Dealing with Depression

 Naomi Osaka made international news when she withdrew from the French Open and opted not to play at Wimbledon due to her struggles with depression.  This past week Simone Biles, the world’s most gifted gymnast, catapulted into the spotlight by withdrawing from competition at the Olympics due to mental health issues. Simone Biles wrote, “The outpouring of love and support I have received has made me realize I am more than my accomplishments and gymnastics which I never truly believed before.” 

 If you are suffering from feelings of depression, anxiety, loneliness or despair, you are not alone. Depression is widespread.  It afflicts the wealthy, the famous, and the talented: writers, artists, musicians and athletes as well as the unknown and obscure.  In 2020 the U.S. Census Bureau reported that more than a third of U.S. citizens show signs of clinical depression and anxiety.  Our battle with Covid has caused this number to grow.

 No book in the Bible is filled more with adoration, praise and prayer than the book of Psalms, most of them attributed to King David.  There is a strange stream in the midst of these songs written by the musician who, in his youth, soothed King Saul with his skill on the lyre.  We see it in Psalm 42, a Psalm that starts out with a beautiful imagery for worship, “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants after you, O God,” (Psalm 42:1). Followed by another recurrent theme, “Why are you in despair O my soul, and why have you become disturbed within me?” (Psalm 42:5).

 Can it be that the young shepherd who slew Goliath and became the beloved King of Israel could have suffered from depression?

 When I have felt the dark clouds of depression gathering above my head I have learned several important things.  First, do something.  Sitting and brooding only throws the mind into a deeper spiral of despair. More than that, do something good for someone else. It doesn’t matter who or what or how small. Find someone you can help in some way, whether within your family, among your friends or a total stranger. Meditate on the Scripture, especially the Palms.  They will encourage your trust in God, even when times are difficult. And remember that moments of depression will pass.  God will see you through.

  In his famous letter to Fanny McCollough, Abraham Lincoln wrote, “You cannot now realize that you will ever feel better. Is not this so? And yet it is a mistake. You are sure to be happy again. To know this, which is certainly true, will make you some less miserable now. I have had experience enough to know what I say.”

 In the midst of his own mental anguish David repeatedly affirmed, “Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence,” (Psalm 42:5, 11; 43:5).