Wanting an end.

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As someone who suffers from depression, please don’t dismiss how you feel. I encourage you to seek medical help and go into counseling. These things are helping me a great deal.

My husband suffers from chronic illness and he deals with his depression from it by being on our parish prayer chain. He offers prayers for those in need and he offers up his own suffering for souls in Purgatory and for those suffering in the world.

I have found it helpful to pray for others who are suffering so I don’t focus so much on me. Prayers for the people of Syria, prayers for the poor, whatever you choose.

I found these things helpful as I struggle with depression. God bless.
 
Nelka said:
This is true but jesus Christ will help you more.

:heaven:
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Are you saying she shouldn’t look into psychology, or are you saying that in addition to what was said Jesus Christ will help you more? It is foolish to put Jesus against psychology because psychology and psychiatry can help many people. No one is saying stop going to church; I am saying it would also be good to go see a therapist and psychiatrist.
 
+JMJ+
Nelka said:
How on earth is praying to Jesus Christ dangerous?
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You have worded your advice as if having faith in Jesus Christ can be an alternative to professional help, which is, as I and jimmy have said, dangerous, when, in fact, looking for professional help can be a manifestation of one’s faith. Have you heard of the story of the man caught in the flood?

A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately.

A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.”

The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.”

As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.”

The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!”

The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop.

A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, “Grab my hand and I will pull you up!” But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!”

Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned.

When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?”

And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”
 
I really feel for the many posters who are experiencing similar things as the OP.

I am actually feeling your pain in the depths of my being, but with this pain I am feeling the tremendous compassion that our heavenly Father has for all of you.

We can only pray that He would release his compassion upon each of you. We can only pray that He would submerge you in His peace through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Allow me to say, that happiness is very elusive, if one is given the peace of God, be grateful for that. If one can have moments of joy be grateful for that. Really attempt to be thankful for what you have been given, and not to focus on that which you lack.

This might not seem as an encouragement to any of you, but the apostle Paul said, “without much tribulation we can not enter the kingdom of God”. Suffering humbles us, so what is written may be true for us, “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble”.

Truly, may God’s peace be with you all

Be strong in the Lord Jesus Christ

micah
 
kite said:
I suppose that I’m looking for some sort of answers here. I’ve prayed for years for Him to just take me. I do not have a physical illness, I believe it’s simply a spiritual illness. I’ve struggled with this since my early teens, I’m 38, and have only had peppered moments of happiness. I do not have any plans of suicide, I just want this ride to come to an end.
My worst enemy is myself. I constantly feel unworthy, unforgivable and like a complete failure. I have hurt so many people and even though I feel horribly about it, I continue to make the same types of decisions and cause more pain.
Do any of you ever feel utterly lost? Have any of you been in this abyss and found a way out of it? I pray but how long do you have to knock before it is opened?
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What you’re describing sounds, basically, like alienation from God. And it is right that you should feel it; we are all alienated from God by nature. This is such an unbearable feeling for most people that it probably explains the modern apostasy, as Eric Voegelin noted in The New Science of Politics:

Uncertainty is the very essence of Christianity. The feeling of security in a ‘world full of gods’ is lost with the gods themselves; when the world is de-divinized, communication with the world-transcendent God is reduced to the tenuous bond of faith, in the sense of Heb. 11:1, as the substance of things hoped for and the proof of things unseen. Ontologically, the substance of things hoped for is nowhere to be found but in faith itself; and, epistemologically, there is no proof for things unseen but again this very faith. The bond is tenuous, indeed, and it may snap easily. The life of the soul in openness toward God, the waiting, the periods of aridity and dulness, guilt and despondency, contrition and repentance, forsakenness and hope against hope, the silent stirrings of love and grace, trembling on the verge of a certainty which if gained is loss – the very lightness of this fabric may prove too heavy a burden for men who lust for massively possessive experience.

He calls Christianity a “heroic adventure of the soul.” So it is. It is meant to be d
 
nuntym said:
+JMJ+

You have worded your advice as if having faith in Jesus Christ can be an alternative to professional help, which is, as I and jimmy have said, dangerous, when, in fact, looking for professional help can be a manifestation of one’s faith.
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How did I do that?

The first word I wrote was “True”, meaning that I agree with the post about seeking help but added that Jesus Christ would help more.

Do not make assumptions, if you do not understand then either ask me or ignore me.

Your attack on Jesus Christ, as I saw it was hurtful.
 
sw85 said:
What you’re describing sounds, basically, like alienation from God. And it is right that you should feel it; we are all alienated from God by nature. This is such an unbearable feeling for most people that it probably explains the modern apostasy, as Eric Voegelin noted in The New Science of Politics:

Uncertainty is the very essence of Christianity. The feeling of security in a ‘world full of gods’ is lost with the gods themselves; when the world is de-divinized, communication with the world-transcendent God is reduced to the tenuous bond of faith, in the sense of Heb. 11:1, as the substance of things hoped for and the proof of things unseen. Ontologically, the substance of things hoped for is nowhere to be found but in faith itself; and, epistemologically, there is no proof for things unseen but again this very faith. The bond is tenuous, indeed, and it may snap easily. The life of the soul in openness toward God, the waiting, the periods of aridity and dulness, guilt and despondency, contrition and repentance, forsakenness and hope against hope, the silent stirrings of love and grace, trembling on the verge of a certainty which if gained is loss – the very lightness of this fabric may prove too heavy a burden for men who lust for massively possessive experience.

He calls Christianity a “heroic adventure of the soul.” So it is. It is meant to be d
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I was cut off by some kind strange monitor malfunction last night so I didn’t get to finish this (somehow it posted anyway). It should finish “It is meant to be difficult. Did not Christ cry out on the cross, ‘Father, Father, why has Thou forsaken me?’”

In other words, what you’re experiencing is probably normal. “Offer it up.” Whatever is just is good, and whatever is good is pleasing to God.
 
+JMJ+
Nelka said:
How did I do that?

The first word I wrote was “True”, meaning that I agree with the post about seeking help but added that Jesus Christ would help more.

Do not make assumptions, if you do not understand then either ask me or ignore me.

Your attack on Jesus Christ, as I saw it was hurtful.
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I made the statement for the benefit of the OP, Nelka. And again, you worded the statement as an alternative to treatment with the “But”.

However, I am truly sorry that I have hurt you, with how I said it, but I will not apologize with the statement that your post was vague and thus dangerous for someone who is in a fragile mental state already.

And that is the last time I will talk about this here.
 
Is this about who’s right or wrong or about helping someone who walks in darkness?
 
kite said:
I constantly feel unworthy, unforgivable and like a complete failure. I have hurt so many people and even though I feel horribly about it, I continue to make the same types of decisions and cause more pain.
Do any of you ever feel utterly lost? Have any of you been in this abyss and found a way out of it? I pray but how long do you have to knock before it is opened?
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The more we see our own sin sometimes the closer we are to God. While God does come to grant us peace, there is an inner struggle and process where we face what we have done.

I recommend you read St John of the Cross Dark Night of the Soul.

I think you will find it talks about some of the struggles you are facing. You don’t just read it quick, you never really stop reading it.

You are not the only one to struggle with your shortcomings, real or perceived.
 
Thank you all very much. Sorry it took so long to check back in. Things are actually beginning to look up. I know the next knock is around the corner but I feel much more at ease. My kids helped me tremendously, it is amazing what a simple little hug from my girls can do.
I also plan on checking in with a Dr. to find out if I may need some meds. I have been and will continue to pray about my situation and will do the same for all of you who took the time to help with your words and spiritual support.
Thanks again and may we all enjoy mental health (if there really is such a thing 👍)
 
Dear Kite,

My counseling is making a big difference for me. Its not an easy road but it one worth traveling for yourself, your girls and your relationship with God.

May God continue to bless you and remain at your side!

:console:
 
Kite, I’m glad you checked back and that things are looking up! 🙂 Also great to hear that you got support from your girls.
kite said:
I also plan on checking in with a Dr. to find out if I may need some meds.
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I think this would be a very good decision. If you are depressed because of a chemical imbalance, you did not choose it any more than any person with diabetes did and it is not your fault in any way. May the Lord guide you and heal you.
 
+JMJ+
kite said:
Thank you all very much. Sorry it took so long to check back in. Things are actually beginning to look up. I know the next knock is around the corner but I feel much more at ease. My kids helped me tremendously, it is amazing what a simple little hug from my girls can do.
I also plan on checking in with a Dr. to find out if I may need some meds. I have been and will continue to pray about my situation and will do the same for all of you who took the time to help with your words and spiritual support.
Thanks again and may we all enjoy mental health (if there really is such a thing 👍)
Click to expand...
👍
 
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