Depression Relief Crystal

Up to now, there is no evidence-based medicine or psychological research to prove that the physical properties of crystals can relieve symptoms of depression. The mood improvement experienced by some users is essentially a positive psychological intervention effect brought about by psychological suggestion, attention shifting, and ritual sense. Crystals can never replace formal depression intervention methods such as drug treatment and professional psychological counseling.

I went to a physical and mental market in Hangzhou a while ago. The little girl running the stall gave me a round and polished piece of aquamarine and said, "Your eyebrows are so wrinkled that they are knotted. Hold it for 10 minutes and you can release the blocked emotions." That day, I had just finished supervising three cases of depressed patients. My mind felt as heavy as lead, so I held the cool stone and sat under the shade of a tree for a while. Strangely enough, within 10 minutes, the tightness in my chest did loosen up a bit. Of course I know that there is no magic in stones - it was during those few minutes that I was forced to stop the case plan that was constantly spinning in my mind, and focus entirely on the cool feeling in the palm of my hand and the uneven polishing marks on the surface of the stone. It was equivalent to unconsciously doing a 2-minute "grounding exercise", and the originally tight sympathetic nerves naturally relaxed.

The mainstream clinical academic community’s explanation of the “efficacy” of crystals basically falls into this category: to put it bluntly, it is the placebo effect superimposed on embodied cognition. If you believe in advance that this stone can help you stabilize your emotions, when you touch it, you will naturally activate calm emotional memories subconsciously; if you specifically add an "emotional emergency stone" setting to it, take it out and hold it when you are sad. Over time, it will become your "emotional anchor" - just like some people touch the corners of their clothes and turn their pen when they are nervous. This part of the conclusion has been verified by a large number of double-blind experiments: two groups of subjects were given crystals and ordinary glass blocks that claimed to have "emotional soothing effects" respectively. As long as the subjects believed that they were holding "energy crystals", there was no significant difference in the proportion of emotional relief reported by the two groups.

What’s interesting is that I have also talked with many crystal healing practitioners, and their logic is completely different. In their cognition, crystals have a stable vibration frequency, while the emotional frequency of people in a depressed state is disordered. Crystals can pull people's frequencies back to a stable range like a "frequency modulator". Crystals of different colors and textures correspond to different chakras. For example, pink quartz corresponds to the heart chakra, which is suitable for resolving heart knots; smoky quartz corresponds to the root chakra, which is suitable for relieving meaninglessness and stabilizing emotions. This theory currently has no way to be verified by mainstream scientific quantitative standards, and there are many loopholes in over-promotion. However, many audiences do report that it is "useful" - in fact, it is essentially the same logic as going to the temple to ask for a peace charm or wearing a peace buckle given by a family member. If you believe it can give you support, it can really provide you with emotional support.

Nowadays, two groups of people are quarreling on the Internet. One group says that crystals are all IQ taxes, and whoever believes them is stupid; the other group says that the end of science is metaphysics, and the energy of crystals is real. In fact, there is no need to fight to the death. If you like shiny little stones, spend ten or twenty yuan to buy one that fits your eyes and put it in your pocket. Take it out and touch it when you are in emo mode. It will be a portable mindfulness tool, and there will be no problem at all. I have a client who is moderately depressed. Every time she had a panic attack, she would hurriedly find her mobile phone to call a friend. Later, she picked a piece of polished white crystal in a boutique and put it in her bag. When she had an attack, she would hold the edges of the crystal and count 10 deep breaths to calm her down. Now she has been carrying the stone for almost two years, and the edges and corners are polished and shiny. I also asked her if she wanted to change it to one with "better quality", and she smiled and said no, this one feels like the rain flower stone in my grandma's fish tank when I was a child, and it is solid.

But there are two bottom lines that must not be broken: First, you must not believe what the merchants say "wearing crystals can cure depression", secretly stop the medicine prescribed by the doctor, and cancel the psychological consultation appointment. If you really do this, the cost of delaying the condition cannot be borne by a few stones; Second, don’t be fooled by the hyped concepts of “energy” and “blessing.” Spending thousands or tens of thousands on a stone that is essentially silica, or even building a “crystal array” to change your fortune. You will spend a lot of money, but it will worsen anxiety and depression due to financial pressure. It is completely worth the loss.

I still have the piece of aquamarine I bought at the market for 15 yuan on my desk now. It is a little crooked and has flocculent impurities inside. Every time I get tired of writing a report, I hold it for two minutes. It feels so cool and comfortable. Do you think it works? Of course it is useful to me, but what is useful is never the "energy" of the stone itself. It is the moment when I am willing to stop my hurried pace and spend 30 seconds to take care of my emotions. If you really sink to the bottom of your emotions and can't climb up, don't expect the stone to pull you back. The safest way is to find a doctor or a reliable counselor.