Coping with Chronic Illness by H. Norman Wright

Author:H. Norman Wright
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: book
Publisher: Harvest House Publishers, Inc.
Published: 2010-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

8

Depression

Chronic illness is a resident in your life that brings along another resident—depression. The beliefs we have about depression will affect our response to it. The sentiments written here could be echoed again and again:

“I try to do what I need to be doing, but I’m immobilized. The days are gloomy, no matter how bright. The nights seem endless. Apathy blankets me like a shroud. I eat because I have to, but there is no appetite or taste. I feel as though a massive weight is on my shoulders, and fatigue is my constant companion. I pray, I shop, I plead to lift the gloom, but it remains. I’ve withdrawn from everyone—from family, friends, and even God. Who would want to be around me? I know I wouldn’t.”

This is the painful cry of a person in the throes of gripping depression. For some it’s an occasional heavy bout; for others it’s a low-grade, constant depression. The message of depression is “You’re defeated. There’s nothing you can do. There’s no way out. Life is hopeless.” You probably already know what it’s like to be depressed. Many do—major depression afflicts more than 15 million people a year.

Depression is a feeling of overall gloom, despair, sadness, and apathy. It’s a move toward deadness, and hopelessness is the prevailing feeling. Depression is not like the sense of sadness caused by disappointment or loss. In a short while this type of feeling lifts, and even when it’s your companion you still function relatively well. Depression lasts longer and is more intense. It can linger with immobilizing intensity, causing you to lose perspective and making you less able to carry on life activities. Depression slams down the window of hope, and sometimes it even draws down a dark shade.

Think of the literal meaning of the word “depression:” to move something from a higher position to a lower level. Frequently a depressed person, when asked how he is feeling, will say, “Really down.”

Depression has been called the “black dog” of the night that robs you of joy, “the unquiet mind that keeps you awake.”1 The loss of perspective that accompanies depression colors the way you experience your life, your tasks, and your family. As one person said:

“There’s a real difference between being unhappy and being depressed. When I’m depressed it hurts all over; it’s almost something physical. I can’t go to sleep at night, and I can’t sleep through the night. Even though there are still times when I’m in pretty good spirits, the mood comes over me nearly every day. It colors the way I look at everything. If my wife and I have a fight, our marriage seems hopeless. If I have a problem at work that I would normally deal with promptly and appropriately, I feel as though I’m a poor teacher. I battle with the problem of self-confidence instead of dealing with the issues in front of me.”

When depressed you experience changes in physical activities—eating, sleeping, sex. If a lessening of sexual interest occurs, depression may be the cause.

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