Depressed people feel as though their body is lived through by thoughts and emotions.

A couple of weeks ago, I discussed a view of depression. I looked at how the past can affect and influence depression and life expectancy and also at how materially-rich people such as Hollywood actor Robin Williams are not satisfied with their lives.

A different view of being depressed has emerged from Bryan Hubbard, who has suffered chronic depression for over 10 years. Hubbard believes you are the central player in the drama of your life.

On his website (www.bryanhubbard.net), he explains that sometimes it all becomes too much to cope with and, as a result, you become angry, depressed, anxious, experience mood swings or even addicted.

As a result of being the central player, you try to solve this problem by trying to work it out for yourself, by seeking therapy or even by trying to change your life by moving home or acquiring new materialistic possessions. Essentially, you are ‘papering over the cracks’.

The autonomous self is what creates the problem. Therefore, any move to get rid of anger comes from anger itself and is an extension of the problem

When you do this, everyone agrees with the idea that you are the central player who can control and change your behaviour.

In his book, The Untrue Story of You, Hubbard believes this is the biggest illusion of all time. Speaking from experience, the author says that during his depression he used to ask himself who was depressed. He says that when he looked, there was nobody there. “Instead, there is a body that is lived through by thoughts and emotions that all bubble up from past experiences.” The main conclusion is that “the thoughts think the thinker”.

Eventually, when depressed people come to terms with this, they experience a feeling of freedom, creativity and joy.

Here are three actions put across in the book that can help you understand how Hubbard approaches depression and tries to understand it in depth:

• The therapy triangle – most therapies are based on a triangle: there is you, your problem and the therapist.

The basic assumption underpinning the triangle is that you are an autonomous entity who happens to have anger issues and can control them or even get rid of them, albeit with the help and guidance of a therapist.

However, this scenario (especially the idea of an autonomous you in command) is the reason why therapies often only partially succeed and why Hubbard believes people keep returning to therapy.

The autonomous self is what creates the problem. Therefore, any move to get rid of anger comes from anger itself and is an extension of the problem.

Only when the triangle is broken down into a straight line (with a problem at one end and a therapist at the other) is there a possibility of real and lasting healing.

• The next action is looking. None of us look. We may look to cross the road or read e-mails, but these are cursory forms of looking, just enough to obtain the required amount of information.

Since we were young, we probably haven’t really looked at anything purely out of fascination and curiosity. By really looking, the intention is to absorb yourself in something else with no thought of gain or power.

Truly looking is the pure, undiluted act of observing without interpreting or imposing concepts. Once your conceptual mind has defined what is being observed, you cease to look.

If you really look at a flower, you see the complete mystery of it. Try looking at a flower in your garden and study it carefully. Take time to look at it well and absorb what you see.

In these moments, when time seems to freeze, minor miracles may happen. You may disappear from the face of the earth while looking at a flower or if you taste a strawberry in your mouth. These feelings may be the only existing sensations in the universe you’re experiencing at that moment.

In this way, thoughts of work, home and troubles will vanish and you will find yourself perfectly at peace in that instant of complete absorption. In that special moment, the space between you and what you’re looking at disappears and with it the potential for unhappiness and misery.

• Thirdly, thought watching. To understand our thoughts (where they come from and what they are), we need to be very still. Stillness occurs when you are conscious. However, like a muscle, it needs to be exercised or you will fall back to sleep and become unconscious.

While you are still, write down any thoughts and feelings you have or of which you are aware.

This will happen after the fact. When you’re thinking, you are the thought, so there isn’t a ‘you’ to observe it.

This exercise is immensely subtle. It is important not to judge, criticise or condemn. It is not your job to discriminate between thoughts.

Take a notebook to bed with you. Just before bedtime is a good moment to record your feelings and thoughts.

Leave the book by your bed, just in case you wake up during the night and wish to write down more thoughts. The more you do this, the more it will happen.

To understand more about Hubbard’s unique view of healing depression, read The Untrue Story of You.

kathryn@maltanet.net