It is technically called depression, but it can’t be captured by a word. You feel numb, yet your head hurts; empty, yet inside there are screams; fatigue, yet fears abound. Things that were once pleasures now barely hold your attention. Your brain feels like it is in a fog. You feel weighted down.
Do you remember when you had goals? Things that you looked forward to? They could have been as small as going to a movie on Friday night or a job you wanted
to accomplish. Now you have very few goals. Making it through the day seems like
enough.
Do you notice what life feels like without goals? Every day is the same. There is no rhythm of rising anticipation, satisfaction, then rest. Each day brings a dreadful monotony, and you fear that tomorrow will be the same as today. The flatness of life feels like it is killing you.
Sleep? It’s a mess. You can’t get enough. You don’t even remember what it feels like
to wake up refreshed.
Have you ever seen Pablo Picasso’s paintings from his blue period? If you find a book on Picasso you might want to take a look. The pictures are not encouraging but
you would, at least, find that you are not alone. Triggered by a difficult relationship,
he did a series of paintings where people looked lifeless and everything was in shades
of blue and gray. Was he putting his feelings into his art, or was he faithfully presenting the world as he actually saw it? Either way, there are no sun splashed days with depression, just dreary overcast skies and a dull colorless world.
Picasso wasn’t the only one who struggled with what has come to be known as
depression. Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, the great English preacher
Charles Spurgeon, missionary David Brainard, and Bible translator J. B. Phillips were
some of the more well-known and accomplished people who talked and wrote about
their struggles. So although you may feel alone, many have walked the path before,
and many are walking it now.
Except from Words of Hope For Those Who Struggle with Depression
There is a lot of stuff out there on depression and even a little from a Christian perspective. But the folks at Counseling Solutions have posted a few great free resources written on understanding depression and how to a counsel a depressed person. I've read through a couple of them and skimmed another and found them quite helpful. Links to those documents are below
Words of Hope Those Who Struggle With Depression
The River of Life Flows Through the Slough of Despond
Counseling Those Who are Depressed
No comments:
Post a Comment