When you're down, how to get up !

When are you down? You are down when you are depressed.

A major depression is a disabling condition which adversely affects a person's family, work or school life, sleeping and eating habits, and general health. In the United States, approximately 3.4% of people with major depression commit suicide, and up to 60% of people who commit suicide have depression or another mood disorder.

The most common time of onset is between the ages of 30 and 40 years, with a later peak between 50 and 60 years. Major depression is reported about twice as frequently in women as in men, although men are at higher risk for committing suicide.

[From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia]

Richard W. De Haan, a teacher with Radio Bible Class wrote that in many cases of depression, it's more of a spiritual than a psychological problem. Many people have invested a small fortune in psychoanalysis, shock therapy, and medication without ever really being helped. But they never will become well until they get right with God. He lists 4 essential steps to overcome depression:-

(1) Accept God's Pardon - You see, a person plagued with a guilty conscience finds himself in a most distressing situation. It is therefore imperative for him to begin the journey out of the darkness of depression by receiving the forgiveness and the freedom from guilt that God so graciously offers.

(2) Acknowledge God's Providence - By this I mean that you must recognize that God has a purpose for your life. He has your eternal good in mind.

(3) Admit to God's Prerogative - Romans 9 : 15-16 ... "I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion."It does not, therefore, depend on man's desire or effort, but on God's mercy.

(4) Appropriate God's Provision - Remember, therefore, that in order to live a victorious life and to avoid the depression of spiritual defeat, you must avail yourself of God's gracious provision.

We all have moments in life when we're down. We get the 'blues'. The psalmist cried, "Why are you down cast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:11)