Where pain finds Hope
  • Home
  • Chronic Pain and Illness
  • Emotional pain and Loss
  • Our Ultimate Hope
  • Devotional
  • About

Emotional pain and Loss

Fires of Depression

4/12/2019

Comments

 
Picture
Ecclesiastes 4:12 - Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
Have you or someone you know been diagnosed with an incurable pain or illness? Finding this out can be devastating to your life. It can cause you to question everything.
 
  • Why did this happen to me?
  • Why does it have to be incurable?
  • Why can’t I find someone who can just perform a surgery and make it all go away?
  • Why are people beginning to avoid me?
  • Why can’t I stay positive about this?
 
Something good has to come from all of this, right?
 
If you are a friend of someone who is trying to figure out why they have to suffer, and want to truly help, here are some things to keep in mind:
 
  1. Don’t start off by trying to give advice about what the sufferer should or should not do. Doing so often fuels the fire of depression which they already experienced when they heard of the bad news.
  2. If they ask for your thoughts on the matter, then feel free to comment, but make sure you give only a small amount at a time. It’s easy for them to become overwhelmed.
  3. Don’t try to find the perfect words to say. Just listen. This will be a soothing balm to quench those fires of depression.
  4. Be there. Really be there. Your actions show your friend that you care about them. For them to know they aren’t alone in this can strengthen their inner being, and help lift some of the depression.
  5. If your friend has been staying home and hasn’t gone anywhere since they got the bad news, it may be a good idea to offer to take them for a cup of coffee. A change in scenery often will do them good.
 
Trying to help a friend quench the fires of depression can be difficult if you don’t know where to start. Helpguide.org posts the article, “Helping Someone With Depression – Supporting a Depressed Person While Taking Care of Yourself,” which provides a guide through the symptoms of depression and how a friend or family member can help. It’s especially important to be sensitive to the pain the sufferer is going through, and this article provides ways to start a conversation, and examples of questions you can ask.
 
The fires of depression can quickly spred from one area of your life to every part. You may quickly begin to lose the battle against it, but just as the Bible verse says above, when you have someone else with you, they can give you their strength and you will be bound together in a cord that’s not easily broken or burnt up by those depression fires.
Learn more
Picture
Comments

    Author

    Karen Dalske is a freelance writer, public speaker, is active in her church and writes her blogs out of her own experiences of pain, illness and loss.

    Archives

    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016

    Categories

    All
    Angry
    Anxiety
    Breathing
    Death
    Depression
    Dignity
    Direction
    Effects On The Body
    Envy
    Fear
    Freedom
    Happy
    Kindness
    Kinds Of Losses
    Mental Health
    Panic Attack
    Peace
    Pets
    Relationships
    Secrets
    Stress
    Suicide
    Thankful
    Thoughts

    RSS Feed

Picture

Home

Chronic pain
and illness

Emotional pain
and loss

Our Ultimate
​Hope

Devotional

About/
​Contact

  • Home
  • Chronic Pain and Illness
  • Emotional pain and Loss
  • Our Ultimate Hope
  • Devotional
  • About