Do you struggle with anxiousness and low moods? Have you been dealing with emotional issues for longer than you’d like to admit? Have you tried conventional treatments without getting the results you want? These are some of the signs that you may have “Dragons from the Past” wreaking havoc inside your brain.
These inner, emotional “dragons” can keep you locked in anxiety and depression. The problem is, most people don’t know anything about these mental dragons. So, they just keep trying the same standard treatments without success. You deserve better.
In this blog, you’ll be introduced to the Dragons from the Past that can ruin your present and your future. You’ll discover how to know which dragons are dragging you down emotionally, and you’ll get tips to tame these beasts, so you can improve your mental wellness.
MEET THE MENTAL DRAGONS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
Since ancient times, human civilization has used storytelling as a way to communicate with each other. Stories play an important role in educating us about life, about the world, and about ourselves.
Through stories, we learn how to behave and how not to behave. Stories that are passed down from one generation to the next help us understand our morals, values, and purpose in life.
Then there are the personal stories we tell ourselves. These stories define who we are, how we view ourselves, and our self-worth. The tales we believe about ourselves have a major impact on our emotional health. They can contribute to an overall sense of peace and happiness, or they can fuel feelings of anxiety, depression, fear, and anger.
The stories that disrupt our lives and drive emotional problems are “Dragons from the Past.” That’s what psychiatrist, brain health expert, and bestselling author Daniel Amen, MD, calls them in his Amen University digital course Overcome Anxiety, Depression, Trauma & Grief.
Dr. Amen first learned about this concept from his friend, Dr. Sharon May, who is a well-known psychologist.
These mental dragons typically arise throughout your childhood, adolescence, or young adulthood. Although they developed early in life, they continue to breathe fire on the emotional centers of your brain.
In particular, these internal dragons fire up activity in the amygdala. This almond-shaped structure is situated within the temporal lobes and plays a part in emotional reactions. Too much activity in the amygdala is associated with:
- Anxiety
- Anger
- Irrational behavior
- Automatic negative reactions
Your inner dragons will continue to torment your unconscious mind and ramp up emotional pain unless you identify them and actively tame them.
IDENTIFY THE INNER DRAGONS THAT DRIVE EMOTIONAL PAIN
In Dr. Amen’s online course Overcome Anxiety, Depression, Trauma & Grief, he describes 13 Dragons from the Past. Some of the most common internal fire-breathers include the following:
- Anxious Dragons
- Hopeless and Helpless Dragons
- Wounded Dragons
- Grief and Loss Dragons
These mental dragons are associated with anxiety, depression, trauma, and grief. They can keep you locked in emotional turmoil, preventing you from finding the peace and happiness you deserve.
To find out if you have these or other dragons, you can take Dr. Amen’s simple Know Your Dragons assessment.
Once you know which of the 13 dragons are haunting your mind, it’s time to learn more about them. In Amen University’s anxiety and depression online course, Dr. Amen reveals everything you need to know about these pesky creatures, including:
- Origins—what events or situations caused them to develop
- Triggers—what causes these hidden dragons to resurface
- Reactions—how they make us respond
- Taming—How to overcome them
When you identify your inner dragons, you’ll begin to understand what’s driving your emotional pain. You’ll also start to recognize why certain things trigger unwanted emotional responses and what’s behind some of your unhealthy behaviors.
Discovering which dragons are breathing fire in your emotional brain is the first step to overcoming anxiety and depression.
HOW TO OVERCOME DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY
The best depression and anxiety treatment starts by taming your mental dragons. If you need anxiety and depression help, you can begin with simple, science-backed strategies that calm the Anxious Dragons and the Hopeless and Helpless Dragons.
These are some of the same techniques Dr. Amen has used with his own patients over the past 30-plus years. This includes natural depression treatment as well as natural anxiety treatment, such as:
Diaphragmatic breathing
- Meditation and prayer
- Hypnosis
- Use your 5 senses to root yourself in the present moment
- Create a positivity bias
- Challenge automatic negative thoughts (ANTs)
In his online course on depression and anxiety, Dr. Amen goes into great detail about these and additional techniques.
If you need help overcoming trauma or if you’re suffering from depression from grief, understand that you can feel better too. You’ll find specific techniques in the course to help you fight back against adverse childhood events that harmed you.
In addition, if you lost someone close to you—whether it was through divorce, abandonment, moving away, or death—you can learn to live with the loss without falling into depression.
ONGOING HELP WITH ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION
When you learn to tame your dragons, you can change your life. By putting these methods into action, you can begin to calm your emotional brain and regain control of your life.
When you’re in charge of your emotions, you will feel happier, less stressed, more positive, and more hopeful. Taming your dragons also helps you break free from self-destructive habits—such as overeating, drinking too much alcohol, smoking, or doing drugs—that compound emotional problems.
In fact, calming your inner dragons is the key to emotional stability and strong mental health—depression and anxiety can be put in the rear-view mirror.
If you want to get simple yet powerful strategies to stop letting your Dragons from the Past breathe fire on your emotional brain, register for Amen University’s Overcome Anxiety, Depression, Trauma & Grief today. Now is the time to start taming your mental dragons so you can overcome anxiety and depression and live the life you want.
