Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Depression

I have threatened to write about this for awhile, but I never seem to get around to it because I always think that reviewing it will suck me back into the cycle.

Depression is an awful thing. It can make you want to sleep for days. It can make you cry for no reason. It can make you hate yourself and the others around you. It can addict you to prescription and non prescription remedies, aka self medication. There is no way around.

There are many people that "think" they know what causes depression. The most popular is bad brain chemistry brought on by who knows what. I have heard everything from food additives and preservatives to agricultural chemicals or a faulty gene pool. The more "religious" types like to ascribe depression to guilt about sin and the sin could be most anything. The problem with that one is that it does not afflict everyone and this is not because they do not sin. I think it has more to do with our concept of who we are in God's eyes and whether or not we love ourselves. Much of the whole shame issue can traced right back to how we were brought up, what family life was like and whether we were allowed to forget our errors in life or they were brought out again and again to club us like  baby seals whenever we failed. 

Forgiving oneself for past failures (whether classified as sin or not) is the key avoiding a nasty bout of depression. If you can do that, it's a giant step in the right direction. God gives us His grace. If He can do it, there is no reason to withhold it from ourselves. The upside of this is that if we treat ourselves better, we will treat others better, we will have more friends and our mental attitude will improve.

Another thing that improves my mood is sunlight. The short days of November and December just oppress me and if it's a time of constant cloud cover, I know I am doomed. I need sunlight. There is no amount of vitamin D that will replace it.

Finally, I would advise that if you know someone prone to depression and you love them, please monitor them. It is no longer an issue with me for a number of reasons, but suicidal thoughts are not uncommon. My personal thought is that this is demonic in nature. Spiritual forces taking advantage of a bad situation. But if it is just bad brain chemistry, look for ways to fight it. Use exercise, stay busy, do not drink and my advice do not watch TV. A little vitamin D could not hurt either. I am opposed to the use of anti-depressants. I think they can have an opposite effect, but if they work for you, go for it. Most important - Love Yourself. God loves you and He did not create Junk. Hang in there. I know how it is.