Hi Gilligan,
If this is for you, please know that you are not alone, and that there is hope; it is not forever. I speak from personal experience; I've been there. If it is for another, and if you can, please pass this on!
This is for anyone who suffers from depression, or knows someone who does.
Ebia is right; the depressed person should see a doctor as soon as is possible. So is NateyCakes; it is God's work in my life that has brought me healing, and that continues to heal and comfort me.
By the time you've been depressed for any amount of time at all, the problem is both physical and psychological/ spiritual. Our emotions are very chemical, and our chemicals are very emotional. A disturbance in one feeds into the other, which feeds back into the first; this process, left undisturbed, is a vicious downward spiral.
The answer, except in the case of mild transient depression, does
not lie in pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps. Depression defies willpower; I have willpower galore, and in that state it didn't do me a stitch of good. Nor is it about being weak. It is, as best as I can describe it, about pain. You know how physical pain drains your energy and robs you of vitality, clear-mindedness, optimism, etc.? Well, depression does the same thing. And let me tell you- I'll take physical pain anytime to the awfulness of that pain.
Dealing with it on your own isn't the answer. Depressed person needs the support and love of those around them. They need to find the source of the problem, be it chemical, or psychological, or spiritual. With and through the support of their family, community and if possible a good Christian counselor or therapist, they need to let God in to bring healing and wholeness to those places in their hearts that need it.
All things work for good for those who trust in God, even when those things in and of themselves are terrible; dealing with depression has taught me day-to-day reliance on God's grace. It has taught me to lay aside my willpower and to surrender; not to depression, but to Him. It has even taught me to suffer with joy, because my suffering is His suffering and His joy is my joy. And by His grace, I have come out the other side.
Psalms 23:4 - Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
There's a song that has gotten me through some dark times:
I Will Praise Him Still- by Margee Days
When the morning falls on the farthest hill
I will sing His name, I will praise Him still.
When the dark trials come, and my heart is filled
With the weight of doubt, I will praise Him still.
For the Lord our God, He is strong to save,
From the arms of death, from the deepest grave,
And He gave His life in His perfect will,
And by His good grace, I will praise Him still.
___________________________________________
Something else that has helped me:
My dear Lord in Heaven, and on earth, and everywhere, everytime, my all,
Guide me today; Fill me with joy in all that I do, in bliss and in suffering, for I am no more or less Yours, and in Your hands, at any instant of the day than in another, in any place than in another.
My heart is drawn to you, my will is drawn to you, my all is drawn to you, in every instant and in every place and in every state of mind.
You are constant. Help me to be constant to you.Even if you are feeling too lost to be drawn to Him, speak the words. It is not a lie, then, but a statement of desire or intention. Sometimes, when I couldn't even bring myself to desire His presence anymore, I have had to settle for desiring to desire His presence. Even, a few times, for desiring to desire to desire His presence. I kid you not. And you know what? He'll work with that;
He loves you!In His love,
-Grace
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