Depression
is nothing new on nor in this world. The Prophet Jeremiah suffered
from it. Jonah suffered from it. Jeremiah's depression was brought
on by the Hebrew people abandoning GOD and GOD then telling Jeremiah
what HE was planning to do to these stiff-necked people; sending them
into exile and many being slaughtered, even the sons of the King,
because even the King was determined to go against GOD'S Word and do what was right in his own eyes.
Jonah's
depression was a combination of anger and despair at having to warn a
horrid people who GOD was going to destroy if they did not repent and
turn to HIM. The people of Nineveh engaged in human sacrifice and
all sorts of immorality that were offensive and Jonah would have
preferred that GOD just smite them and relieve Jonah of his task;
warning a people he despised.
Consider
Adam and Eve. One moment you were in the Garden of Eden; blissfully
ignorant of sin; walking in the Garden in the cool of the day with
your Creator; all the animals were friendly; and you lacked
absolutely nothing. Then all Hell breaks loose. You feel fear for
the first time and you know you are to blame. You see blood for the
first time; the blood of an animal sacrificed to cover your
nakedness.
The
first political blame-game happened in that moment with the words,
“The serpent deceived me ...” “That woman you gave me ...”
And so it has continued to this day.
Think
about their firsts – their first thorn, first back ache, first sun
burn, first argument and that first murder. Their son, Abel, killed
by their son, Cain. I can only imagine their first depression. The
agony they must have felt. In spite of a near-perfect gene pool and
a physical relationship with GOD HIMSELF, there was temptation they
chose not to resist and, all things considered, depression was the
least of their concerns. They watched as their many children chose
lives of lust and greed. So few followed after GOD that the
resulting consequence was the global Flood.
I
don't know about you, but that would be depressing. To have that
physical
relationship with the Creator
of the Universe
and then be banned from HIS
presence secure in the knowledge that it was their fault it happened.
Fast
forward to modern America. At one time or other we all suffer with
depression. The first time it hits with a vengeance. It knocks you
off your feet and sends you into a tail spin; a tailspin that can
last for days, weeks or months. And those words of, well, I really
do not know how to describe them. People think they are helping and
sometimes their words work, but most often they do not. Rarely does
anything anyone else does or says help. That spark
MUST come from within yourself.
Which
brings us to the point of true despair. We know that the only
one who can help us is us. Even without training,
instinctively we know we are the only hope we have of digging our
way out of the abyss. But that thing
that we feel that wants someone, anyone, to rescue is at the
forefront of our thoughts. Why? It is simple, really. We have lost
faith in ourselves to function. We have given up on us, yet want
someone else to care for us more than we do. At that moment we are a
failure, a pimple on the butt of humanity, just waiting to be
scratched away.
If
you are one who suffers from intermittent depression and are reading
this, there is a sprinkling of hope that you can help yourself. You
can mitigate your symptoms. Depression is going to descend upon you
like an airliner without fuel, a virtual lead balloon from out of
nowhere. Maybe not today but those of us who are fortunate enough to
feel the woes and worries of this life, it will come. We can
and should prepare for that moment.
What
triggers your depression? Is it a situation that arises, blindsided
you and just as suddenly is gone, but the feelings linger? This
could be a relationship gone south; the death of someone close; those
work-related problems – deadlines and humans that just do not want
to co-operate; and that larger-than-life thing called stress.
Stress,
what is it? It is the awakening of the fight-or-flight response that
never has a chance to dissipate. You find yourself constantly on
guard
even when there is no apparent reason for it. Sleep becomes illusive
and maybe even seems unnecessary which only exacerbates the
physiological issues that are now compounding and leaving you tired,
restless, and losing your edge. As your edge
fades, so goes your self-confidence, as does your desire to even
leave the safety of that quilt your Mom gave you when you moved out
on your own. Bed is safe and the only thing keeping you headed out
to work each day is the knowledge that your safe bed will not be
there if you cannot pay the rent. Food becomes a burden either
through non-consumption or through over consumption for the same
reason.
By
now you are looking at this page and probably thinking, You've
gotten to page 2 and still
haven't told me anything new! Is this where the $49.99 reduced price
comes in? Stupid person!
And
my response is that I am not selling anything and never told you I
have anything new to add to your already overloaded arsenal of
websites, books and advice-laden friends and family. I can tell you
what it took me 40 years, 1 psychiatrist, 3 psychologists, 2 therapy
groups, the purchase of 47 self-help books (most of which said the
same thing), 37 days of in-patient care (intense drugs, therapy and
being with those who had problems greater than mine), 3 IQ tests (you
would not believe how much those helped) and all the friends and
family who said (in love, I am certain), “you are a freaking
psycho!” and “If you only knew how much we loved you, you
wouldn't hurt us like this (or “you wouldn't put us through this”
or some other nonsense.).” I mean it is all about them, right?
You're just putting them through Hell for spite, correct? DUH!
NO!!
Running
away
It
never works!
I mean it NEVER
works!!! It does not work because if you do not fix yourself, you
just pack up your troubles in your ol' kit bag and haul 'em with you.
That goes for the behaviors that contributed to this fix you are in.
You might escape the stress for about 24 hours. Then you wake up
and realize you are unemployed or the dog should be fed or you
really, really,
really, REALLY!,
REALLY!! miss
those kids of yours, all 12 of them. Okay, there are only 3 but they
really do seem like 30 toddlers some days instead of 3 teenagers and
yes, your husband. He is not such a bad sort but that thing about
being “psycho” did kind of hurt.
What
does work?
A
plan works. Any plan will do. But first you have to do the
research. As with any project, you must have a clear-cut goal. Get
out a piece of paper and a pen, not a pencil. Yes, paper! For this
first part of the plan, you must write it down. There is something
about that movement of the hand gliding across the page and your
brain thinking about what you are writing that makes it seem to
coalesce with ease. STOP! It does not matter if your handwriting is
horrible! Work on that later.
Now!
What to write. First a goal. Be specific as possible; not just
“get better.” Perhaps something like “Research natural
remedies for depression” or “Research causes of depression.”
Put a completion date on it. If it is not dated, it will not get
done. [Just an aside: date everything you do. It helps when you
come across some random piece of paper and something on it triggers a
memory but there is no clue as to when.] Dating your notes or
journal will give you a time frame for the progress you make. Notes
made from internet searches also help. If you find yourself
searching every day with little real results, you know to change your
search criteria. If you only search once a month, either what you
are finding is working or you are not putting forth enough effort. If
the effort is 6 months apart, you really are not interested in
helping yourself or you are all better so stop reading and get a
pizza. If you make notes on what sites and what, if anything, you
used from them, you will not be repeating useless searches.
Sometimes
just getting healthier has a profound effect on the frequency and
length of depression episodes. You must take this on as a whole-body
transformation.
If
you like this post, please let me know and I will write more about this subject.
SHALOM!
Pray for the PEACE of Jerusalem!!