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AJ85
Guest
I try to be a good Catholic, but I really struggle with depression. When I’m depressed, I can’t think rationally. When I don’t feel conected with God, I eventually fall to sin. Why am I going through this?
- Status
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Celtic_FC
Guest
Although I can’t tell you why you are going through this, I can relate. I am a depressive myself and thank God I haven’t had to take medication for it. Know you’re not alone, or may not have it as bad as others. I will pray for you.
J
JonW
Guest
You’re not alone, AJ. Nobody in this life is all sunshine all the time, although I wonder if some of the saints got close. Look at Jesus Himself. He suffered more than any of us will ever know, and He was God. We all get down sometimes, and some of us get down often. Offer it up. God loves you more than you can imagine, and we love you too. Everyone understands sadness, and many of us understand depression. Pray, think about the saints, and love yourself and your family and neighbors. You are infinitely valuable, and you will live a blessed and happy life in God’s light. God Bless.
Jon Winterburn
Jon Winterburn
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AJ85
Guest
Thanks. The meds I am taking helped me for a few weeks, but they haven’t helped lately. I love to read the Bible and other Catholic books. However if I’m depressed I get nothing from them. I just can’t understand why God would make me go through something like this because it hurts my Catholic growth and makes it tougher to resist temptation.
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Cari
Guest
I don’t know if it would help, but perhaps meditating on Our Lord’s agony in the garden would help you realize that Jesus understands more than we can imagine.
Think about it- he was abandoned by His friends (come on, they couldn’t even stay away ONE HOUR like He asked?), He was facing torture, humiliation, and death at the hands of mere humans, and He was asking the Father to remove this suffering if possible. He literally sweat blood, He was under such agonizing stress.
If the Father didn’t spare His only Child this mental distress, I can’t imagine any of us could expect better.
Jesus knows what it’s like to be depressed. He knows what it is to have to resist temptation while in this state (after all, though He asked for the cup of suffering to be removed, His next words were stating that He wanted the Father’s will, not His, to be done).
Also, think of the loss of the Child Jesus for three days in the Temple. While He was hidden and lost from Mary and Joseph, He was busy going about His Father’s work. It is when we think we’ve lost Jesus, that He’s hidden from us, that He’s going about His most important work in our souls.
Think about it- he was abandoned by His friends (come on, they couldn’t even stay away ONE HOUR like He asked?), He was facing torture, humiliation, and death at the hands of mere humans, and He was asking the Father to remove this suffering if possible. He literally sweat blood, He was under such agonizing stress.
If the Father didn’t spare His only Child this mental distress, I can’t imagine any of us could expect better.
Jesus knows what it’s like to be depressed. He knows what it is to have to resist temptation while in this state (after all, though He asked for the cup of suffering to be removed, His next words were stating that He wanted the Father’s will, not His, to be done).
Also, think of the loss of the Child Jesus for three days in the Temple. While He was hidden and lost from Mary and Joseph, He was busy going about His Father’s work. It is when we think we’ve lost Jesus, that He’s hidden from us, that He’s going about His most important work in our souls.
K
KingAlfred
Guest
The depression you might not be able to stop without professional help. The sinning, you can, with will-power. Hang in there.
P
PinkAquarius84
Guest
be thankful that u know there is a god
J
Jimdandy
Guest
You should call your doctor-you may need to to have your dose changed or to try an alternative med-do not stop current med without speaking to your doctor.
Receiving the Eucharist daily and going to Confession often is helpful-have you had the Anointing of the Sick? If not, ask for it -if you have received it in the past for this ask for it again.
Praying for you to be at Peace.
Receiving the Eucharist daily and going to Confession often is helpful-have you had the Anointing of the Sick? If not, ask for it -if you have received it in the past for this ask for it again.
Praying for you to be at Peace.
M
mntbike
Guest
I went through problems like this ahwile ago. I prayed alot. I don’t know what you have tryed but seeing a doctor really helped me.
E
Epistemes
Guest
I’m surely not going to say that your depression is a blessing, but equally so, why think of it as a divine punishment? Doing such would only seem to hurt your relationship with God, allowing occassions to fall into sin to be easier and more frequent. It’s like being cut with a knife borrowed from a parent and blaming any subsequent infection on the parent for having sharpened the knife to such a degree.
I hope you don’t think I’m accusing you, 'cause I’m not. I don’t know a whole lot about depression, it’s cures, it’s et cetera., but maybe if you begin to think differently about why you’re depressed rather than just allocating it to “why does God” then perhaps you, too, will find the answers you need.
Sorry if this seemed rude, or wasn’t any help.
I hope you don’t think I’m accusing you, 'cause I’m not. I don’t know a whole lot about depression, it’s cures, it’s et cetera., but maybe if you begin to think differently about why you’re depressed rather than just allocating it to “why does God” then perhaps you, too, will find the answers you need.
Sorry if this seemed rude, or wasn’t any help.
M
MarieVeronica
Guest
Hi “AJ” 
I’m sorry you’re going through this. :hug1: Please know, that you’re not alone. “Jimdandy’s” advice was very good. I would also highly recommend sitting in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament (Adoration). Just being in the Presence of Our Lord Jesus… is a healing experience.
God bless you “AJ”. Hope you’re feeling better soon.
I’m sorry you’re going through this. :hug1: Please know, that you’re not alone. “Jimdandy’s” advice was very good. I would also highly recommend sitting in the Presence of the Blessed Sacrament (Adoration). Just being in the Presence of Our Lord Jesus… is a healing experience.God bless you “AJ”. Hope you’re feeling better soon.
R
RWMorris
Guest
I too suffer from depression. Keep praying…
W
wjp984
Guest
While I don’t usully get severely depressed, I do feel down a lot and there have been a couple times in my life where I have been really depressed. In my opinion the best cure is to not allow any time for depression. This is why I love law school. There just is not any time for anything but school and school is fun and interesting and therefore since I am so stressed out over school I have no time to be depressed. It also helps me do very well in school since every time I think of being down over something I go back to studying.
Summer is a little harder since I have much less work to do but I’ve just replaced some of the studying with doing outdooor stuff and getting more exercise and also just generally enjoying the nice break from school.
The point is I suggest finding a hobby and get yourself into a routine and keep busy enough where there just is not any time to be depressed.
Summer is a little harder since I have much less work to do but I’ve just replaced some of the studying with doing outdooor stuff and getting more exercise and also just generally enjoying the nice break from school.
The point is I suggest finding a hobby and get yourself into a routine and keep busy enough where there just is not any time to be depressed.
A
Anniegirl
Guest
AJ - the same thing happens to me. I am very alone and lonely a lot of the time, and I get depressed and fall away spiritually. I find that when I’m depressed, I really doubt my faith and I can’t pray at all.
A few things help me:
First, St. Mary Margaret Alacoque was unsure of what it meant to trust Jesus. In a dream he answered her with this: “You think of Me. I will be the one to think of you. You look to my needs and those of your neighbor. I will look to to yours.”
Second, I repeat to myself “Even though He slays me, yet I will trust in Him.”
Both of them help me to trust that God has a plan for my life and give me courage. It’s still really hard though. Sometimes, no matter how much I pray and try to be good, I’m just so lonely and angry that I can’t do anything. I’ll pray for you. Please pray for me too.
A few things help me:
First, St. Mary Margaret Alacoque was unsure of what it meant to trust Jesus. In a dream he answered her with this: “You think of Me. I will be the one to think of you. You look to my needs and those of your neighbor. I will look to to yours.”
Second, I repeat to myself “Even though He slays me, yet I will trust in Him.”
Both of them help me to trust that God has a plan for my life and give me courage. It’s still really hard though. Sometimes, no matter how much I pray and try to be good, I’m just so lonely and angry that I can’t do anything. I’ll pray for you. Please pray for me too.
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Cairone
Guest
I’m going to talk about myself here, so just feel free to discard anything that doesn’t apply to you.
I’ve suffered from a form of bipolar depression called hypomania, where like manic depression you have a continual cycle of highs and lows, save that the highs are not very high. A cycle lasted anywhere from 3-4 days, with 2-3 days of very deep depression and half a day or so of buoyancy and high energy. The rest of the time I felt “normal”.
There is certainly a physical aspect of my depression: sometimes I can feel my body just shutting down, and soon after the dark thoughts follow. That being said, the majority of my depression is mental attitude. Quite often I’d start into my depressive mental monologue whenever I felt tired, not just when my body cycled to its nadir.
Fighting this depression has, for me, entailed a radical change of worldview. The primary reason for my depressive attitude–not my physical fluctuation–comes from an unwillingness to accept anything less than I what I feel is “my due”. Whenever things didn’t work out the way I wanted, or any time I failed, or any time I felt that finding anything positive in the future was extremely difficult or impossible, I became depressed, thinking in terms of suicide, futility, etc.
My biggest problem was that my depression was an excuse, specifically an excuse not to move on, and a means to wallow in self-pity. For example, I have a felony conviction on my record, and it makes it very difficult for me to find employment. I use my depression in this instance to rail at the world that I won’t get my dream $80,000/year job, and in that railing I refuse to “lower” myself to the jobs that are less than ideal. Moreover, I can use this excuse to not even try for a close-to-ideal job that may yet hire me. I use my depression to talk myself out of even trying.
For me, this isn’t a matter of life being terribly difficult. It is a matter of being to scared to face rejection, to try and fail.
My relation with God suffered dramatically during my depression, not because I doubted His existence or even His love, but because I wielded my depression as a means of justifying self-indulgence and not expending myself. You see, I had to distance myself from God to appease my conscience when I used immoral means to find comfort.
What has aided me in my fight against depression is the knowledge that I had accepted the belief that any time I feel slightly uncomfortable, I am justified in trying to relieve that discomfort. Life is full of discomfort, full of hardship and outright suffering. Yet when I was depressed, I wasn’t really facing hardship or suffering–I was only mildly uncomfortable. I turned to sinful activity because I could not bear to be uncomfortable for any amount of time. Notice the cycle: discomfort, then dark thoughts about futility of life and various “God doesn’t care” arguments, and then sinful activity. The middle step is just a unconscious (or even conscious) attempt to keep the conscience from interfering with that oh-so-pleasurable sinful activity.
What has been suggest to me to handle this problem is the following: anytime I am feeling uncomfortable and feel I just have to turn to sinful activity for relief, I put that desire on hold. I deliberately take an hour and do something to distract myself. For example, I will play a video game that requires my full attention, or I will read a book, or something. I do not, for example, go for a walk. Walking a long distance will tire me out, true, but it doesn’t take my mind off the discomfort. The problem for me is, as long as I’m dwelling on the discomfort, that discomfort is going to be clamoring for attention, and as long as it is clamoring for attention, I’m one hair’s-breadth away from giving in to temptation.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I keep God ever-present in this method. But what isn’t helpful for me is to make a long prayer in which I recriminate myself and endlessly beg for mercy and forgiveness. It doesn’t help to dwell on that issue. If I pray, I pray about something else entirely. Saying the Rosary is a good prayer, for then I’m meditating on the mysteries, not on my sinful behavior.
After the hour is over, then I can let my mind return to the problem. Often enough, it is still there. But the clamoring isn’t anywhere near as loud, and the temptation isn’t anywhere as fierce. Sometimes I even forget to return to the discomfort and the temptation, and that works even better.
I’ve that a good habit of reading the Bible, the Catechism, and apologetic works is wonderful for that hour when I’m trying to put off temptation. Praying regularly is very beneficial. Confession is crucial, for it places the soul right again and provides a decent impetus to avoid sin again. And of course, the Holy Eucharist. One thing that has always helped me is thinking, “If I cave to sin now, I won’t be able to receive the body and blood of Jesus.”
Lastly, with great humility, I’ve forced myself to say meaningfully, “Let not my will, but Yours be done.” That is one of the hardest things to do, because I want so much for my life to work in a particular way, and I know that it might not, or even can’t in certain places.
As I said, I’m talking all about me here, and thus there may not be anything you can use. But I hope this helps.
I’ve suffered from a form of bipolar depression called hypomania, where like manic depression you have a continual cycle of highs and lows, save that the highs are not very high. A cycle lasted anywhere from 3-4 days, with 2-3 days of very deep depression and half a day or so of buoyancy and high energy. The rest of the time I felt “normal”.
There is certainly a physical aspect of my depression: sometimes I can feel my body just shutting down, and soon after the dark thoughts follow. That being said, the majority of my depression is mental attitude. Quite often I’d start into my depressive mental monologue whenever I felt tired, not just when my body cycled to its nadir.
Fighting this depression has, for me, entailed a radical change of worldview. The primary reason for my depressive attitude–not my physical fluctuation–comes from an unwillingness to accept anything less than I what I feel is “my due”. Whenever things didn’t work out the way I wanted, or any time I failed, or any time I felt that finding anything positive in the future was extremely difficult or impossible, I became depressed, thinking in terms of suicide, futility, etc.
My biggest problem was that my depression was an excuse, specifically an excuse not to move on, and a means to wallow in self-pity. For example, I have a felony conviction on my record, and it makes it very difficult for me to find employment. I use my depression in this instance to rail at the world that I won’t get my dream $80,000/year job, and in that railing I refuse to “lower” myself to the jobs that are less than ideal. Moreover, I can use this excuse to not even try for a close-to-ideal job that may yet hire me. I use my depression to talk myself out of even trying.
For me, this isn’t a matter of life being terribly difficult. It is a matter of being to scared to face rejection, to try and fail.
My relation with God suffered dramatically during my depression, not because I doubted His existence or even His love, but because I wielded my depression as a means of justifying self-indulgence and not expending myself. You see, I had to distance myself from God to appease my conscience when I used immoral means to find comfort.
What has aided me in my fight against depression is the knowledge that I had accepted the belief that any time I feel slightly uncomfortable, I am justified in trying to relieve that discomfort. Life is full of discomfort, full of hardship and outright suffering. Yet when I was depressed, I wasn’t really facing hardship or suffering–I was only mildly uncomfortable. I turned to sinful activity because I could not bear to be uncomfortable for any amount of time. Notice the cycle: discomfort, then dark thoughts about futility of life and various “God doesn’t care” arguments, and then sinful activity. The middle step is just a unconscious (or even conscious) attempt to keep the conscience from interfering with that oh-so-pleasurable sinful activity.
What has been suggest to me to handle this problem is the following: anytime I am feeling uncomfortable and feel I just have to turn to sinful activity for relief, I put that desire on hold. I deliberately take an hour and do something to distract myself. For example, I will play a video game that requires my full attention, or I will read a book, or something. I do not, for example, go for a walk. Walking a long distance will tire me out, true, but it doesn’t take my mind off the discomfort. The problem for me is, as long as I’m dwelling on the discomfort, that discomfort is going to be clamoring for attention, and as long as it is clamoring for attention, I’m one hair’s-breadth away from giving in to temptation.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I keep God ever-present in this method. But what isn’t helpful for me is to make a long prayer in which I recriminate myself and endlessly beg for mercy and forgiveness. It doesn’t help to dwell on that issue. If I pray, I pray about something else entirely. Saying the Rosary is a good prayer, for then I’m meditating on the mysteries, not on my sinful behavior.
After the hour is over, then I can let my mind return to the problem. Often enough, it is still there. But the clamoring isn’t anywhere near as loud, and the temptation isn’t anywhere as fierce. Sometimes I even forget to return to the discomfort and the temptation, and that works even better.
I’ve that a good habit of reading the Bible, the Catechism, and apologetic works is wonderful for that hour when I’m trying to put off temptation. Praying regularly is very beneficial. Confession is crucial, for it places the soul right again and provides a decent impetus to avoid sin again. And of course, the Holy Eucharist. One thing that has always helped me is thinking, “If I cave to sin now, I won’t be able to receive the body and blood of Jesus.”
Lastly, with great humility, I’ve forced myself to say meaningfully, “Let not my will, but Yours be done.” That is one of the hardest things to do, because I want so much for my life to work in a particular way, and I know that it might not, or even can’t in certain places.
As I said, I’m talking all about me here, and thus there may not be anything you can use. But I hope this helps.
E
Eilish_Maura
Guest
Does the doctor know the meds stopped working so quickly??
Go to the doctor and get the health issue taken care of.
Go to the doctor and get the health issue taken care of.
A
AJ85
Guest
Thank you all for your responses. They have really helped me. May God bless you all.
D
distracted
Guest
wish i had time to read all posts but don’t… so hope i don’t repeat…
i am depressed also…
the important thing to remember is that there is a reason for depression. In a nut-shell, the reason is sin… yours and &/or others’… As someone once said “All pain is the outcome of sin”.
Yes, i know, that probably doesn’t help much… but anyway, sometimes when i am depressed, i just think of certain sins from the past (or things i don’t feel good about, but Jesus may not consider actual sin?), and even though they are forgiven, i tell God all over again, “I’m sorry for this and all my sins”… it helps…
Another thing that helps (and is the most important thing anyone can do for depression) is to sit with Jesus at the Blessed Sacrament… I recently found out that even the souls in Purgatory are there, with Jesus, at the Tabernacle… When i am with them, suffering with them… we are helping each other & I am in the Presence of Absolute Truth… the truth about my life, as seen in God’s eyes, not man’s… True, I sometimes don’t feel so great there…at first but the longer i stay, the better… I am a sinner & need to be purged and that sometimes doesn’t feel so great… but one thing is for sure: I never feel abandoned there… and i never feel that i am “not accomplishing” things… (i feel that way a LOT when out in the world)… Feeling that your life is going nowehre can cause depression… but Jesus doesn’t see ANYONE"s life as goiing nowhere… I dont’ know if you ever feel that way…?? I don’t know anything about your life… I am more speaking of my own life… because that’s the one i know… just thought maybe you could relate to a thing or two…
life with Jesus is meaningful… Life in the world… a different story a lot of the time… and one makes progress with Jesus in the ways that are important to make progress… The world sends a different message to us than Jesus… which is why we need Him in the Blessed Sacrament… He doesn’t judge us the way the world does…
praying for you…
i am depressed also…
the important thing to remember is that there is a reason for depression. In a nut-shell, the reason is sin… yours and &/or others’… As someone once said “All pain is the outcome of sin”.
Yes, i know, that probably doesn’t help much… but anyway, sometimes when i am depressed, i just think of certain sins from the past (or things i don’t feel good about, but Jesus may not consider actual sin?), and even though they are forgiven, i tell God all over again, “I’m sorry for this and all my sins”… it helps…
Another thing that helps (and is the most important thing anyone can do for depression) is to sit with Jesus at the Blessed Sacrament… I recently found out that even the souls in Purgatory are there,
with Jesus, at the Tabernacle… When i am with them, suffering with them… we are helping each other & I am in the Presence of Absolute Truth… the truth about my life, as seen in God’s eyes, not man’s… True, I sometimes don’t feel so great there…at first but the longer i stay, the better… I am a sinner & need to be purged and that sometimes doesn’t feel so great… but one thing is for sure: I never feel abandoned there… and i never feel that i am “not accomplishing” things… (i feel that way a LOT when out in the world)… Feeling that your life is going nowehre can cause depression… but Jesus doesn’t see ANYONE"s life as goiing nowhere… I dont’ know if you ever feel that way…?? I don’t know anything about your life… I am more speaking of my own life… because that’s the one i know… just thought maybe you could relate to a thing or two…life with Jesus is meaningful… Life in the world… a different story a lot of the time… and one makes progress with Jesus in the ways that are important to make progress… The world sends a different message to us than Jesus… which is why we need Him in the Blessed Sacrament… He doesn’t judge us the way the world does…
praying for you…
T
Ted_in_Charlott
Guest
AJ, first off, depression is an illness, just like the flu, or sometimes like cancer. Please see a doctor immediately. Maybe your Priest can refer you to a Catholic doctor in your parish.
Depression, has a stigma attached where shame is attached. A cold doesn’t nor does a stomach ache. That makes just getting treatment difficult. But God knows this and wants you to get help. Depression is a fertile ground to hear Satan’s lies.
Depression, has a stigma attached where shame is attached. A cold doesn’t nor does a stomach ache. That makes just getting treatment difficult. But God knows this and wants you to get help. Depression is a fertile ground to hear Satan’s lies.
S
surfinpure
Guest
Ted is exactly right. Chronic depression is a real, serious, debilitating, and treatable illness. And general practitioners are not trained to deal with it the way specialists are. I strongly recommend seeing a psychiatrist (if you are not already) and finding the right medication and proper dosage. Doing these things changed … and probably saved … my life.
- Status