Depression. Sometimes, people can call it the “blues” or say they are “feeling a little down.” Sometimes, it can lead to feelings of hopelessness, despair, and even suicidal thoughts. Depression can come on fast, for seemingly no reason, and can spiral downward quickly from starting as a slightly down feeling all the way to a strong desire to end it all.
That is not the way you want to live…that’s why you are here. You are searching for the answers to so many questions…”Why did this happen to me?”; “How did this happen so fast?”; “What do I do to get my life back?”; just to name a few.
So, what next? First, you must accept that you are depressed and that you need help. One strong tendency for those struggling with depression is to hide away and not talk to anyone about it. You must summon the courage to confide on a loved one, and share what you are going through, accepting the reality of the depression you are facing.
Second, learn everything you can learn about depression, and then seek support from others. Take the first step to reach out and seek out the answers….somewhere, anywhere, wherever you can find them. Seek professional help for moderate to severe depression. Find friends to confide in. Share your struggles with someone else who has been through what you are going through. These may be friends, may be a counselor, a doctor, or members of a support group. To fight the depression, you must be able to share and confide with others. This will build your self-esteem and self-worth, and give you the confidence to fight this by seeing others who have succeeded before you.
Third, you must work to boost your faith. Faith in God and following Him will help to reduce your feelings of isolation and loneliness, and will help you find purpose in life and motivation to pull out of this spiral. Finding a loving, caring church home or a group of friends of similar faith helps tremendously in recovering from depression and in staying out of the pits of depression in the future.
It is not God’s plan for you to live under the cloud of depression. Jesus came to show us a better way. He commanded us to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength. What does that mean? Jesus is saying for us to throw ourselves into a whole-hearted pursuit of God. He wants us to be God-chasers. He wants us to come after Him with everything we are, with all the energy we have. Tommy Tenney (author of The God Chasers) wrote that God is not interested in our perfection; He wants our passion. Jesus tells us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him. God wants all of you—your strengths, weaknesses, untamed passions, even your broken spirit. As humans, we are utterly incapable of going through life without Him.
Ready to take the next step?
We want to hear from you. Call us, email us, join in the blog….let us know about you, and what you are facing. We are here to help and here to stand with you as you start the journey out of depression.
Depression
