Fighting Depression
Iris Palma in Tips and Advices
Jun 07, 2021 • 3 min Read
If you really insist, I will confess that I have been depressed for the past 15 years. Work and sleep were my solace in a world full of frustration and sadness. Why? I am a failure. I failed as a wife and I failed as a mother. Sucks bigtime, right?
But, you know what? I can’t probably fail as a person. This is one area where I know I have skills and confidence. I knew that God has provided me with enough talent and capabilities throughout my school years. I was not really that smart but I was properly schooled and I knew where I could excel early on. Thank you, Lord! Perhaps He knew I needed those defenses.
How was I able to survive 15 years of depression?
- I escaped. I went to a place far enough to find and heal myself, where a wide ocean separated me from the sources of my depression. While there, I worked and learned. It took me almost 10 years to find the courage to go back and face the challenges that I have set aside. I was ready.
- I wrote. The only way I could process my thoughts, my worries, my concerns, and everything about my sadness was through writing. Just like now. Every word that I wrote was a pain being yanked off my chest. Life became less difficult afterward. Everyday became manageable.
- I went to a psychiatrist. I had three hours of free psychiatric sessions as part of my company’s employee assistance program. I shamelessly cried in front of the psychiatrist. Did it help? Yes, but it was expensive. CEFAM in Ateneo offered a less expensive option, if you wish to know.
- I took meds. There were times that only medicines could pull me off my lethargic state. I had Xanax for a few months. I floated and survived my days because of Xanax. This is not an over-the-counter medicine though.
- I went out with friends. Genuine friends take us out of to make us happy when the world is one big ball of pain and sadness. I was blessed to find a group who cared but who would not tolerate my self-pity. God bless them. I knew they had problems, but they were present when I wanted to forget my sadness.
- I read novels. Many times, I “travelled” to UK or Canada or happily flew over China and Europe on the amazing celestial dragon Temeraire’s back (the author is Naomi Novik). Yes, decent novels took me away from the ever-present melancholy.
- I prayed. When everything else failed, I prayed. Or before anything started, I prayed. Prayers changed me. My faith gave me hope.
And now?
I am still struggling to survive every day. When I prayed that He let me sleep forever, but then He woke me up the next day, then I realized that He had a task for me that day. Perhaps one day He will let me rest forever under His feet, but for the meantime, I look forward to completing His task, for His glory, today or tomorrow.
I am living one day at a time. He will get me through. He always does.
Your husband as the head of the family failed you. You are not the root cause. What can you expect from a man who does not have an ideal father figure to pattern himself from, whose very own father is not an ideal husband and father? You did your best but the bad people’s force is stronger. Never mind. They will have their day of reckoning.
Continue holding on to God. He does not fail you. According to St Therese of Lisieux, “even suffering, however difficult, had a place in God’s redemptive love for us”. You are a survivor and will always be.