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Handwriting University's WEEKLY STROKES Newsletter
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
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1. FEATURE STORY: Are You Depressed?
Written by Weekly Strokes Guest Author, Mike Dehe

2. SPOTLIGHTED LEARNING TOOL:
Change Your Signature, Change Your Life.

3. SUCCESS STORIES: "I came for self-improvement,
but am leaving with the skills to help others in a profound
way"

4. CONTACT US

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FEATURE STORY: Are You Depressed?
Written by Guest Author, Mark Dehe
Edited by Cindy Little
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A person's mood can often be determined through a
variety of means. If they are happy, they have a
pronounced spring in their step and their face has
a certain 'glow' about it. On the other hand, if that
person is depressed, their shoulders sag, their feet
drag; in general, they just do not stand as tall as
they would, were they happy or just feeling normal.

The same impressions can be determined by listening
to a person's voice. How many times have you
received a sales call and the salesperson was clearly
bored with their job or reading the conversation
from a script, and you knew this because you could
just 'hear it' in their voice? Or, when speaking to a
co-worker or enemy, have you noticed how you can
hear subtle, nervous, starts and stops when
confronting them with incriminating evidence of
their conduct?

The same can be ascertained from a person's
handwriting. Sometimes, when they're happy,
it's obvious, sometimes it's a little more discreet.
Equally obvious are signs of the opposite trait -
depression. In this article, I'll show you briefly
how to spot optimism in a person's handwriting,
how to watch for signs of depression, and I'll
explain why determining depression can be
extremely important.

Optimism is the ability to see the best in all
situations. If bad things happen to an optimistic
person, he or she knows it could have been a lot
worse. No matter how good or bad today is,
they know that tomorrow will be better.
Additionally, an optimistic person is
physiologically healthier than a person who
chooses not to be optimistic.

Optimism is revealed in a person's handwriting
two separate ways. The first is displayed in the
crossbar of the letter 't'. If the crossbar travels
in an upward position from left to right, meaning
it ends higher than where it started, then optimism
is present. This is the more common occurrence.

The second is displayed in the overall appearance
of the handwriting itself. If the overall handwriting
goes in an upward slant, again, optimism is present.
There is no benefit to using one optimistic trait or
the other. Writing with an upward slanted baseline
does not make you more optimistic than just
expressing this through the letter 't'.

An important point to keep in mind, is that if the
person does not possess the optimistic trait, it
doesn't automatically mean that that person is
depressed, nor does it mean that he or she is not
optimistic. This simply means that the person
that does possess this trait is generally more
optimistic than those without it, as it is a core
part of who they are.

On the flip side of the coin, just as optimism is
always considered positive, depression is always
considered a negative trait. There are various forms
of depression that are represented in a variety of
ways. For the sake and space of this article,
however, I'll devote my attention to the sole task
of identifying depression itself.

When locating depression in a person's handwriting,
it is important to ask, "Is this person clinically
depressed or simply going through a temporary
case of the blues?" - something everybody goes
through from time to time. Answering that question
demands that you look at the overall handwriting,
and base this characteristic on all the other traits
present in the writing.

Depression, generally speaking, is a temporary
emotion. When the situation that is causing the
depression has passed, the person's handwriting
should revert to normal (or at least normal for
that person.) Long term depression that has worked
its way into a person's subconscious and has now
become the norm for that person, is more permanent
and is more noticeable.

The overall look of the handwriting is slanted at
a downward angle. It may begin normally, resting
on top of the line, but, as the words make their way
across the page they go little by little below the line.
If written on unlined paper, the overall look will
still be the same. If you were to hold a ruler across
the page, the end of each or most of the sentences
would be below where you started.

Again, there are a wide variety of choices in the
depression arena. For example, it is possible for
each word to start normally but end slightly lower
than it began, with the next word starting in the
normal 'starting' position and ending lower, only
to continue the trend throughout the text. Some
handwriting samples may have an overall concave
appearance or convex appearance. Again, each has
a different meaning.

One application for the determination of depression
is to assist in criminal investigations, specifically
suicides. In determining whether a suicide should
be categorized as such, an investigation of the
crime scene must take place. If a suicide note is
found, its authenticity must be determined. If it
is, indeed, determined to be authentic by a certified
document examiner, then another question comes
into play. If the victim did indeed write the note,
was he so depressed as to actually commit suicide,
or was he forced to write it against his will?

There are major differences in the characteristics
concerning fear and depression. A scared person
will have heavy handwriting, very probably with
a shaking hand. A depressed person will have the
depressed traits mentioned above, along with
fatigue, among other things.

When I mention fatigue, I'm referring to mental fatigue
rather than physical fatigue. And in that respect, fatigue
is almost identical to depression, in that the writing has
a definite downward slant to it that is noticedably evident
throughout the writing.

Another way fatigue is reflected is through the
unintelligibility of the writing. In other words,
many of the words are not formed correctly -
as though the writer's hand was tired and lifting
the writing instrument was too much trouble.

Have you ever tried writing something after being out
in the freezing cold for a while? If you have, you
know that it's difficult to formulate the letters like
you want them to appear, until after your hand thaws.

The trick about this, however, is that fatigue should
be compared to earlier handwriting to ensure that
it is actually fatigue.

If, for example, I were to see a person's handwriting
and I couldn't make out a lot of the characters, I
wouldn't necessarily think he was fatigued, unless
I also saw a depressed downward slant in his
handwriting. Based on the confirmation of other
traits, I would probably just think he was a slow
thinker, or a person who was hiding who he really is
by disguising his words.

However, if I were to see a handwriting sample
from six months earlier and it did not have fatigue
or depression, I would be able to more accurately
assess the newer sample as fatigue.

There is also a form of physical/mental fatigue in
elderly people, which is reflected in the omission
of certain details such as periods. Per "Handwriting
Analysis - The Complete Basic Book," this
represents the writer's ever-growing fear of endings.

Personally, I've never seen this, or if I have, I did
not attribute it to fatigue, but I have read it so I
suppose it's something to keep in mind.

Again, it's important to look at the entire
handwriting sample to get an overall idea of the
person's general mood and personality make-up
at the time the sample was written.

Mark R. Dehe is a Certified Handwriting Analyst
and can be reached via e-mail or phone at:
The Write Choice - Handwriting Research Center
markdehe@yahoo.com
760-831-2931

You can post comments or feedback on this article at:
http://www.handwritinguniversity.com/cgi-bin/mboard/index.html

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SPOTLIGHTED LEARNING TOOL:
Change Your Signature, Change Your Life
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Presenting, the first ever "Signature Makeover" Package based on proven psychological & graphotherapy techniques that will give you the "edge." If you sign your name more than once a year... you need this program.

This course answers these questions:

*Should you underline your signature?
*What is the meaning of a last name being crossed out?
*Is using your initials okay for a signature?
*Does an illegible signature tell people you can't be trusted?
*And much, much, more.

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I've always wanted to have a "Super Star" signature,
but was afraid it meant I was egotistical. Now, I
have the signature I've always wanted and I'm
SURE all the traits are positive, not negative. I'm
proud to sign my name!"
Jack Franklin, Age 22, St. Louis, MO

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I've been curious as to whether my signature radiates
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Now not only do I possess the knowledge of what
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Ms. Fion Lim, Singapore, Age 26

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SUCCESS STORIES
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I have already seen and experienced wonderful
changes through grapho-therapy. People at work
now seek me out as an expert in my field, and I
have had many recent offers to manage important
projects. All this happened in about a month from
first raising my t-bar!
Diane McCafferty
Engineer
Sandy Hook, CT

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The second training Iíve taken from you was even
better than the first. The weekend was fun, informative
and went by real fast. I canít wait to use this with my
clients when I get back home. The insights from this
training have elevated my abilities to help others.
Michael Arndt
Counselor/Trainer

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This seminar has changed my life in a number of ways.
I have a degree in psychology and am very interested in
how it inter-relates with handwriting analysis. I came
for self-improvement, but am leaving with the skills to
help others in a profound way. Now Iíve learned how
to do all that and make money too!
Gina Branch
McKinney, TX

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Being a ìprove-it-to-meî kind of guy, I arrived at the
seminar skeptical about the entire field of handwriting
analysis. Within the first 2 hours I became not only a
true believer of the validity of the science of handwriting
analysis ñ but determined to learn much, much more!
As a bonus ñ as fascinating as handwriting analysis is ñ
the seminar and its presenters outshone this incredible
material. I heartily recommend this seminar to anyone
with a brain.
Edward Levien
Marketing Consultant
Bethesda, MD

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CONTACT US TO LEARN MORE:
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Bart Baggett, Author and Lead Trainer
Maryann Redhead, Director
HandwritingUniversity.com
1-800-398-2278
admin@myhandwriting.com

http://handwritinguniversity.com

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