After the 2013 suicide of one of my celebrity clients (who had become a friend), I set out on a journalistic journey to uncover the roots—and truth—about depression.
I spoke with the country’s top experts and doctors and television colleagues and movie stars and family and neighbors and more.
And I spoke with the ‘quantum physicist of quantum physicists’—Dr. Quantum himself, Dr. Fred Alan Wolf, the genius professor, bestselling author, and world-famous cast member of the wildly popular films The Secret and What The Bleep Do We Know!?. (If you’ve seen these movies, you’re sure to remember Dr. Wolf. He sort of looks like Albert Einstein, complete with Yoda-esk white hair.)
“Hi Dr. Wolf, I'm looking to explore the theory that depression—some types anyway—can be contagious. (And if so, imagine the benefits of surrounding yourself with the ‘good vibes’ and staying clear or at least conscious of the ‘down vibes’ in social interaction, your environment, your exposure to negativity on TV for example, and so on. For more, read “Viral Energy”.) It’s law of attraction principle really. Yet people are not talking about this. I’d like to explore with you the topic from a quantum mechanics standpoint.”
“Penelope, please understand that I am not a psychologist nor psychiatrist, so any commentary I provide is based on my own personal experiences and my knowledge of some principles of quantum physics. I don’t have a theory of depression based on quantum physics. No one I know of does. Human behavior is quite complex without bringing in quantum physics. Excluding obvious physical diseases, as I understand it, we are quite imitative in our interactions with others, particularly with whomever we grew up with. Hence if we grew up in a depressive environment we might tend to be depressive ourselves.”
“Yes, I have been learning about this as I speak to experts and researchers all over the country. I’ve been able to interview Dr. Stephen Hinshaw, Chair of Psychology at UC Berkeley; Dr. Mitch Prinstein, Director of Clinical Psychology at Chapel Hill; and Dr. Gerald Haeffel from Notre Dame. They have covered with me the aspects of depression that some of us have heard of, such as the generic vulnerabilities and the cognitive, biological, and interpersonal factors. Yet, there were some interesting conversations that would lead me to look at the principles of quantum physics.” I press him on this a bit further. I’m hungry to uncover something new and I’m interested to learn that neither he, nor any other quantum physicist that he is aware of, is studying a theory for depression utilizing the wisdom of quantum physics.
“Oh, yes?” Dr. Wolf is interested. But I’m going to have to work for this.
“My goal is not to find a one-size-fits-all answer. What I am doing is simply opening a wider conversation and exploring new ideas, even though some are provocative. The psychologists that I’ve spoken with have agreed that the way to change the stigma of depression is to get people talking, more and more. That is what I’d like to help with. It should also be said that my quest is specifically about, what I’m calling, ‘Functional Depression’, and therefore it is applicable to question alternative concepts like quantum physics. There are many forms of mental health disorders, yet I am not referencing those such as bi-polar disorder, schizophrenia, post-partum, and so on. I’m interested in the depression experienced by many people whom still go to work and function and their struggles are not visible, nor entirely debilitating, yet can lead to grave unhappiness.”
“Yes,” with the sure and leading tone of a professor, Dr. Wolf indicated to go on. I’m sensing that he needs a reason to get involved. And I want to earn it.
“I have a history with depression myself, from some years ago. I was able to recover through a number of practices that I believe raised my vibrational point of attraction like affirmations, visualization, gratitude, and more. I had tried anti-depressants, which caused more problems; and therapy, which didn’t help much. I believe that when I was depressed I was attracting more of the same depressing circumstances. Yet, as I began to lift myself up, one step at a time, the depression began to lessen and eventually my life became so purpose-filled that I no longer suffered from depression. As evident in my own case study, I believe it would be leaving something valuable out of the conversation if I did not interview with someone who understands quantum physics. I watched an interview that you gave to CNN on Larry King Live back in 2008. When King asked you about how to apply physics to change an unhappy situation, you replied, "Quantum physics says that the observer affects reality. Therefore, if you can change how you go about observing what you call life, you can change the reality that you're living in, and that is where it comes from." You went on to give an example of a person who says "I am depressed"—may you please explain again the quantum field of reality as it applies to a person who feels and affirms depression?” I’m hopeful to get a theory from him.
“Okay. Let's say that right now you're sitting and you're saying, "Oh, I'm so depressed. I feel so bad. I feel terrible." Just do one simple thing. It's very simple. Ask yourself this question: Who is feeling depressed? But don't answer the question. Just posing the question without answering it changes the chemistry inside the body, and just by asking, you can begin to lift yourself from that depression.”
“Posing the question changes the chemistry inside the body?” Now this is different.
“You've got to keep doing it for a while because it isn't like automatic pilot. It's not like throwing a switch. You've got to keep doing it, and after a while you begin to realize that the person who is saying, "I am depressed" is not you.”
“Oh my,” please go on dear Dr. Quantum.
“The mind is a process, and it's related to what is happening at the level of what we call the quantum field of reality. At this unobservable—invisible—level of reality we are dealing with a field of possibilities, not a gathering of physical objects. Think of a magnetic field produced by a bar magnet. I’ll email you a diagram (Below.) The field is invisible. But sprinkle iron filings on a sheet of paper and then place the bar magnet beneath the sheet and you see the effect of the field on the filings. Changing the field of possibilities changes the pattern of behavior.”
‘The Magnetic Field’ as noted by Dr. Quantum
(BOOSH! That was the sound of my mind blowing. Not really, but perhaps on a quantum level.) He continues.
“Your brain is like the iron filings. It's a bunch of ‘stuff’. Your MIND is like the quantum field, and is not made of ‘stuff’. In fact, it's not made of anything. From the point of view of quantum physics, your mind doesn't even exist in the material space/time world. It comes before it.”
(KABOOM!! My mind comes before space and time!?)
“Wow! This is incredible. I believe this is going to be very helpful to those who experience depression. This is precisely the kind of new thought and original conversations that we are ready for as a society. And frankly, we desperately need to explore unconventional ideas for the topic of depression. I can see quantum physics as the next frontier for the study of depression. And even beyond the research, the conversations that these out-of-the-box ideas will open is how we destigmatize the topic of depression—just by allowing ourselves to talk about it. This fascinates me—so, the brain and the mind are two separate 'things'. The brain is the organ, the tissue that is physical matter. Yet, the mind is not a physical thing at all: it has no mass or matter and it does not take up space. Therefore, it is not located in the brain—in fact, it has no location because it is not even in the space/time world. Is the mind the same as our 'consciousness', the part of us that is aware that we are aware?”
“That which is aware is not in space/time, hence it is a spiritual entity, perhaps related to the quantum field of the mind itself and inherent in the whole universe.”
“You know, in the dictionary, the definition for 'Spirit' sounds a lot like how quantum physics defines the mind. I’ll read it. Spirit: the principle of conscious life; the incorporeal part of humans present in the spirit though absent in body; conscious incorporeal being, as opposed to matter: the world of spirit.” I won’t ask Dr. Wolf to agree. I think he has already made his point well. “I believe that some forms of depression are a spiritual health crisis rather than a mental health crisis. The descriptions you’ve given for the brain and the mind certainly bring in a whole new conversation on that query. Would the same practice work for other feelings—for instance, could you alleviate other negative feelings by asking yourself, Who is feeling stressed? or Who is feeling doubt? or Who is feeling loneliness?”
“As far as I could speculate, and mind you, I am only speculating here, the simple technique I explained should work to change your mind set and therefore the observer in you causing you to change your perspective on whatever you observe, be it feelings, intuitions, senses, or thoughts. The ancient key lies in the usage of the word “I” in English, “Ya” in Russian, “Ich” in German, “Anee” in Hebrew, and “Je” in French. Although a simple word, it represents many different people living inside of our brains and nervous systems and muscles, and skin and bones.”
“My dear Dr. Quantum, you have been very generous with your time. Thank you. You have given me much to chew on and I do believe that quantum physics should be studied at the university level for the treatment and prevention of depression.”
“For far more on this and other related subjects read my books, Time-loops and Space-twists, The Yoga of Time Travel, The Spiritual Universe, The Dreaming Universe, Mind into Matter, Matter into Feeling, and The Eagle's Quest. For a quick fix read Dr. Quantum's Little Book of Big Ideas or listen to Dr. Quantum Presents: A User's Guide to Your Universe or Dr. Quantum Presents: Meet the Real Creator: You or Dr. Quantum Presents: Do-it-Yourself Time Travel.”
“Thank you. In closing I’d like to share that, for me, happiness and joy are found on the journey to purpose. I've been asking those whom I interview, and I'd like to ask you—what is happiness?”
“We all are born and we die. I believe that aside from the Law Of Attraction each of us has a purpose on the planet, and that the event of your birth is not an accident, and that your death is not the end of the road. Finding your purpose in life may take years or decades, but you will eventually find it and act according to that purpose or frustrate yourself by doing what you really don't wish to do. The really big secret is not the Law Of Attraction; it is the action that people who realize their purpose take in their lives. In every case where I have met successful people, I tend to find the happiest people are those who do what they enjoy doing. The richest people are those who do what benefits others. To be rich and happy do what you enjoy doing for the benefit of others and you can't fail to be rich and happy. It is absolutely guaranteed, provided you take right action.”
“Dr. Quantum”
Many thanks to Dr. Fred Alan Wolf for an inspiring and thought-provoking interview.