The Pursuit of Happiness...battling Depression

I don't know about you but I've come to the realization that many young people deal with depression. God has truly been placing a burden on my heart regarding friends and family who deal with it. I believe I have no right to write about depression if I haven't had a fair share of it already.


No matter how little the issue is that caused you to become depressed or how deep the wound is - pain is pain. That's why I wrote a few tips encouraging other people who fight against depression.



1. Get out of bed in the morning: During my life, an incident occurred which threw me off course. My biggest struggle was to get out bed in the morning. If you have experienced grief then maybe some of you can relate to this. It wasn't that I was tired but I was just afraid to face the world. My body was in agony and my heart was heavy. I wanted to lie there and ponder on obsessive thoughts that were not of God. "Everything seemed so pointless."

The worst thing you can do when going through a time of sorrow is to stay in bed. We wake from a fitful, 
You need to press on; staying in bed actually makes everything a lot worse. And do you know what you don't need to wake up feeling helpless. God's word says This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24.

God who is altogether lovely and perfect created today. So go ahead and rejoice in it!



2. Eat well

I've found that to bring honour and glory to God we need to take care of the body. I remember a time where I was so devastated by circumstances in my life - and this is the honest truth, within a few days I had dropped in weight dramatically. It's as though my appetite flew out the window. I had worked myself into such a state that my clothes were hanging off me, my jeans wouldn't stay up and I could see bones on my body where I didn't even think I had bones. Every few minutes I had to sit down because my body was so exhausted all the time due to lack of nutrition. I was over-working my body.

However I have learned to be good to my body. Start  eating regularly, cooking nice meals for yourself and every morning have a nutritious breakfast. You should cherish yourself too!

I found that when people are going through rough patches in life, there can be a tendency to over eat. God is with you and so use your physical body as a testimony to God's faithfulness. Exercise is believed to also increase the release of the brain chemicals that affect our mood and make us feel happier.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.

3. Fight depression on your knees: in prayer and in the Word of God

For reasons beyond me, I found that in the early days of facing trials, I was so upset that I could fall asleep but wake up 45 minutes later. Only to be plagued with thoughts that were haunting me. I would fall asleep again and as you can guess 45 minutes later I was awake. Thinking, crying, distressed. This was getting ridiculous. So, I began keeping my bible and journal by my bedside. Therefore, whenever I did wake up in the middle of the night I could easily just reach over and pick up my bible before evil thoughts came. This is an art to be practiced, it does not come easy. You may find that you are still waking up again, but what you need to do is reach over for that bible and read it. Keep on going! Nowadays I can sleep quite peacefully without having to wake up. I go to bed with the Word of God in my heart. I can tell you it works like soothing medicine. Proverbs 4:20-22 My child, pay attention to what I say. Listen carefully to my words. Don’t lose sight of them. Let them penetrate deep into your heart, for they bring life to those who find them, and healing to their whole body.

Let me be frank: you are not going to fight this battle on the offense alone - you need Jesus to be right there with you in the midst of it all. His Word is true - I can testify to that!

4. Seek help

No one should go through the battle of depression alone. Jesus has no desire to leave you or forsake you in the midst of it. In the midnight hour God is there - ever present as He is, holding your hand.

I believe it's the Church's responsibility to gather around hurting people. There is a popular belief that goes along the lines of this: "If you are dealing with depression then it's because you have no faith”. What?! That is crazy and most of all unbiblical. King David the Psalmist experienced extreme depression - look through all the "dark Psalms" it's there in black and white. Sorry if I am hitting some soft spots but how can we be effective in the world if we are neglecting our own community.

The final point I want to make is if it's getting very bad, then don't feel condemned to see a doctor. Ultimately Jesus is our Great Physician and He should be our first point of contact but go seek professional help if you need to. I know depression can be caused by hormone imbalances, don't feel guilty and less of a Christian if you may need to take medication at times to keep in balance.

But I do want to stress again that Jesus is whom we should turn to first.

I know each situation differs but through prayer and seeking Godly counsel, I pray this really helps somebody see the strength of Jesus in their situation.