Fatema Loonat
There is a simpler way
to beat depression
Reset Your Life is a one-to-one Coaching Program for Muslim women
who want to heal their depression....
without years of therapy and without taking antidepressant medication
I See You
If you're here, I know that you've probably tried many different things to lift the fog of depression.
But it seems like nothing can help you to break free of this dark cloud you find yourself in.
Even though you desperately want to break free and be happy, you find yourself stuck and unable to move forward.
You can barely muster the motivation to get out of bed in the morning, let alone figure out what to do in order to feel better
You feel numb and dead inside....almost like you're sleepwalking through life instead of being an active participant
No matter what you try, you feel like you're sinking deeper and deeper into depression and you don't have a clue how to break out of this downward spiral.
You may have tried therapy and medication but nothing seems to provide any lasting relief
Are you depressed or just feeling blue?
Everyone feels down or blue once in a while. Sadness, disappointment and fatigue are normal parts of life. The contrast between feeling blue and real depression is like the difference between the sniffles and pnemonia.
Depression is not characterized by a particular emotion, rather it is the absence of emotion....a deep sense of emptiness that seems to permeate every aspect of your life.
The hallmark of depression is a persistent sad or empty feeling. Life lacks pleasure, meaning or purpose. If you have mild depression, you may just go through the motions but life feels hollow and empty. If you have a more severe case of depression, you may withdraw from activities and not want to get out of bed.
What causes depression
and what can you do about it
Depression is not a sign or weakness or a character defect.
Nor is it something to feel ashamed or guilty about.
There is no simple "one-size-fits-all" reason for depression. Depression is partly in our genes, partly in our way of thinking, partly in our brains and partly in the way we handle our emotions.
Psychiatrist Richard O' Connor has stated that "Depression is a set of mental, emotional, physical and interpersonal habits that keep us stuck in self-destructive habits."
Changing those habits is what leads to change in the brain, and ultimately to curing depression. Overcoming depression requires that you learn a new set of sklls. Science is only now uncovering that happiness, emotional intelligence and health are all skills. And just like any skill, they can be learned.
As you practice the skill of happiness, new networks develop between brain cells that were not previously connected to one another.
Right now, the networks in your brain that support depressed behavior are so well-used that they are like a well-trodden path.
As you develop the habits and skills that lead to happiness, new connections develop in the brain and the brain starts to heal from depression.
And over time, you go from depression as your default state to joy and happiness as your default state.
Won't therapy help my depression?
You can spend years in therapy so that you have a pretty good understanding of what led you to this dark place, but if you don't get out of bed in the morning, you're still going to feel depressed.
Understanding what factors led you to feeling depressed may be interesting, but it does nothing to help you to feel better.
In order to overcome depression, you have to understand what depression is.
Depression is a set of mental, emotional, physical and interpersonal habits that keep us stuck in self-destructive habits.
From my experience of working with many women I’ve found that a lot of women fall into depression and stay there because they don’t know how to do anything else.
And science has proven that these depressed behavior patterns become written into the brain itself.
I’m convinced that one of the biggest reasons why women who are depressed stay depressed despite therapy, medication and support from loved ones is that they are simply unable to imagine an alternative.
Feeling down and blue becomes the norm and depression becomes a set of behaviors, thought processes, assumptions and feelings.
The coping mechanism that you develop in a vain effort to save yourself pain - things like swallowing your anger, isolating yourself, putting other people first, being over-responsible – these are the very habits that prevent your recovery, keep you down and make you vulnerable to relapse.
But won't antidepressants cure my depression?
Curing depression isn't as simple as popping a pill, despite what Big Pharma would want you to believe.
"I'm skeptical about the effectiveness of antidepressants because it's been shown that much of the research was seriously biased in favor or the drugs, largely because of the pharmaceutical industry's heavy hand, a fact that has become glaringly obvious in the past decade." says Richard 'O Connor, a leading psychotherapist based in New York.
He goes on to say "We were sold on antidepressants with the idea that they were benign and safe, merely repairing a chemical imbalance in the brain, as if they were taking us back to a lost Eden. But there is no chemical imbalance and the fact is that no one knows how the drugs work. And despite the popularity of the drugs, depression continues to grow in epidemic proportions."
Antidepressants are not the answer. The answer lies in rewiring the patterns and habits in the brain that are causing the depression.
Depression damages the brain
After being depressed long enough, the brain becomes less resilient, so when good things happen to you, they don't have the expected impact on the brain.
That's because your brain loses the ability to produce dopamine, one of the primary neurotransmitters that allow us to experience pleasure and happiness.
The receptor sites for endorphins (your happy hormones) all wither away…which makes us feel even less able to feel joy.
The hippocampus, the part of your brain responsible for processing emotions, appears to shrink with each major depressive episode. The shrinking of the hippocampus also leads to difficulty concentrating and increased forgetfulness, so common in depressed individuals.
Does that mean you're doomed to stay depressed forever?
The brain is incredibly resilient and it can heal.
Science knows now that our brain does not simply store our experiences. Each experience changes the brain, structurally, electrically and chemically. The brain becomes the experience….the good news is that we can undo the damage with focused practice and attention. - Richard 'O Connor, Psychotherapist
In my Reset Your Life Program, I help you to undo the damage caused by depression
with my holistic Mind, Body and Soul Approach.
Introducing The Reset Your Life Program
The Reset Your Life Program is a one-to-one coaching program for Muslim women who want to heal their depression whilst strengthening their Imaan and connection to Allah SWT. It's an approach that doesn't require years of expensive therapy or taking antidepressants.
It's a holistic approach that focuses on body, mind and soul that addresses the root causes of depression rather than just dealing with the symptoms.
You'll learn how to:
Nourish your soul with zikr and a closer connection to Allah SWT since we know that "Verily in the remeberance of Allah do hearts find rest." - Surah Raad: Verse 28
Take control of your mind using techniques and strategies that have been developed by the latest developments in neuroscience and brain research. You'll learn how to develop the thinking patterns of happy people and make those patterns your default.
Simple changes in diet and lifestyle that have a massive impact on your cognitive function and mental health. You won't believe how quickly these changes work to help you to feel better.
What makes my approach different
My approach to treating depression is different and somewhat unconventional. Having suffered from, and overcome, depression myself, I understand that it's not as simple as "snap out of it" or "think positive."
I offer a judgement-free safe space that is 100% confidential. But it goes way beyond that.
My approach to dealing with depression is a holistic, Allah-centered approach that is blend of spirituality (Allah consciousness), positive psychology and the latest developments in brain science.
Depression is not caused by a single factor, which necessitates the need for a multi-facted solution.
I believe that the only way to truly overcome depression is to deal with the underlying root cause of depression instead of merely masking the symptoms.
I believe in a non-judgemental approach to beating depression that includes:
Strengthening & re-establishing your connection to Allah SWT
Healing and moving on from past trauma
Simple lifestyle changes that can have you feeling better fast
Teaching you the skills required to be happy
© 2023 Fatema Loonat | fatema@fatemaloonat.com | Cell Number: 084 760 3111