Whip It! [Depression] Whip It Well!

In Pravda Online there is a short article that says Russian scientists believe that a list of psychological personal problems [such as substance addictions, depression, and suicidal thoughts] can be effectively treated by actual, real, physical whippings.

The article explains:

The absence of the will to live is caused with decreasing production of endorphins - the substance, which is known as the hormone of happiness. If a depressed individual receives a physical punishment, whipping that is, it will stir up endorphin receptors, activate the “production of happiness” and eventually remove depressive feelings.
Russian scientists recommend the following course of the whipping therapy: 30 sessions of 60 whips on the buttocks in every procedure. ~Pravda Online http://english.pravda.ru/science/health/7950-whipp%20ing-0

The article says that Dr. Sergei Speransky, a Doctor of Biological Sciences in Novosibirsk, is not only one of the authors of the paper on this whipping therapy, but Dr. Speransky also states that he used the self-flagellation method to cure his own depression; and that he also recovered from two heart attacks with the help of physical tortures too.

The Pravda article delves into a titillation area saying that the patients who were whipped seemed to do better if the whip-a-cutioner was from the opposite sex.

In 1956, when I was in the first grade, I learned one of my first school yard jokes:

QUESTION: Why did the little moron keep hitting himself in the head with a hammer?

ANSWER: Because it felt so good when he stopped.

Will anyone, even Russian scientists, seriously going to treat depression and addiction with pain, punishment, and S&M?

Is anything that increases endorphins going to produce happiness? If anything goes if it increases endorphin production then why do we the fuss with drug addictions. You can't drink and drive, but then, after getting 60 swats on the butt, you can't sit and drive either.

In my reading I find that hormones such as phenylethylamine, oxytocin, dopamine, serotonin and endorphin are not only important determiners of mood and behavior, but they are also responsible for our general health and influence our immune cardiovascular systems and the ageing process.

In Personal Care Magazine I learned that there is something called beta-endorphins (something the magazine calls the body’s own happy hormones) and the corresponding opioid receptors, not only work inside the brain but these substances are also present and produced in the skin. This has lead to the cosmetic industry to consider putting beta-endorphins in cosmetics.

So the sad-sacks of the world are considering running, S&M, self-inflicted pain, and hormone-permeated cosmetics to redress the melancholy of life.

I can’t stop myself from remembering Devo’s song Whip It.

When a problem comes along
You must whip it.
Before the cream sets out too long
You must whip it.
When something’s goin’ wrong
You must whip it.

Now whip it
Into shape
Shape it up
Get straight
Go forward
Move ahead
Try to detect it
It’s not to late
To whip it.
Whip it good.

The Devo song is not advocating the actual beating of one’s SELF to redress one’s troubles. The Devo song is saying that when faced with the feces of life you should choose to whip the problems. It is as simple as that. When faced with addiction, depression, anxiety, and dark navy blue thoughts, the biggest part of the healing process is to pick to whip your problems.

Yes, we might need help. Anti-depressants, a mental health therapist, perhaps prayer, and/or meditation will all help you whip it, but nothing will help until you whip your troubles unless you choose to whip them.

I wrote an article for SearchWrap.com called Affirming Affirmations and I got the following comment:

. . . this is a well written and compelling article. You should never feel depressed, with your ability of expression and your attitude, you are not only saying these affirmations you actually fulfill them. My best wishes that you will "get better". None of us will ever be perfect.

I was very touched that someone would take the time to offer me this kind comment and encouragement. I have spent 40 years struggling to get the advantage over my depression, and I have learned a lot about my problems and the methods reported to have whipped the depression demons, yet I continue to struggle.

What I have to remember is the Devo song. I have to remember that I must choose to whip depression. But it is not one moment of choosing, it is choosing one moment after another. If I think of the past I am filled with regret and guilt. When I think of the future my mind is flooded with angst and worry. In the present moment I can be ok, but only for a moment, and only if I am choosing at that moment to whip depression, and open my arms to embrace the enchanting elegance of life. For me life can be an unbearable agony, unless I choose in that moment, to see what is good about my life.

Whip it. Whip it well.
Choose it. Choose it good.

Choose to whip your problems. Choose life. Choose contentment. It is there, even when you can’t see it. Choose to be OK. Choose it moment, by moment, continuously, relentlessly, tirelessly. You don’t have to beat your own ass to be OK. Just choose to be OK, and don’t be discouraged that this is a choice you have to keep on making, day after day, and moment after moment.