Do you sometimes feel so depressed that just before you go to sleep at night you find yourself secretly hoping you won't wake up in the morning?
I understand, I've been there. And here at Ditch the Black Dog, I'm on a mission to help people who feel like you do to recover from depression and create a life that feels worth waking up again for!♥
Welcome to Ditch the Black Dog
Hello my friend, I’m so glad you’re here.
If you’ve been guided to this corner of the internet, it’s probably because your “one wild and precious life” is being clouded by depression, low moods, or deep sadness and you’re searching for ways to feel better, cos nothing you’ve tried so far seems to work for you.
Maybe you’re exhausted from pretending you’re okay when inside you’re not?
Or maybe you’re sick of revisiting past traumas in therapy?
Tired of meds that leave you feeling like a zombie?
Maybe you can’t explain why you feel so down, and you have no idea where to start to boost your mood?
Or maybe you’ve just lived through a horrible experience that’s left you feeling at rock bottom and you don’t know how to climb of out of it?
And if you’re anything like many people I work with, even when you do all the things to help yourself feel better, the horrible stuff going on right now on our beautiful planet makes you feel helpless and hopeless.
Nothing feels meaningful to you anymore, so what’s the point, right?
I know that pain. I’ve been there too.
I’ll tell you more about me later, but first I’d like to ask you a question: –
If antidepressants and talk therapy work so well, why are so many of suffering from depression?
Here’s what I believe: –
Despite what we’ve been told by Big Pharma, depression isn’t caused primarily by chemical imbalances in the brain. (Although we’re learning now that depression can cause chemical imbalances.)
Most cases of depression are a symptom of the way we live in these chaotic times.
Our capitalist, patriarchal, corrupt, abusive, warmongering, unequal, unjust and unhealthy society values all the wrong things and that results in many of us suffering overwhelm, anxiety, mental stress and ill health.
In order to survive, we’re forced to live life in ways that are unnatural to human beings.
Sadly, that means that many of us are unable to thrive.
Our minds, bodies, hearts and Souls are being bombarded with abuse, stress, toxicity and pressure.
No matter how hard we try, we can’t find a way out and we feel hopeless, helpless and powerless.
No wonder our minds can’t cope and we become distressed and depressed!
I’m here to tell you that it’s not you that’s broken, no matter what you’ve been told, or made to feel.
It’s the dysfunctional system we live in that’s causing you to feel out of balance, wounded and unhappy.
Hi, I’m Maria and I’m starting a Gaian REVOLution!
I’m a mental wellness mentor for people looking for natural and alternative ways to lift persistent low moods, sadness and situational depression, so they can live a happy, meaningful life.
I’m not here to diagnose or offer licensed professional medical help.
What I do is create safe, inclusive spaces for wounded Souls to heal and thrive when traditional therapy and medication aren’t working well enough, or don’t work at all.
The most important thing you need to know about me is I’m NOT your typical mental wellness mentor!
Oooh no!
My approach to ditching the black dog of depression is unique.
I became a certified coach, counselor, and nature therapist specializing in the holistic management of depression because of my own battles with the black dog.
But what makes my work different is that I’m also an intuitive Soul Healer practicing Gaian Magick – therapeutic witchcraft that’s grounded in nature.
Don’t be put off by the witchy ‘woo woo’ stuff, though.
It’s the secret sauce to rediscovering how you can create a life worth waking up for!
Come join me on the Gaian Path – a magickal & revolutionary approach to surviving depression.
Together we’ll work with the healing energy of Gaia to help you find ways to feel healthy, happy & whole again.
Are you ready to feel the magick happen?
I’m here to help you if you’re;-
💊 taking meds you might not need, or that make you feel awful;
😔 feeling unsupported and left to cope alone;
📋 on a never ending waiting list to get help;
💸 unable to afford therapy as regularly as you’d like, or even at all;
👩⚕️ paying for endless talk therapy sessions that spend too much time focusing on your past, leaving you feeling exhausted, disempowered and broken;
😒 sick of therapists ignoring or bypassing the real reasons behind depression – poverty, oppression, racism and inequality – and you want to be around people who acknowledge your pain;
❤️🩹 tired of toxic positivity, gaslighting and Spiritual bypassing – I believe in allowing your feelings to be felt, not suppressed and denied;
If you’re struggling with depression and you’re willing to try something new to help you to create a life worth waking up again for, you’re in the right place, cos here at Ditch the Black Dog, I do things VERY differently.
The spaces I hold are part sanctuary, part uprising – safe places to rebel against the systems that make us feel depressed.
A bit about why this work means so much to me….
As a neurodivergent abuse survivor, the black dog started stalking me when I was just a child.
Life wounded me in so many horrible ways. I’ve been abandoned, abused, neglected, bullied, rejected and bereaved.
I know the pain, overwhelm and sheer exhaustion of living with depression and low moods.
Antidepressants made me sick and talk therapy just made me feel worse!
I honestly believed I was broken, beyond repair.
Then in 2013, I suffered a catastrophic mental breakdown. I spent my days in bed, zombified by medication and unable to function as a mama or partner to my wonderful Soulmate. I became a shell of a person and I didn’t want to be alive anymore.
One day I hit a crossroads and I knew I had to make a decision.
I could give up and succumb to this awful mental illness, or do whatever it took to ditch the black dog.
Luckily, my love for my family gave me the motivation to stay alive and fight.
I learned everything I could about depression, how we can put it into remission and live happy, fulfilled lives.
In my fight to rid myself of the black dog I tried a whole bunch of modern coaching and therapy techniques. Some of them I even studied and got myself certified in.
I hoped they’d help me win my battle with depression once and for all.
But they only helped me get so far on my healing journey.
I’d feel better for a short while and then fall back into depression again as soon as I hit any kind of stressful situation.
Something was missing.
It might sound crazy, but when I discovered Gaian Magick – in the form of rituals, ceremonies, and spells performed in my back yard under a million stars – I found the missing piece that helped reconnect me to what really matters and, at the same time, it gave me my power back.
At the same time, I found ways to nurture and nourish my body, mind, heart, and Soul, so I could feel healthy, happy, and whole.
And it worked.
After ten years of research, experimentation, training and practice, I created The Gaian Path.
It takes you on a journey from feeling helpless, hopeless, unmotivated and in pain, to feeling healthy, happy and whole.
The Gaian Path includes:-
🤯 modern neuroscience-based coaching and ecotherapy tools;
🥗 simple and practical lifestyle changes;
💞 sacred activism – joining the Gaian REVOLution can transform your life in ways you probably can’t even imagine right now;
✨ a generous sprinkle of Gaian Magick™ (through energy healing rituals, ceremonies, spells, nature and animal assisted therapy, and much, much more);
to help you recover from depression in ways so simple they feel like they’re happening as if by magick!*
I battled depression for years.
Following the Gaian Path didn’t just change my life – it saved it.
Want to find out if it can do the same for you?
I’ve taken everything I’ve learned and created the kind of nurturing, healing space I needed when I was suffering from the worst depression of my life.
I don’t want you, or anyone else, to feel as broken, hopeless and alone as I did.
The Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat is designed to help you to discover the right ways for you to improve your mental health and create the happy life you desire and deserve.
It’s an online space where you can find support, healing, and hope, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year – even at 4am when everything feels darkest.
I believe in a fair, just, inclusive and equal society.
This means that I aim to make my products and services accessible to all.
I offer lots of free resources to help you get started, but if your financial situation is blocking you from working with me, please get in touch.
Introducing the Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat
When you’re battling depression, finding effective support can feel impossible.
Maybe you've been prescribed medications that leave you feeling numb, or you're suffering from hideous side effects that make you feel even more miserable!
Or you've waited months for an appointment with a therapist, only to find you don't feel comfortable with them or their methods.
Maybe you get an hour of therapy a week, with no additional support when you need it most?
If you've been lucky enough to access traditional therapy, maybe it hasn't worked the way you hoped. Or your allocated sessions ended just as you were starting to open up, leaving you feeling lost and alone.
Perhaps you clawed your way out of one dark episode of depression, only to find the black dog crept back in and the whole exhausting battle began all over again.
Or have you received treatment in hospital and now find yourself struggling to put the pieces of your life back together by yourself?
Enough already!
It's time to end the cycle of suffering.
I created the Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat as a solution to the problems I encountered when I needed help with depression.
Join the Ditch the Black Dog of Depression Virtual Retreat
I've included all the things I needed when I felt like my life wasn't worth waking up for, including support with societal and cultural causes of depression.
The Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat is always open for you.
There's something helpful, no matter which stage of depression you find yourself in.
You'll find support, practical tools, healing and hope, combined with a generous sprinkle of Gaian Magick, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week - even at 4am when everything feels darkest.
Take a look - it might be exactly what you need to help you put depression into remission for good.
What if you're not ready to join the Ditch the Black Dog Virtual Retreat?
That's ok! You can find out more and get a taste of what the retreat has to offer inside my FREE Black Dog Café community.
You don't have to battle the Black Dog of depression alone!
The Black Dog Café is a FREE, off-Facebook sanctuary for depressed souls who're done pretending they’re fine.
No pressure. No platitudes. Definitely no toxic positivity.
Just connection, compassion, and a generous serving of healing magick to help you feel less alone and feel supported as you get back to feeling more you.
Don't bother getting out of your PJ's - just grab a coffee, tea or yummy hot chocolate and come on over.
You don’t have to battle the Black Dog alone. I'm saving a space for you! ☕
The café is a safe space on the edge of the virtual retreat, where the Black Dog no longer bites, just curls up beside us as we begin to create a life worth waking up again for.
Not sure where to start your healing journey?
Take this short quiz to discover your first step to ditching the black dog and get the clarity you need to create a life worth waking up again for!
You don't need to do ALL. THE. THINGS!
One small change can make all the difference to your mental health and wellness. But which change? Do the quiz and find out!
I’m here to show you how following the Gaian Path can help you escape from the mental prison of chronic low mood and depression so you can feel healthy, happy and whole – whatever that means to you.
After the hell you’ve been through, isn’t it time you got to create the happy life you desire and deserve?
Do you fancy ditching the black dog of depression here with me in Spain?
Come on a retreat or join a nature therapy session in the Costa Blanca area of Spain.
From the September Equinox to the Summer Solstice (June) every year, I offer a variety sacred circles, live events and retreats.
They take place in the great outdoors.
There’s nothing quite like
🌲 breathing in the healing oxygen in the forest,
⛰️ admiring the amazing views whilst hiking in the mountains,
🌅 or watching the sun set over the Mediterranean Sea
to help you heal and thrive!
If you’re interested in finding out more about my retreats and live events, and how to book, please click the button!
What do people say about working with Maria?
Here are some blog posts to help you get started.
You don’t need to subscribe to read them, but if you want to learn more, please subscribe to my Substack and you’ll be able to comment, join the chat and access some events you won’t find anywhere else.
Prefer to listen? Listen to the Ditch the Black Dog Podcast
About Maria Gaian
Maria Gaian knows first-hand the weight of lifelong depression - and the freedom of putting the 'black dog' into remission!
After overcoming her own struggles, she made it her mission to help wounded Souls feel healthy, happy, and whole.
After over a decade of intensive study and research, Maria discovered that many sufferers don’t fully recover because traditional treatments only focus on managing or even suppressing depression, not healing its root cause.
Depression isn’t a standalone illness - it’s a symptom of deeper issues that need attention.
Determined to change the way we treat depression, Maria created The Gaian Path™, a holistic and deeply personal approach that not only supports individual healing but also addresses the societal and cultural factors that contribute to mental distress.
What do people say about working with Maria?
