The Effects Of Depression

Sometimes I simply have no desire to get up from my bed or complete simple daily tasks.  I often end up doing what I need to by the time it needs to be done, especially with a college assignment or work issue, but it can be difficult.  And it's not necessarily because the task at hand itself is complex; it's often simply because my depression can drain my energy, not because I would struggle with doing it if I did not experience depression.  I just don't feel motivated enough to do some things until I absolutely have to, and others with various extents of depression might be able to relate to this.

Know that those in your life with depression might deal with this on a regular basis, whether a lack of drive to do some things or a tendency to be easily drained by some easy or common activities.  If you know that someone with depression procrastinates a lot, remember that is is not necessarily because he or she is lazy or does not want to do anything with his or her life--it could be because even minor, trivial things sap his or her mental energy.  When that is the case, commitments involving greater time or effort can be exponentially more exhausting, even when it just comes to anticipating them.  We need to be willing to mourn the difficulties of depression with those who suffer from them and to be willing to celebrate the victories that the depressed can achieve (Romans 12:15).

In a previous post on depression I listed some of the things that have helped me cope with this mental illness (mine being existential despair and terror due to the human limitations on my knowledge).  I will mention them again.  My close friendships have been a major motivator to keep enduring.  Prayer can be very cathartic.  Even entertainment helps a lot at times, since it enables me to relax, especially when I watch a movie with a treasured friend.  My intellectual pursuits have braced my spirit and revealed to me the information on which I have based my commitment to Christianity, without which I would be adrift in aimlessness, and most likely dead.  Each of these things could also help others, as well.

It is my hope that other people in my life who deal with depression will be able to find happiness, relief, or at least a sustaining confidence rooted in a right relationship with reality and with God.  I cannot remove their conditions, but I can do my best to encourage them and affirm to them that I experientially understand some of their pains, offering a willingness to listen.  It is also my hope that those in my life who do not have depression will come to understand, if they do not already, the difficulties of living with it, including the potential difficulty of doing very simple things.