would ruin my life for months afterwards. On the increasingly rare occasions that I ever find myself going down that road to unhappiness, I now notice it immediately. Within seconds, I am able to steer myself back to happiness with confidence and ease. That feeling of being in charge of the choices in my life is just the best thing ever.
Pete’s story is a particularly interesting one as when he arrived to take the Lightning Process training, he was already a fully qualified practitioner of NLP, hypnotherapy and life coaching. Although he had all those skills at his disposal, he was unable to shift a deep depression. As those ‘bad’ feelings built, he noticed he was starting to avoid going to work or having any social interaction, and day-by-day, could feel himself becoming a virtual recluse. He said:
I arrived for the Lightning Process feeling absolutely desperate and in a deep depression that had haunted me for years and had been especially bad every day for the last three months.
I had a lack of concentration, was feeling fuzzy and anxious, found it difficult to talk to others, was avoiding my friends and making mistakes at work. Phil trained me in the Lightning Process, and wow, what a difference!
Even after the first session, what a joy to do simple things like read a book, watch TV and actually be present in a conversation again.
It seemed too good to be true, but as time has gone on, these feelings have continued and strengthened, and I am very happy to embrace this new approach. I look forward to getting up in the mornings, the future looks very rosy and it’s such a practical process to use in everyday situations that I know I’ll stay on track no matter what.
Thanks a bunch, Phil!
Pete’s update:
Well, it is one month now since I came to you to learn the Lightning Process, and I would like to give you a little update – it is still brilliant! I am so clearly moving more and more into the life I love. Thanks, Phil.
Two months later:
I thought I would update you on my ongoing Lightning Process experience. I’m going from strength to strength; using the Process less now due to how effective it is being. Things are going well, including the schedule of the goals that I set at the clinic. What really stands out is the way I seem to be drawn to situations that I used to avoid. It now seems fun to play with them with the knowledge that I am in control of how I feel!
It’s now four years on, and Pete reports that he hasn’t had a day of depression since attending the Lightning Process.
If something in these stories reminds you of your issues, then you should ask yourself, ‘If others have made these changes, then why not me?’ What do you need to let go of in terms of:
Write down your reflections.
Let’s continue to the next chapter, which focuses on a very common set of issues that feature in many people’s lives.