Each sephira has a disease and a vice associated with it. Disease can be thought of as the term "dis-ease" - areas that you are not comfortable with, that you don't want to own. Working with the qabalah means being comfortable - at ease - with every sephira, and learning the lessons that each sephira has to teach us. Where we don't learn, we remain uncomfortable, ill-at-ease, "dis-eased".
If any of these dis-eases ring bells, try to counter them by working with the positive attributes of the sephira in question. Find your way back to the site map and try some of the exercises for that sephira, and use the various correspondences that apply to the sephira until that area is "eased" again. You'll notice I haven't put many hyperlinks in this section. "Finding your way back" when you've plummeted into darkness is not easy (well, OK, you can press the "Back" button, but you can't do that in real life!), but it can be done - try to find the light.
When you are depressed, you are far more vulnerable to psychic attack - whether this is from other people who, intentionally or otherwise, are draining you of whatever energy you do have left, or from unseen entities (which may be internal to you), or just from your own anger, sadness and pain. There are no easy answers - no simple exercise that will suddenly make you feel wonderful again, but the following have helped me in the past and may be useful:
- Avoid drink and recreational drugs if you possibly can. These take the edges off reality, and it's very tempting to "fuzz up the edges" of reality a bit when you're feeling down. The problem is, making reality a tiny bit more bearable by using a "psychic anaesthetic" like alcohol, dope or other drugs may make you feel better in the short term, but it doesn't address the problem and can just lead to a pattern where you can't break out of the cycle. If you've been drinking or taking drugs while you've been depressed, you may well feel worse initially when you give up - because reality will seem much more "raw", but persevere. You will notice results!
- Give yourself something to do as a routine. Force yourself to go out for a walk every day, even if it's raining (assuming that your depression does not have a physical cause as well that might make this dangerous).
- Don't isolate yourself. Go out and see friends, or invite them round. While it's really good to talk to friends about your problems if they're sympathetic, set aside some time simply to see them as well - maybe invite them round for a game you enjoy, or to watch a video. This doesn't mean trying to suppress your feelings and pretending you're OK when you're not - but setting aside an hour a day when you don't brood on your problems can help lift your spirits too.
- Meditate daily, and pray if this feels right for you. You may not feel able to, but give it a try anyway - even if it's just for five minutes a day.
- When you go to bed, imagine yourself bathed in a pale blue light - as though a spotlight is shining on you.
- If you feel you are being attacked by a specific person, don't spend all your time planning and plotting some kind of revenge on them - your anger will rebound on you. If they are genuinely trying to hurt you, they will pay the penalty for their own anger eventually. If you're angry too, you'll end up paying as well. You can't afford the waste of energy.
- Get counselling. If you are able to, go and see a professional counsellor or therapist.
- Keep a diary. Note how you feel from day to day. Sometimes, improvements are so gradual you may be getting better without realising it!
- If you have any powerful dreams, try to record them if you can. Even if you don't remember them, remember that what's going on when you dream is important to your healing - so try to get as much sleep as you need.
