There seems to be quite a few people these days suffering from depression, a demonic state of mind if there ever was one. I thought today we'd discuss this disease and see if there are ways to overcome it. The big lie concerning depression is that when it hits, we really believe that this condition will last forever. But that is NOT true. It hits most us sooner or later, and because we've never experienced "the blues" before, it tricks our mind into thinking that it will never ever go away.
For sure, seeing a doctor and getting medication to get you over the hump is the first step. There are many good prescriptions out there which will do wonders in the short term. But what about long term solutions?
First, the root cause of depression has to be found, and then annihilated. For some, depression is caused by an event in one's life that he/she can't handle. Maybe it's the prolonged illness of a loved one, that results in death. Maybe it's a sudden event, like the unexpected death of a loved one out of the blue. For these things, relying on friends and family for social interaction is the key. Death is final, and we all tend to blame ourselves in some way for not being able to prevent it in our loved ones. "If only I'd done this or that," we whisper to ourselves, as if hindsight could bring them back. But that is futile, and by talking things out with our closest friends we can overcome that.
But I think the main cause of depression in the world today may be related to the culture we live in, and how isolated we all are becoming. We all seem to be hooked up to an electronic device A LOT these days, instead of with people, and instead of with God through prayer. There is nothing wrong with electronic devices, for sure, but if we become addicted to them, we run the risk of becoming social pariahs. Paul said to pray constantly, and that is a great way to stay attached to God. It's very hard to do when we are staring at a small screen texting or playing games.
Another cause of depression is giving in to temptation and the things of this world all of the time. If we are always eating too much because it either tastes good or it calms down our nerves, we will eventually get fat, and therefore ostracized by society. If we put career and money first in our life, that house of cards will always collapse on our heads, when we least expect it. The bible warns us many times about the love of money and riches being a false idol. If we give in to sexual temptation "just one more time," then we are giving satan permission to take us down, and he does that through mental confusion. Frequent confession with a firm purpose of amendment to STOP giving in to our fleshly desires is a great way to overcome this. Praying the rosary every day, along with eating "our daily bread" in daily Mass will also give us grace and strength to overcome our tendency to continually give in to our secret sin.
It's a toxic world we live in these days, where even the holy season of Christmas is under attack in our culture. Fasten your Catholic seatbelt, ladies and gentlemen, because the last days are upon us, and only the strong Catholics will survive. The go-along-to-get-along Catholics will not.
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