A Pill for Depression

A life of a princess is not all that fine and dandy. You will have bouts of depression too. Sometimes when you unintentionally compare yourself with others (despite nagging yourself not to), your competitive self wins and you get the attack. You catch yourself muttering, "I should stop checking other people's facebook pages." Other times you feel maltreated or unfavored when you enter an elegant restaurant, a sophisticated shop, a bank or a corporate meeting. Then you tell yourself, "If only I'm smarter, prettier or richer they would probably treat me like a real princess." Or when your relatives suddenly ask you what you've been doing lately. Why you're not doing this and that. You say you're following your passion. You tell them you want to use God's gifts to the fullest. They hesitate and say "Ah, okay" and then suggest you to do this and that. You get sad and lonely during your last few waking hours when you see no fruits in what you're doing, neither do they. You feel like a hopeless case.

Those are the days.

I have a pill for you, a very effective one in fact.

Grab a glass of water. Take it.

Here goes...

"I was pushed back and about to fall, but the Lord helped me. The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation." ~ Psalms 118:13-14

I know someone who is afraid of falling. Probably falling for him means breaking his bones, splattering some blood and squishing a few delicate organs. In short, falling may result to death.

You want to move forward. You are pushing with all your strength. But circumstances, your own weaknesses, people, keep pushing you back. You cannot move an inch. Worse, you are pushed back. It's amazing to see that at the brink of falling, at the point when logically (a gift of thinking to mankind) you are supposed to fall, it is the time when God saves you. He helps you when you're just "about to" fall. This "about to" signifies a time when you've already acknowledged that you are weak, that you cannot do anything anymore to keep yourself standing strong. This is the time when your mighty God catches you before you get killed. Wow! He shows the world, that hey, this daughter of mine may be weak, you may push her down, but because she has Me, she won't fall. I AM her strength.

It is always awe-inspiring to see God's glory being revealed at the perfect time. When you're deeply heartbroken and God sends a rainbow. When you're down and out and someone suddenly encourages you. When you pray and cry out to God and He points you to a very comforting passage. When people already look down on you and God grants you a breakthrough. When you have nothing to offer God and He gives your lips a song to sing (that was how the song "I Love You, Lord" came about). When you are hopeless, and out of the blue, He gives you hope.


"The Lord has chastened me severely, but he has not given me over death." ~ Psalms 118:17-18

Think of this "depression" moment, this time of being pushed back, as a chastening stage or a time of pruning. You need this stressful training period to grow. Ask Manny Pacquio how he has become a world champion. I'm sure he'd say he's religious with his training. I doubt if he enjoys his training everyday though. Being chastened is not really a pleasant experience. It's cutting off your rough edges or your excess baggage. It can be your sin of envy when you keep on comparing yourself with others. Or pride when you always want to be better than the rest. God wants to take them all away so that you will be a productive and loving princess.

Trust that His training will not lead you to death. A friend of mine told me recently that when a father teaches a son, he always has his best intention for him. Same goes with your Father in heaven. All the circumstances you are facing now are part of God's plan.

Cliche as it sounds, it's for your own good.