Depression can be the blues, and everyone gets the blues from time to time. The blues usually result from a certain event and lasts only a short time. A bad day at work or an argument with a friend can make you feel sad for a while.
If feelings of sadness linger or start to affect your daily routine you may have more than just the blues. For some people, sadness is actually clinical depression that affects every part of their lives. Clinical depression is a disease that affects the way we eat, sleep, and live our lives. Without care, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or even years. Depression is a serious health problem that affects feelings, thoughts, and actions, and can seem like physical illness. Every year a huge number of Americans suffer from depression. It strikes men, women, and children of all races and economic groups. Depression often goes untreated for many reasons. Sometimes people don’t recognize early warning signs or think they have a physical problem. Sometimes people are ashamed to seek help. The good news is that most people who get adequate treatment can recover.
Depression can also interfere in our relationship with God. We can doubt him. We can pray for him to help us, but when it seems like help is not coming, we may turn away from him. We can have a loss of interest or pleasure in activities that we once enjoyed such as going to church or reading the Bible or associated with friends and family. We can stop enjoying our hobbies. Depression can cause a loss of energy or fatigue. It can affect our self-worth, causing us to doubt our place in the world and the accomplishments we have made. Unfortunately, carried to the extreme, dropping to the very depths of depression, we may have thoughts of death or suicide.
Encouraging words from friends lose their value. Self-talk to brighten our mood becomes laborious. There is a double whammy in this state. The devil can take advantage of the blues we are experiencing. We might be more easily tempted to fall into sin. While we are experiencing the mood of depression, we could also be prone to do sinful acts we would never consider otherwise. With the downturn of our emotions, the rationale between right and wrong can become vague. In this state, we can become accustomed to never having a joyful moment in the Lord.
Love and affection can become meaningless. It suddenly loses its value. It is something that we no longer appreciate. When offered to us, we might slough in offices words. When we normally would be expected to present warmth to those closest to us, it becomes a work of labor to avoid. In effect, it is nullified. The idea that God loves us becomes doubtful. Praying is usually abandoned because we assume it’s God’s sole responsibility to help us.
It is wise to treat deep depression is a physical illness. What would you do if you had a bad case of the flu? What would you do if you broke your leg? In either case would you criticize yourself or reject help from others? If the blues do not lighten, you likely do have an imbalance of certain brain chemicals or a malfunction in some other part of your body such as your thyroid. Do whatever you can to help yourself. No matter how bad you feel, make yourself do something physical. Depression can also be the flipside of anger. If that is your case, search out the deepest area of your life that is hidden anger historical, or is unresolved anger. You could be projecting onto other people or exaggerating their faults or harboring fears. Don’t let yourself get in a state of desperation.
Even the oldest and slightest form of anger that is unresolved can fester in your soul. Should you be able to identify those times in your life, act out in an appropriate way. A punching bay can be your best friend. If not a punching bag, use a pillow. Allow yourself to be in a place and time where you can yell or scream. Allow yourself to shout out whatever comes to your mind without censoring it. It’s harbored emotions are like nausea that needs to be vomited from your spirit. They need to be brought out consciously for you and God to address. That might mean that you are very angry with God himself. It is okay to tell God that you are angry at him. He has big shoulders and will not be offended when you are in a state as this. Winter, cloudy weather, cold temperatures can affect your mood, as well. Find a way that you can be in a brighter environment.
As Christians, our salvation is not at stake. Our spiritual life may be affected but has not been evaporated. We are experiencing physical and emotional consequences. The devil may cause us to have unseemly thoughts about salvation. However, we must remind ourselves that we are secure in his hands. He will never leave nor forsake us, even though it may seem at the moment that that is what has happened.
Christian Writer 