Depression is a common mental disorder. Worldwide, 246 million people have depressive disorders. In 2023, the number of U.S. adults who have been diagnosed with depression at some point in their life has surged to the highest rate ever. Depression rates in the United States are skyrocketing, particularly among young adults and women, a new poll shows.

Depression is defined as low spirits, a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness, dejection, a condition marked by feelings of worthlessness, failure, accompanied guilt, and loss of interest.

Depression is debitating, each day is a struggle, scary, terrifying, disabling and crippling. Depression is more than just a case of the Blues, it is embodied emotional suffering. It's not just a state of mind or a negative view of life, but something that affects our physical being as well.

Depression is not just having a bad day. It's goes far deeper than that. Depression takes over our entire body and everything appears most murky. It zaps your energy, your motivation, and the joy out of your life right out of you.

Additionally, depression causes a state of 'brain-fog', making it difficult to make decisions or focus on tasks.

Are you struggling with depression?

You're not alone. Many well-known people have suffered with depression:

Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States, suffered from severe and debilitating bouts of depression.

Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of Great Britain, told in his own writings of suffering from "black dog," Churchill's term for severe and serious depression.

Isaac Newton, the most famous mathematician of the 17th Century, suffered from several nervous breakdowns, and was known for great fits of rage towards anyone who disagreed with him.

Vincent Van Gogh, famous painter and artist was labeled peculiar with unstable moods most of his short life. His depressive states were accompanied by manic episodes of enormous energy and great passion. Van Gogh committed suicide at age 37.

Charles Spurgeon, known as the Prince of Preachers, a 19th-century English Baptist preacher, battled debilitating depression for decades. There are times, he said, when our spirits betray us, and we sink into darkness. We slip into the "bottomless pits" where our souls "can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour." There is no reasoning, and a remedy is hard to find.

Signs of emotional depression include:

1. Emotional anguish.

2. Virtually no interest in your surroundings.

3. Loss of pleasure.

4. Significant weight loss when not dieting or weight gain, or decrease or increase in appetite.

5. An observable slowing down of thought and a reduction of physical movement.

6. Fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day.

7. Diminished ability to think or concentrate, or indecisiveness.

8. Recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicidal thoughts without a specific plan, or a suicide attempt or a specific plan for committing suicide.

9. The two most powerful elements of depression are helplessness and hopelessness.

10. A twisted view of perception, a distorted view of life, and drawing wrong and exaggerated conclusions .

Perhaps you know the feeling of your spirit being so low that you can do nothing, contribute nothing. You are overwhelmed and paralyzed by sadness. Your brain is foggy, your temper sharp. You feel like you're caged like a wild animal, or that you're in a deep dark pit. Then the questions come: Why was I even born. What if this endures? What if I can never do anything of lasting value again?

Dealing With Depression

If you're battling depression today, talk to a friend and seek all the help you need.

Also, the spirit needs to be fed and the body needs feeding also. Do not forget these matters! These may be the very first elements in dealing with the mental illness of depression.

Self-care is not merely a modern notion.Taking proper care of our bodies is an important part of fighting depression.

Rest and relaxation is an important for combating depression. When you're well-rested, you'll not only have more energy, but you may also have a more upbeat view on life and better focus. The road to recovery is long, which is why it is so important to find time to rest and recharge along the way.

Regular exercise can boost your mood if you have depression, and it's especially useful for people with mild to moderate depression. A 10-minute walk may be just as good as a 45-minute workout.

There is no depression cure-all, no quick fix. But when your are in the darkness seek out the promises of God, they are strong enough to keep you tethered.

Find somebody who can help you and pray with you. Whatever you do, don't not talk about it. You can get past it, you can get beyond it. If you're in the midst of deep moments of discouragement, pressing over the threshold of despair and depression, pray for energy and strength. Sometimes it is not enough to pray away depression. There is no shame in needing mental health treatment.

If you're reluctant to seek treatment, talk to a friend or loved one, a health care professional, or someone else you trust. Contact a minister, spiritual leader or someone else in your faith community.

Prevention

Mayo Clinic says: There's no sure way to prevent depression. However, these strategies may help.

● Take steps to control stress, to increase your resilience and boost your self-esteem.

● Reach out to family and friends, especially in times of crisis, to help you weather rough spells.

● Get treatment at the earliest sign of a problem to help prevent depression from worsening.

● Consider getting long-term maintenance treatment to help prevent a relapse of symptoms.

Conclusion:

When you're depressed, you can't just will yourself to "snap out of it." But these coping strategies can help you deal with depression and put you on the road to recovery.