Situational depression always has a root source. Quite often it is disappointment. When expectations are defeated or desire is frustrated, we usually feel disappointed, and it is understandable to feel that way. If I put a lot of effort into a thing and it bears no fruit, then I feel that I wasted my time and start to feel discouraged. I am sure a farmer would feel that way if he did all he could to ensure a good crop and right before harvest time a storm came and destroyed it.
Dashed expectations lead to disappointment. We expect certain things and behaviors from people and yet we don’t always get what we expect. Sometimes the way people behave shocks us and leaves us disappointed. We also expect certain things from ourselves and then let ourselves down. We expect things from God, and for reasons known only to Him, He doesn’t do what we expect. The best thing to do when we feel disappointed is to get reappointed. Shake off the disappointment and get a new dream, vision, goal or plan. Often, the best medicine for a woman who has had a miscarriage is to get pregnant again as soon as it is safe for her health. The same principle will work for you anytime you get disappointed. In God, there is always a palce of new beginnings. It is never too late to begin again! Each morning when the sun rises it declares, “it’s a new day; let’s start over.”
Discouragement is another root of depression. The discouraged person is disheartened; she feels like quitting or giving up; she has lost hope and feels no courage to keep going. When we are deeply discouraged, everything about us feels down. Discouragement can come from disappointment, or you might feel that you’re in a season when life seems hard to deal with, or there seems to be touble everywhere you turn.
A friend of mine who was an author mentioned earlier that she was having some back problems right now, and one of the things that irritates the pain is excessive sitting. She can’t write standing up, so she could get discouraged. But she need to meet a deadline, so she need to do the writing now. Instead of getting into a spirit of discouragement, she was adapting and getting up frequently to stretch, using ice to combat the inflammation and taking plenty of acetaminophen.
Several people have remarked that this author has a good attitude about hard situation. It is important for you to realize that everyone has challenges.
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