WeHaveAFace has a wonderful friend, Leaha Mattinson. Leaha is a change management specialist, life coach, speaker, and author who “walks her talk” in a truly extraordinary way. In 2008 she learned she would someday inherit Huntington’s disease, a genetic, neurological, terminal illness that affects the brain and progressively shuts down the mind and body. It was a devastating diagnosis—yet Leaha realized that to be true to the message she shares with clients, she must live her life consciously with enthusiasm, grace, and gratitude.
Leaha is a wellness advocate, she hosts the Leaha Mattinson Show and Master Your Life with Cohost Dr. Howard Rankin on Internet radio, which reaches a global audience. They are aimed at people who are passionate about overcoming obstacles, wellness, personal growth, and self-improvement—those who are eager to bring real change to the way they live and find meaning in a world that’s often brutally stressful and disconnected.
How to Eliminate Depression - A Moment with Leaha Mattinson
I feel terrific!
Hi I'm Leaha Mattinson and I've had a coaching practice for 28 years and in that time thousands of people have hired me to help them transform depression to emotional mastery. I am also gene-positive for Huntington’s disease.
I just want to invite you to think about my opening line in today’s article. “I feel terrific!” Is that how you start your day? Do you start in a mental state where you and feel incredibly invigorated or do you start in a mental state of not feeling incredibly sapped and drained? The curious and cool truth is that we move ourselves out of states of depression very, very quickly if we have the tools and knowledge to do so.
About 28 years ago I was lucky enough to teach in an immersion Stress Management course where people who were taking the workshops were on long-term disability and medication due to their massive and unhealed depression. By the classroom-full we brought people out of depression, off of long-term disability and off medications because we trained them how to move physiologically and how to mind their mind. So 10 years ago when I got my positive genetic status for Huntington’s Disease I had already been teaching depression elimination for years and years. And I simply maintain teaching and implementing this practice myself to maintain my exceptional wellness.
I think it's curious that we get caught up in the whole ‘scientific research’ of things, reading stats about ‘when depression actually starts in HD’. ‘Is it circumstantial or is it that the brain is breaking down?’ We spend an enormous amount of energy trying to figure out if we are or are not depressed. Some people become obsessed about diagnosing their own symptoms of depression. I think the better discussion and better way to spend energy is to think about this instead - how do we create wellness everyday and by doing so, really to put your focus entirely on Wellness not Illness.
Most people don’t know how powerful their mind is, so let’s just do a little fun experiment! I want you to not think about a white elephant. What did you think about? A white elephant right? Because your mind is just so powerful it creates things out of nothing but an idea, it creates things out of exactly what we think about. So, if we think about depression and stress and anxiety what do we create? Depression, stress and anxiety. And conversely, if our primary focus is happiness, joy and creating bliss what are the things we create and experience? Happiness, joy and Bliss! So, if you want to eliminate depression, here’s how you do it.
Good morning sunshine. Notice, what do you think about when you wake up in the morning? What are the very first thoughts that you have? Do you have thoughts that are exhausting and draining? “Oh I'm exhausted, i feel like I haven’t slept a wink. Oh Lord, another day I don't know if I can make it through it. I don't know if I can take it. I'm so discouraged. I'm so down. I feel so blue. I don't feel like getting out of bed.” And you emotionally become smaller and smaller at even your breathing changes and becomes more and more shallow with each thought . Yuck. So, to get through that, and this power is within you because we know that you created the white elephant, when you wake up in the morning the very first thing when you open your consciousness - even before you open your eyes when you're consciously awake it's just to think “Today is an incredible day. I love myself. I am enough.” Because most people who are struggling with depression don't feel like they're enough they're enough. They are struggling with an internal I am not enough, I don't value myself thing. So just go “I am enough. I am grateful for today”, roll out of bed with energy! Energetically! And deliberately move yourself physiologically to state of openness and expressiveness with your whole body. Extend your arms up above your head! Stretch up nice and tall. Take a deep breath in and continue to say “I am amazing, today is amazing, I create pure energy!”
All of these things happen within the first minute that you're awake if you’re quick enough to your feet...even within the first 30 seconds.
I think to myself, “I am a phenomenal woman. I am a phenomenal human being. I value myself. I am enough. I'm incredibly well!” Try it right now, stretch and open your arms open above your head and say “I am incredibly well, today is an incredible day!”
When I share this with clients for the first time some scoff or laugh shyly and say, “That's so silly you can't do that! I can’t do that!” I say - “I do do that,” laughing right along with them. And then we do it! I think it's much, much more silly to make yourself sick by not doing it!
Who wants to spend time at the doctor's office? I don’t.
Who wants to spend time on medication if they don’t need to? I don’t. And not only can you do this for yourself you can recruit your family! I have grandkids and they love this. I did this with my children when they were little. I would just touch my heart with my hands and say “I feel incredibly well,” as I opened my hands to the sky and we would do this over and over again until we were smiling and laughing. “I feel incredibly well today! Today is a wonderful day!” I have such gratitude for everything. Look up. Smile. Smile when you're doing this activity and you’ll find that just the physical movement of opening your arms wide and fully above your head and sweeping them down in front of you to place your hands upon your heart, opens your heart. Smiling just happens! So, engage your psychology and your physiology. This moves you out of depression in the snap of your fingers. And this power is within. Yours. I am just simply reactivating something that you already know how to do. That's right. So take control of your wellness today. Anytime and all the time.
If you want to find out more about how to be incredibly well, loving your body, mind and your life make an investment in yourself by enrolling right now in one of my upcoming 7-Days Healthy Habits Challenges and Momentum 30 Day Wellness Bootcamps!
Transformations not just education at LeahaMattinson.com.
I hope you all create a wonderful month!
*WeHaveAFace respects the opinions of all contributing writers. WeHaveAFace recommends that you always seek the advice from your doctor.*