The battle for happiness

So I am sitting at home watching TV the other night when the commercial for an antidepressant comes on. And usually, this doesn’t capture my interest, but today for some reason it did. I got depressed from viewing an anti-depressant commercial, that can’t be good, LOL! But the reason I got teary is this, for the first time it hit me, hard, what a struggle we are having as a people. The number of teens dealing with depression is astonishing, not to mention women, and let’s not forget all the men that are dealing with this issue as well (although it often appears as anger).

It hurts my heart when I realize that so many people battle this daily. That so many people hurt so very much, some of them even taking their own life. That so many women are depressed and don’t know why. I don’t have the answer to the why either – there are a million reasons that this could be – and I have certain theories I ascribe to more than others, but that is not the point. We are hurting, as a people, as a nation, we are hurting.

I believe wholeheartedly that God has placed upon my life a need and a longing to work within this issue. He has even given me my own battle with depression so that I may have empathy. I remember Beth Moore saying once that it was never enough for her to be free; she had this burning passion for others to be free as well. Well, it will never be enough for me to battle my depression on my own, I have to, I want to, I need to help others in the battle of the mind and body and spirit that depression is.

Any of you that read my blog could easily guess that I LOVE to write. I really have been praying for God to show me how to use this gift and passion of mine in a way that glorifies him. I am contemplating writing either a Christian based book or group bible study that addresses depression from 3 perspectives: mind, body, and spiritual. It may or may not pan out, but I believe that if this is what God has for me, it will fall into place. So as I begin writing, I wanted to ask this question of anyone who reads my blog and has struggled with depression, or knows someone who has: What is the thing that stands out as the one thing, that without it, you could have never moved forward in your battle with depression? Or if you have never struggled with this yourself, what is the thing that you saw help pull someone else out? I know what the answer to this question is for me, but was very curious to see what other people had found the most helpful! I appreciate any and all responses, and hope you all have a wonderful week! Love n Blessings Always! Steph