Think You’re Alone With Depression? You’re Not

I Understand How You Feel

I have battled clinical depression for about 21 years. During that time, some years have been good while others were dark and dreary. I know what it feels like to think that things will never get better. Despair and hopelessness rule every thought.

The days of depression seem never ending, and it is a struggle just to make it through the day. When I was going through a “depression flare,” as I called it, I could not function like a normal person. The fatigue made everything harder than it should be, but the sheer hopelessness of my situation made everything seem useless. I asked myself “why?” a lot. Like, “Why should I do this? Nobody’s gonna care.”

Sleeping was the only break I could get, so I eagerly awaited nighttime. Being awake was just too hard. The dark, dreary feelings were just too much to handle. However, when I was asleep, those dreary thoughts would go away, at least for a little while.

I was isolated.

Most days, I did not talk to anyone on the phone, even if they called me. I didn’t have the mental energy required to carry on a normal conversation. And I didn’t think the person on the other end wanted to hear about my gloom and doom. When you’re clinically depressed, your thoughts do not go beyond the despair. They can’t, and you just can’t make them. Small talk is impossible because again, it feels useless. I know I am sounding like Debby Downer here, but this is real life for anyone battling depression.

I became quite the hermit because of extreme fatigue and the inability to provide anyone with good company and conversation.

There is Hope

Medication Treatment

First of all, if you are battling clinical depression, it is vital that you seek help. Go to see your primary care physician or a psychiatrist to be evaluated. There are some disorders, such as hypothyroidism, lupus, and vitamin B-12 deficiency (just to name a few) that can cause depressed mood. Therefore, it is possible that you may have an underlying disease that can be treated, and the depression will improve as well.

Antidepressants

If you are diagnosed with clinical depression, there are several medication treatment options. A group of medications, called SSRI’s, are typically first-line therapy. Some of the SSRI’s include Lexapro, Celexa, Prozac, Paxil, and Zoloft. In general, 40-60% of patients will have a positive response to the first medication the physician prescribes, according to Drugs.com. On the other hand, the downside is that these medications typically take about four to eight weeks to achieve full effects. I know…that sucks! Just keep telling yourself that there is light at the end of the tunnel, even if you cannot see it or feel it.

If the first medication does not help your depressive symptoms, your physician will usually prescribe an antidepressant from a different class. It is also possible that you may find a medication that helps but does not relieve your symptoms 100%. Sometimes in that case, your doctor may try adjunct therapy where they add a different type of antidepressant to your current medication therapy. Abilify is an example of a medication that is used in this way.

Do not get discouraged.

It may take a while to find the right medication therapy for you, but do not get discouraged or lose hope. That is normal, and it doesn’t mean that something is wrong with you. Take your medication as prescribed, at around the same time each day. Don’t skip taking it because you think it’s not working, because that will only delay the onset of effectiveness. Keep telling yourself that this is temporary and that things are going to get better.

POWER in the Name of Jesus

Several years ago I was having a bad day at work, and I got a call from my mom. I told her about my day and how stressed I was. That’s when she gave me some advice that I have never forgotten and still use to this day. She told me to say the name of Jesus over and over in my mind, if I could not say it aloud. There is power in the name of Jesus. Therefore, if you can say his name out loud, do it! Say “Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!” Let His name, His goodness, His love, His mercy wash all over you. Just focus on Him during this time, not on yourself.

Praise the name of Jesus. Even when you feel like you cannot go any lower, praise God. When you feel like life has nothing to offer and you have nothing to offer life, praise God. What do you have to lose? Try it. Praise Him all the time, every time you think about it. Put up reminders on your mirror or in your car. As a result, you will find that praising God will change your perspective.

Don’t Believe Satan’s Lies

When we are stuck in the muck of depression, the devil tells us lies that we begin to believe such as:

• I am all alone in this world.
• No one really cares.
• Something is wrong with me.
• No one understands.
• No one else feels this way.
• God must not love me.
• No one loves me.
• I should not have been born. I just take up space in this world.

You are not alone.

When you are looking through the lens of depression, it looks as though other people are moving along happily in their lives. The devil makes sure to tell us that we are in this alone. Don’t believe the devil’s lies. Although you may feel alone in your suffering, you are not. Across the globe, people are hurting, crying out in despair and sadness. Though their reason may be different from yours, their pain is real nevertheless.

Even people who do not have depression are hurting. For instance, somebody is going through grief from a lost loved one, spouse, child, or parent. Someone is homeless, starving, and has no friends or family. Someone is being abused. There is a child in foster care who is losing hope that he will ever find a family of his own. There are single mothers struggling to pay for basic necessities for their kids. An elderly man in a nursing home hasn’t had a visitor in years but watches with a tear in his eye as others’ visitors stroll in and out. Somebody out there has never heard the name of Jesus and has no hope.

God is Good!

People are hurting, but this is not what God intended when He created this world. God is good, even in the midst of all this pain and suffering. He gives us all free will to choose what we will do in our lives, instead of making us choose Him and worship Him. For example, I often think about it like this. God could have made us to be like robots, where He forced us to love Him and do whatever He told us to do. However, God wanted us to have the option to choose to love Him. Likewise, I would not want to have to force someone to love me and want to be with me.

Unfortunately, humans have repeatedly chosen sin. Sin brought brokenness, suffering, and pain. As a result, we live in a broken world. Oftentimes, sin has a cascading effect and the consequences can be felt for many generations. Therefore, this is the reason why we see so much despair throughout the earth.

I hear people ask, “If there is a God, and if He is good, then why is He allowing such terrible things to happen?” However, God did not create any of the bad things we see happening. God is the opposite of evil. Furthermore, He cannot create evil. God created a perfect, beautiful world. Humans decided to act against God even though He had forewarned them that their actions would bring about death. People chose the darkness of sin and its effects have compounded generation after generation.

Satan wants us to be isolated.

The devil wants us to continue feeling depressed, and he works hard to make sure we do. He wants to isolate us. When we are alone and not in fellowship with other believers, we are more likely to focus on ourselves and our bad situations. Therefore, we sink further into our own abyss of sadness and grief. Certainly, the devil does not want any hope to shine into our darkness. He is afraid that if we catch a glimpse of hope, then we may actually start to climb our way out of the house of despair we are in.

DON’T BELIEVE THE DEVIL!! If you are thinking something contrary to God’s Word, it is from the devil and it is a LIE!! Satan wants you to hurt, so he will pour his evil, pain-causing lies into your mind if you allow him. However, you don’t have to let him. When the Holy Spirit lives in you, you have power over satan, God-given power to tell satan to get away from you. Tell him who you belong to. Remind him of what God says about you.

Pick Up Your Sword, Which is God’s Word

God’s Word is the number one resource to help with our clinical depression. Even if you do not feel like reading, do it anyway. God’s Word is alive, and the Holy Spirit speaks to us through His Word. The book of Psalms is a great place to start reading. David, who wrote a lot of the Psalms, went through periods of suffering, and he cried out to God with questions just like you and I have asked. It is comforting to know that even people whom God had anointed, still suffered from despair and depression like we do.

During one of my recent depression flares, I started reading the Bible more. Previously, I had been reading the Bible pretty much every day, but I started really studying it and delved into chapter after chapter every chance I could. However If I’m being honest, I really didn’t feel like doing it and often felt like I could not even understand what I was reading. So I used the New Living Translation Study Bible because it is easier to read and understand, and it offers study guide notes about each verse.

What happened was nothing short of a miracle. I started feeling better mentally and emotionally. I tried to focus all of my thoughts on Jesus and what I had read in His Word, and I started declaring that I was healed of clinical depression. Negative thoughts still fought their way to the forefront, but I would pray and ask God to help me.

Help Someone Else.

I started thinking about how I could help someone else, looking for opportunities to serve others in some way. I would try to think of someone I could text just to check on them. If someone was sick, I would offer to take them something they needed. Turning my focus onto others and away from myself was helpful.

Now I do not say any of this to infer that clinical depression is not a real disease, because it is. It is not all in our head. It is a real health problem just like high blood pressure or diabetes. However, I know from personal experience that God’s Word has been medicinal for my depression, just like it can be for any sickness.

Truths to Remember

You are loved. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. Romans 8:38 NLT

You are special. Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart. Jeremiah 1:5 NIV

You are valuable…so much so that Jesus died for you! For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 NKJV

You have purpose. “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV

You are God’s. For He calls us His children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know Him. 1 John 3:1 NLT

Your worth and identity are found in God. Nothing satan says can change who you are. Remind satan and yourself who you are!

I will be glad and rejoice in your unfailing love, for you have seen my troubles, and you care about the anguish of my soul. Psalm 31:7 NLT