Seasonal Depression
Every January I get down. A few years ago we decided it was a lack of vitamin D. It's the vitamin you get from the sun that makes you happier in the summer. So I started taking Vitamin D.
Recently I have been down. I don't really show it to anyone but my wife. I blame it on whatever seems to be happening that day or week. I think I know what the problem is.
My depression comes from selfishness. I start to get sad and I start to close myself off from spending time with people. I start to become a time-czar. "I don't want to have anyone over because I never have a chance to just sit and do nothing!" What a stupid phrase and what a stupider thought. I always feel better when we have people over to our house. (And who actually wants to do nothing?)
Depression comes from self-focus. Self-focus fades into self-interest and then into selfishness. Selfishness lends itself to insecurity, lack of trust, and lack of faith in others. Then I start to feel like other people are being selfish. (Hey Pot! The kettle called.)
I finally came out of that pattern some time this week. I don't think any one thing triggered it. I'm glad that I came out of it after only a couple of weeks.
When we focus on others life is much better. That seems like a Kingdom of Heaven principle to me. Jesus said that the law and prophets (the old testament) can be summed up like this: Love God with everything that you are and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. So when Jesus says in John 10:10 that he has come to give us life to the full he is continuing that thought. How has he come to do this? Well, he taught us what we need to know. We do have to take the time to read it though.
Recently I have been down. I don't really show it to anyone but my wife. I blame it on whatever seems to be happening that day or week. I think I know what the problem is.
My depression comes from selfishness. I start to get sad and I start to close myself off from spending time with people. I start to become a time-czar. "I don't want to have anyone over because I never have a chance to just sit and do nothing!" What a stupid phrase and what a stupider thought. I always feel better when we have people over to our house. (And who actually wants to do nothing?)
Depression comes from self-focus. Self-focus fades into self-interest and then into selfishness. Selfishness lends itself to insecurity, lack of trust, and lack of faith in others. Then I start to feel like other people are being selfish. (Hey Pot! The kettle called.)
I finally came out of that pattern some time this week. I don't think any one thing triggered it. I'm glad that I came out of it after only a couple of weeks.
When we focus on others life is much better. That seems like a Kingdom of Heaven principle to me. Jesus said that the law and prophets (the old testament) can be summed up like this: Love God with everything that you are and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself. So when Jesus says in John 10:10 that he has come to give us life to the full he is continuing that thought. How has he come to do this? Well, he taught us what we need to know. We do have to take the time to read it though.
Comments
And - I just wanted to clear up that I am not talking about clinical depression or anything big like that. It's just the blues that I get at this time of year. I think there is a patter in that, but I have not been trained to see the bigger patterns of depression.