Have you ever walked or driven in thick fog? The kind that is so impenetrable you cannot see more than a few feet in front of or behind you? To navigate the road, you must rely on your memory. But what do you do when the road is life, and you’ve never been on this stretch before? Depression is like trying to navigate through a fog externally while operating in a mental fog internally. Everything can seem slower, numb, and like we’re looking in from the outside. Simple tasks suddenly require more concentration and effort, and we are left feeling inadequate and weak from being exhausted all the time.
Depression commonly manifests physically, through stomach pains, headaches, disrupted or excessive sleep, and motor control difficulty. While the causes of depression are unknown, a predisposition for it runs in families and it can be triggered by trauma and adverse life circumstances. Depression is diagnosed more frequently in women and tends to display differently in women than in men. It is characterized by prolonged emotional symptoms including apathy, sadness, guilt, exhaustion, and irritability.
Almost everyone on the face of the planet experiences anxiety on different levels, and each person’s experience is unique. From the person who gets nervous before a test, to the person who suffers with a constant worrying feeling. Treatment for depression and anxiety is generally done through counseling. In addition, and when appropriate, with your permission, I will contact your primary care physician to report my observations and request a medication review be done.
Depression and anxiety often exacerbate each other and people with depression commonly have difficulty concentrating on tasks and conversations. Some people abuse alcohol and drugs or overeat as a way of coping, causing them to develop other medical problems. Depressed people are also at increased risk for self-harm.
Let me share a portion of Scripture with you: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). This is the goal towards which we strive.
