Depression - Day 96

Depression
Day 96

Are you experiencing ...

• a complete lack of energy?
• difficulty sleeping?
• trouble concentrating?
• constant fatigue?
• no sense of enjoyment?
• apathy?

If your answer is "yes," then depression has come to you.

"Loss is one of the main causes of depression," states Dr. H. Norman Wright.

It is okay to be depressed; even Jesus was depressed when facing death: "He began to show grief and distress of mind and was deeply depressed" (Matthew 26:37 AMP).

You might be wondering about the difference between depression and sadness.

Dr. Wright explains, "Sadness doesn't last as long; it's not as intense, and it doesn't immobilize you. Depression lasts longer, and it does immobilize you . With sadness, you can still go about your work. Maybe with depression, you can do it at 70 percent of your capacity.

"The depression is there sometimes to numb you against the pain. Now, if the depression lasts and lingers for months, then maybe it has taken hold of you. But it's going to come."

Take comfort from the fact that your depression is normal and expected with the loss of a loved one.  Going from one emotion to the next is part of your movement through grief, so continue to take one step at a time and lean on the steady, secure arms of God. 

Jesus, I am senseless and paralyzed in the face of my depression. You, too, have felt this emotion. Help me to realize that depression comes to those in grief, and it's okay to feel this way. Comfort me, Lord. Amen.

~Amen! I was stuck in my depression for two years. It wasn't until I got off the depression meds that I was able to function again. It was a place that I don't want to revisit. I understand that it was a buffer for me and that it wasn't my time to "deal" with my losses at that time. I am much stronger today than I was 3 years ago when I lost my sister and then my mother. I have grown and have been moving through the process and thus learning along the way. I am blessed that everything has been happening in God's timing and not my own. I am also blessed that I am growing spiritually and THAT is His plan. Before I was broken down and unable to stand on my own two feet. I was going through the motions and not really living. Now, I feel alive again and it doesn't take away from the losses that I have endured. I just have to remember that there is no guilt in living, because I didn't die when they did. I shouldn't feel guilty about it nor should I harp on it because they are our angels and keeping us wrapped in their loving arms!