Why are you cast down, O my soul? (Psalm 42)
Why are you weighed down, as if under a heavy burden? That seems to be the image the psalmist uses, and it captures well the experience we call depression today. Depression is hard. We feel numb. We are weakened and brought low by this heaviness. And it won’t easily go away. Ed Welch has aptly called it a stubborn darkness.
Suffering
Depression is clearly suffering. That sense of bleakness, the lowering of mood, anxiety – the disquieted soul, according to the psalmist – are all part of the emotional suffering. But the depressed person is also affected physically, losing their appetite, feeling exhausted, having sleep disturbed. Activity is a huge effort and it’s easier to withdraw. Our thinking gets clouded with a sense that we are worthless, and life is futile. Understandably despair and hopelessness are common and concerning signs.
