Dejection is a state of mental and physical parameters that belongs to the asthenic pole of human self-perception, which is characterized by the presence of an apathetic mood and depression. Complete despondency is characterized by an unwillingness to do anything and a lack of any interest in one’s own situation and life, is accompanied by a strong loss of strength, and is a concomitant element of depressive disorder in the affective sphere.
Being close in its meaning and feeling of grief, melancholy, melancholy, despondency is not synonymous with them and reflects greater indifference to what is happening. During grief, a person feels pain and loss, the importance of who (or what) he is grieving for, with melancholy emotional sphere captures sadness, whereas when despondent practically nothing touches human soul. Such an apathetic and insensitive state can lead to the development of diseases of the psychoneurological spectrum, cause suicidal thoughts and attempts, in the hope of ending a meaningless existence or in the hope of feeling something. Dejection is also difficult to experience because a person does not forget how he previously perceived the world, i.e. he remembers his joy and delight, pain and sadness, how his eyes burned and how the world played with colors, but now he sees only grayness, and feels only emptiness.
What is despondency
This state is characterized by a loss of the sense of time, when there are no prospects for the future and the emotional moments of the past are gradually erased, each one becomes insanely similar to the previous one - among such monotony, not only all hope or passion is lost, but also a person’s ideas about himself.
A special place is given to the state of despondency in religion, where it is even ranked among the mortal sins. It is worth noting separately that the state of despondency characterizes not only separate personality, but can be used in relation to a certain social group or an entire state (this state is caused by the lack of competent leadership, distant and ambitious goals in the future, as well as the presence of leaders who do not have strong charisma and intrapersonal strength).
When falling into despondency, a person chooses how to deal with it independently - some convert to faith, some go to psychologists, and some independently pull themselves out of the destructive swamp of indifference, literally by the hair. But a way out of such a state is not always provided; some remain in it for years or end their lives just like that. life path, being in despondency.
Complete despondency sets in if you ignore the causes and give up trying to get out of the grayness, but how to start getting out depends on what causes the condition.
Dejection is a rather dangerous state of decline, in which not only the mental sphere suffers, but painful sensations can manifest at the somatic level. falls, the importance of the surrounding world, relationships and processes tends to zero, sleep disturbances are observed, passivity increases, the desire for loneliness becomes theoretically acceptable, and sometimes practically desirable, as a way to stop the gray swamp red tape, just like psychostimulants and hallucinogens, designed at least somehow diversify life and pump up the sensory sphere. Similar symptoms appear in people in a state of sadness, acute grief and sadness, but if its duration goes beyond a week, and the degree of manifestation of these aspects increases, then you need to go to friends or a specialist.
If you observe a similar condition in your loved ones, and they refuse to admit the presence of problems, refuse to change anything, then we can talk about the need for therapeutic intervention - go for a consultation with a psychiatrist or psychotherapist with a medical license so that they can tell you how to prevent the progression of despondency may require hospitalization. Like any emotional state, despondency has varying degrees of severity; how to deal with them depends on the duration and reasons favoring the development of the apathetic state.
The most serious are force majeure extreme force that is not under human control (wars, disasters, natural disasters, illness and death of groups of people and individual members). Such circumstances greatly undermine a person’s usual supports, unsettle him and serve as a development for many negative emotional experiences, but it is worth noting that, being the most destructive to the human psyche, they are the least common triggers of despondency.
Much more often, the cause of this condition is significant relationships and the negative aspects that occur in them - divorces and insults, resentments, inattention and other destructive aspects human relations. It is they, being part of significant relationships, that most often manifest themselves, in contrast to fires and wars. Expecting caring and appreciative attitude from loved ones constantly confronts a person with a discrepancy with reality (this is normal, since we all show both strengths and weaknesses), the question remains how a person copes with such incidents, how much one accepts the weaknesses of others and allows life to flow in its own way.
And if in some cases the influence of surrounding people really objectively influences a person, then changing relationships or social circles can improve the emotional background; the situation is much more complicated if people have nothing to do with it and are only objects of the internal projections of the sufferer. You can drive yourself into despondency under physiological conditions (illness, physical exhaustion, prolonged lack of sleep), as well as under a certain psychological make-up based on an inadequate perception of the outside world. The perception of the world shifts when passing age milestones and crises, when old life changes and social roles(marriage, moving, new position) and a person’s inability to quickly adapt to changed conditions.
With increased demands and expectations from others, the person waiting ultimately suffers, noticing the uselessness and futility of getting what he wants from the outside world, instead of reorienting himself to achieving it on his own. In principle, frustration of any significant needs leads either to a surge in achievement motivation, or to resentment, internal closeness and despondency to experience disappointment. This is the mechanism that protects the psyche from collision with the experience that this moment exceeds its resources, but being constantly depressed can become more dangerous and lead to chronic condition desensitization.
How to get rid of despondency
Dejection can be compared to an extinguished internal fire, when a person not only does not see where to move, but also does not understand why to look for this path. Being passionate about some idea or activity will help you get out of this state, but you shouldn’t demand that you take a keen interest in everything that’s happening—it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to jump out instantly. You should give time during which you can simply look closely at various trends and genres, you can come to the sections and be a motionless, mute spectator, you can walk the streets, looking for something that can emotionally hook you. Being surrounded by people full of excitement and hope, aspirations and positive views, whose energy can move mountains has a positive effect on getting rid of despondency.
The human psyche is structured using mirror neurons, and moods and attitudes to life are transmitted through direct contact with a person. Fair this statement in relation to any states and emotions, so even if you are a desperate cheerful person, surrounding yourself with depressive whiners, you risk losing your passion very quickly. Be aware of who you communicate with and what activity is happening around you. If you are despondent, then consciously, controlling the process (after all, interest, like the leading system, is temporarily turned off) choose everything that is as opposite to despondency as possible.
It is believed that the opposite of despondency is cheerfulness, but this is a rather crude and superficial view, since it reflects only one aspect of the concept. If you look deeper, the opposite of despondency is inspiration or creativity. While despondency represents emptiness, dullness, disinterest and inaction, inspiration includes creation, fullness, active activity, if not physical, then mental. It is the loss of connection with one’s creative component that causes the loss of the taste of life, and accordingly it is necessary to overcome the illness by returning creativity to one’s life. There is no need to paint pictures if you have never done this, but you can remember your love for baking and come up with new recipe or make repairs from scrap materials - the entire surrounding space is a blank slate for flight, you need to try to find your abilities and desires.
Look for the causes of your condition and eliminate them, rather than endlessly struggling with the consequences. If you are depressed by the monotony and boringness of your work, then you can cheer yourself up as much as you like, but as long as the activity remains the same, the result will be disappointing. In this option, you should either change the activity or introduce exciting elements into it. The lack of visible results leads to despondency with the same probability as complete well-being, only the wording is different - there is no point in striving, because everything is useless or because everything is already there. A shake-up, leaving your comfort zone, arranging your own austerities allows you to feel first the lack, and then the desires that give rise to aspirations and a thirst for activity, sweeping indifference out of the main parameter of reality.
Don’t be afraid to change your life, especially if you don’t care anyway, then in the worst case scenario you will remain in the same state. Go to unfamiliar cities, increase your social circle, load yourself up with new work or hobbies - it’s not necessary that new town you will enjoy it, and new acquaintances will delight you. Perhaps, from active life changes, people will feel limited (and this will give birth to the idea of opening their own development courses), perhaps new cities will be horrified by their dirt and ruin (and you will think about volunteer movement to correct the situation). All the emotions gained during the new experience will be useful in order to jump out of despondency, but whether it is love and admiration for the world or indignation and anger at the existing order of things is not so important.
Take care of physical support your body, because despondency displaces the production of hormones and somatic sensations - make up for the lack of endorphins with all possible ways. The best option is physical activity (choose jogging, gym, fitness training, swimming pool), bananas and chocolate (direct suppliers of the hormone of happiness into the body), touch and intimacy (tactile sensations and orgasm produce a huge amount of necessary substances that normalize functioning of the hormonal system). Replenish your supply of essential vitamins (gnaw vegetables and fruits, drink them in capsules or pops - the main thing is that all microelements are contained in required quantity), walk more often, saturate your body with vitamin D, which is one of the main helpers in the fight against.
Drugs and alcohol are depressants, so using them in a state of despondency will drive you into a blind corner, the way out of which will lie exclusively through a psychoneurological dispensary. If you feel the need for stimulation emotional processes, then for now it is better to sign up for training using or go to individual psychotherapy.
Don't stop setting goals for yourself, let them be small things for every day - working out, meeting a new person, choosing a hairstyle. Firstly, the awareness of achieving goals helps to overcome the feeling of one’s own uselessness, secondly, it gives direction for movement, and thirdly, it facilitates the process of getting out of despondency, because it is still easier to follow a written plan, which you can draw up as you read this text. IN otherwise in the absence of motivation (and this is precisely what is striking for such a state) will nullify all invented strategies for overcoming despondency.
Dejection and sadness - how to deal with it
Dejection, like sadness, significantly changes a person’s life and is familiar to almost every adult. A world that requires you to be in a constant manic state, to heroically overcome problems and sorrows, further strengthens such feelings by preserving them. Fully lived pain goes away from life, giving place to other, sunnier experiences, and if you pretend that everything is in order, closing negative feeling into a dark closet (from oneself or from society), then it will destroy the personality from the inside, taking away strength and poisoning existence, but without completely retreating until it is released and lived out.
The state of sadness does not bring anything good, and in its long course it can break a person, so many strive to fight it quickly and radically, looking for the necessary pills. The problem is that medications will help to establish neural connections, metabolism, work nervous system and normalize hormonal levels, but they will not help change your worldview and ways of reacting.
In most cases, a person himself provokes the development of sadness and despondency, choosing this path out of habit. Remember how wary society is about joy, but tragedy and Bad mood always have the right to exist. The habit of perceiving change as a problem and the need to put everything back to its previous place through incredible efforts does not justify the costs and spoils the mood, closing the opportunity to see behind the changes not a tragedy, but the possibility of new achievements and positive endeavors. It is worth starting to monitor your automatic thoughts, introduced external reactions, subjecting them to serious criticism and a forced search for positive aspects. Take a break before accusing yourself of being awkward or narrow-minded and explaining bad attitude those around them with their ugliness, and not their lack of culture. Such critical thoughts often have no relation to reality, but reflect an opinion (usually causing severe trauma) from previous life situations.
Reinforce your resource states and watch your internal automatisms. Avoid the reasons that lead you to a sad state, and if you are already depressed, then try to choose a clear course and follow it without remaining motionless.
The path of the Orthodox is the struggle against sins and passions, preparing the soul for eternal existence. In order to skillfully walk this path and receive salvation, you need to know how to move along the chosen narrow path and what difficulties may arise. A Christian in life is often faced with despondency - a mortal sin, how to deal with this phenomenon that corrupts the soul.
In Christianity, the believer is required to fulfill the commandments that were given by God on the tablets to Moses. These norms of behavior are for the most part restrictive and regulate overt actions.
At the same time, in the New Testament tradition there is also a developed concept of sins, which for the most part relate specifically to the soul, although they can be expressed by some actions.
This is characteristic of the teaching of the New Testament, which focuses the believer’s attention more on working with his own soul and the deep eradication of passions and vices.
Despair is a mortal sin that arises due to a person’s voluntary refusal of the Lord and his help. He who suffers from this sin seems to underestimate the goodness and mercy of the Almighty, His boundless will.
How to determine
Now many people suffer from nervous exhaustion. Even believers who find it easier to find consolation may suffer from stress and nervous strain. This is facilitated simply by the peculiarity of living in the city, where the largest number of people now reside.
It should be distinguished that this is now taking over the soul and mind: despondency or nervous exhaustion, melancholy. There are a number of mental illnesses of this type and a number of deviations that can be periodically observed even in normal people.
If we speak in the language of psychology and relying on the words of Orthodox psychologists, then completely normal people do not exist, there is a variety of types and characters.
In this diversity there are some norms and average values, as well as the degree of deviation from normal indicators. Minor deviations give rise to a variety of personality types, while significant ones are ailments.
When we talk about despondency, we must distinguish illness from sin. After all, the disease appears due to external factors, often independent of the sick person, but sin is most often the connivance of the person himself and indicates a lack of cultivation of faith and work of the soul.
So, if you are overly tired and nervously exhausted, then you should not consider this a mortal sin; most likely, you just need to rest and recover. However, if for no apparent reason there arises unbelief and joylessness, excessive self-pity, then you have a sin that must be overcome. With the experience of spiritual work, a clear understanding arises of how to distinguish sin from some simple psychological and emotional reactions.
Why you shouldn't be discouraged
To understand why despondency is considered a significant vice and offense, we must turn to a simple example. Suppose a person sits next to a life-giving and clean fountain and is thirsty, but does not drink, but begins to lament loudly about how thirsty he is, blaming others and fate for his own thirst.
Another person, who also wants to drink, but does not know anything about the fountain or is located far from it, has some justification for such behavior. After all, he is really exhausted and does not have the opportunity to satisfy his need. At the same time, the one who sits next to the fountain and begins to grumble does not deserve any concessions. Likewise, an Orthodox Christian begins to lose heart, and then his behavior looks more than strange.
After all, this person is aware of the truths revealed by God:
- knows about Christ, who opened the path to salvation to everyone and to him personally;
- knows about the saints and the Mother of God who pray for him and can help;
- sees other believers, examples of monks and ascetics who, even in his time, performed spiritual feats;
- at a minimum, I have heard about miracles when the Lord helps believers;
- familiar with the concept of grace that God bestows and may even have seen some obvious examples.
Thus, in times of need and harsh circumstances, an Orthodox Christian can always drink from the fountain of faith and receive help.
Note! An unbeliever has more reasons for despondency and very significant ones, since he can only rely on himself and other people, and these possibilities, as we know, are far from unlimited.
The unbeliever really has something to grieve about. A believer always has God's help limitless possibilities, therefore, he should never lose heart. To avoid this vice, you just need to understand the absence of reasons for it. The Lord always helps and wisely instructs a believer. An Orthodox person is always in a more advantageous position than an atheist or erring person, since a Christian always has the support of Jesus Christ, the Mother of God and the saints.
Useful video: the sin of despondency - how to deal with it
Consequences
Many people know what eternal despondency leads to; the consequence of such a state is unbelief. There are many difficulties and sorrows in this world, but for an Orthodox person all these factors are temporary and not particularly significant; they represent only a kind of preparation, a school before eternal existence.
There are many examples of various great martyrs and other Orthodox people who never fell into despondency, although they endured enormous suffering and various blasphemy from other people, were persecuted, reproached, and humiliated. Despite everything, in contrast to despondency, they maintained a joyful disposition and strong faith.
If you look at a simple, sincerely believing Orthodox person, he is almost always joyful and friendly towards others, preserves, saying in modern words, positive mood. After all, there is essentially nothing to sadden such a person; he is strong in his own faith and knows about the intercession of the Lord. The absence of this sin in the heart leads to strength of spirit and strengthens faith, which, in turn, can bring enormous benefits, as Christ said, “even faith the size of a mustard seed is enough.”
If a person moves in reverse side and is filled with mortal sin, then the result of this is:
- “laxness” of the soul and lack of faith;
- lack of fortitude;
- blasphemy against the Lord and delusions;
- bad character;
- even bodily ailments.
It is worth saying that sometimes people even understand that this is unacceptable, but they become dependent on such a spiritual feeling.
These people are starting to like:
- when others feel sorry;
- receive help from others;
- to be in a kind of sadness and derive pleasure from it.
How to get rid of despondency - only with mental labor. To keep yourself somewhat strict and cheerful, to figure it out and tell yourself: “not everything is so bad,” “there is nothing to worry about,” you must trust in the help of the Lord. Lack of spiritual life leads to despondency.
How to understand what it means to work internally: to seek joy in the Lord, to develop confidence (not to be confused with excessive self-confidence) in yourself. Dejection allows you to develop laziness, so it can even be somewhat pleasant, because you don’t need to do anything, and others can sometimes even sympathize and regret.
However, even if such a state brings some temporary pleasure, in the long term it has a drying effect on the soul. It is not for nothing that they speak specifically about mortal sin, since it has a destructive effect on the soul.
Although the body can also suffer, a person who is used to being despondent also gets used to being sad, ceases to sincerely rejoice in the world, and as a result he may develop various mental and physical ailments. At the extreme limit, a person falls into absolute sadness, disappointment, and can even commit suicide.
How to fight
The Holy Fathers wrote quite a lot about this and always instructed their spiritual children to cultivate joy in themselves. Only joy is not common man, like the positive emotions from watching a comedy, but more perfect and timeless, associated with understanding one’s position in the world. To many, Orthodoxy seems like a gloomy religion and, indeed, this faith actively develops asceticism and severity, but these qualities are not the opposite of joy.
Note! An Orthodox person strives to keep himself in strictness, to rise above the body and passions, but he also strives to rejoice in his neighbor and the whole world, to experience the miracle of every moment of this earthly existence.
How to deal with the sin of despondency. First you need to understand simple truth: To give in to this tendency is to indulge Satan and his minions. The devil seeks to plunge people into various harmful inclinations and turn them away from the Lord. Cultivation of joy and strong faith, a healthy attitude towards oneself and one’s own situation, confidence in the help of God and own capabilities should be understood as a fight against everything unclean in this world. Wikipedia doesn't give detailed instructions on this matter, but many Orthodox Christians wrote various works about how to wage such a fight.
Here are the most important tips:
- do not be offended by the opinions of others;
- do not fall into self-pity, there is always someone worse off in this world;
- cultivate the basic virtues - Faith, Hope, Love;
- get rid of pride;
- visit temple, pray at home, read spiritual books;
- be inspired by the examples of others, communicate with people who think positively;
- seek joy in everything, even in self-restraint;
- maintain such a frame of mind as not to be subjected to external influences excessively;
- perform spiritual work and choose some bodily restrictions that help strengthen faith.
As some sources testify, incredible prospects open up for those who have overcome the sin of despondency. A person who has done this always has happiness and represents the ideals of virtue. Discouragement may be a little enjoyable, as stated earlier, but in the end it is incredibly destructive.
Useful video: how to cut off the head of the serpent of despondency
Conclusion
There are huge benefits to not having gloom in your heart, although it may be a little difficult to overcome at first. However, these efforts pay off handsomely. It is much more profitable to strive for the Lord than to turn away from him, even in a purely practical, everyday sense.
At the dawn of Christianity, the Greek monk Evagrius of Pontius formulated a whole system of mortal sins, which at that time included pride, envy, laziness, malice, lust, greed and gluttony. There were seven of them in total. From childhood, Christians were taught that he must work from morning until late evening, since laziness is a mortal sin. Christians ate poorly because gluttony was also a mortal sin. They also could not be proud, envious, greedy, evil and lustful. But after some time, this list was made more humane, so to speak.
People, despite the fear of ending up in eternal torment in hell, still did not want to deprive themselves of worldly entertainment and pleasures. How not to treat yourself to carnal pleasure or a feast with your friends? Thus, some prohibitions were edited and softened in the list of mortal sins. For example, Pope Gregory the Great removed fornication from the list of mortal sins, and the holy fathers removed laziness and gluttony from it. Some sins have generally become human “weaknesses.”
However, something else is interesting: Pope Gregory the Great, allowing his flock to smooth out the sin of adultery through repentance and prayer, suddenly adds despondency to the list of mortal sins - a seemingly absolutely innocent property for the human soul. I would like to note that despondency remained on the list unchanged, and moreover, many theologians to this day consider it the most serious of all mortal sins.
Mortal sin - despondency
So why is despondency considered a mortal sin? The thing is that when a person is overcome by despondency, he becomes good for little, he shows indifference to absolutely everything, and especially to people. He cannot do work with dignity and quality, he is not able to create, friendship and love also do not please him. Therefore, it was fair to classify despondency as mortal sins, but it was in vain that lust and fornication were removed from this list.
Melancholy, despondency, depression, sadness, sadness... Falling under the power of these emotional states, we do not even think about the negative and crushing power they have. Many believe that these are some subtleties of the state of the mysterious Russian soul, I think there is some truth in this. However, psychotherapists consider all this to be a very dangerous phenomenon, and that a long stay in this state leads to depression, and sometimes to the most irreparable thing - suicide. Therefore, the Church considers despondency a mortal sin.
Despondency or sadness?
Dejection is a mortal sin, which Orthodox theology is interpreted as a separate sin, while in Catholicism there is sadness among the mortal sins. Many people cannot discern any particular difference between these emotional states. However, sadness is considered as some kind of temporary mental disorder associated with some unpleasant event or an incident. But despondency can occur without any reason, when a person suffers and cannot explain his condition even with complete external well-being.
Despite all this, the Church believes that we must be able to accept all trials with a cheerful state of mind, real faith, hope and love. Otherwise, it turns out that a person does not recognize a single whole doctrine about God, about the world and about man. This type of unbelief leaves the soul to its own devices, thereby dooming a person to mental illness.
Despondent means non-believer
Such a mortal sin (despondency) is called evil depravity; under the influence of this, a person begins to be lazy and cannot force himself to take the necessary saving actions, since nothing consoles him or pleases him, he does not believe in anything and does not even hope. Ultimately, all this directly affects the human soul, destroying it, and then his body. Dejection is an exhaustion of the mind, a relaxation of the soul and an accusation of God’s inhumanity and unmercifulness.
Symptoms of despondency
It is important to promptly identify symptoms that indicate that destructive processes have begun. These are sleep disturbances (drowsiness or insomnia), bowel dysfunction (constipation), changes in appetite (overeating or lack of appetite), decreased sexual activity, fatigue with mental and physical activity, as well as powerlessness, weakness, pain in the stomach, muscles and heart.
Conflict with yourself and with God
The conflict, primarily with oneself, gradually begins to develop into an organic disease. Dejection is a bad mood and a depressed state of mind, accompanied by a loss of strength. Thus, sin grows into human nature and is acquired medical aspect. In this case, the Orthodox Church offers only one path to recovery - reconciliation with oneself and with God. And for this you need to engage in moral self-improvement and at the same time use spiritual and religious psychotherapeutic techniques and methods.
A person suffering from depression can be advised to find an experienced confessor from a monastery to help him get out of this terrible state. A conversation with him can last up to several hours until he figures out the source of such deep heartbreak, you may have to stay in a monastery for some time. And only then will it be possible to begin healing the soul. After all, despondency is a serious illness that can still be treated.
Orthodox medicine
A person who has decided to fight this kind of physical and spiritual illness will urgently need to change his lifestyle and begin active churching. Many people serious disease and leads to an understanding of their sinful life, so they begin to look for a way out on the gospel path. The main thing in Orthodox medicine is to help a sick person free himself from his own passions and thoughts that are connected to overall process destruction of body and soul. At the same time, a believer, when faced with an illness, should not refuse professional medical care. After all, it is also from God, and to refuse it means to reproach the Creator.
Here is the real story of one of our contemporary. He is 35. He is a fairly successful businessman. He has a beautiful and modest wife and a little daughter, a large apartment in Moscow, a dacha, two cars, many friends... He has what many people strive for and dream about. But none of this pleases him. He forgot what joy is. Every day he is oppressed by melancholy, from which he tries to hide in business, but to no avail. He considers himself an unhappy person, but cannot say why. There is money. Health, youth - there is. But there is no happiness.
He is trying to fight, to find a way out. He regularly visits a psychologist and goes to special seminars several times a year. After them on a short time feels relief, but then everything returns to normal. He says to his wife: “Even though this doesn’t make me feel any better, at least they understand me.” He tells friends and family that he suffers from depression.
There is one special circumstance in his situation, which we will talk about a little later. And now we have to admit that, unfortunately, this is not an isolated example. There are many such people. Of course, not all of them are in such an outwardly advantageous position, so they often say: I’m sad because I don’t have enough money, or I don’t have my own apartment, or the job is wrong, or the wife is grumpy, or the husband is a drunk, or the car is broken, or no health, and so on and so forth. It seems to them that if only they could change and improve something a little, then the melancholy will go away. They spend a lot of effort on achieving what they think they are missing, but they barely manage to achieve what they want when, after a brief joy, melancholy sets in again. You can look through apartments, places of work, women, cars, friends, hobbies, but nothing can satisfy this all-consuming, hopeless grief once and for all. And the more wealthy a person is, the more, as a rule, it torments him.
Psychologists define this condition as depression. They describe her as mental disorder, usually occurring after negative events in a person’s life, but often developing without any apparent reason. Currently, depression is the most common mental illness.
The main symptoms of depression: depressed mood, regardless of circumstances; loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities; fatigue, “loss of strength.”
Additional symptoms: pessimism, worthlessness, anxiety and fear, inability to concentrate and make decisions, thoughts of death and suicide; unstable appetite, disturbed sleep - insomnia or oversleeping.
In order for a diagnosis of depression to be made, the presence of two main and two additional symptoms is sufficient.
If a person finds these symptoms, what should he do? Many people go to psychologists. And what do they get? Firstly, soul-searching conversations, and secondly, antidepressant pills, of which there are a great many. Psychologists say that depression can be successfully treated in most cases. But at the same time they recognize that this is the most common mental illness. There is a contradiction here: if the disease is successfully treated, then why does it not disappear, and the number of patients even increases over time? For example, smallpox has been successfully eradicated, and for a long time there have been no people who fell ill with it. But with depression the picture is exactly the opposite. Why?
Is it because only the manifestations of the disease are treated, while its true foundations are still preserved in the souls of people, like the roots of weeds that again and again produce harmful shoots?
Psychology is a young science. It received official registration only 130 years ago, when in 1879 W. Wundt opened the first laboratory of experimental psychology in Leipzig.
Orthodoxy dates back 2000 years. And it has its own view of the phenomenon that psychology calls “depression.” And it would be a good idea to familiarize yourself with this view for those who are really interested in the possibility of successfully getting rid of depression.
In Orthodoxy, the word “despondency” is used to denote this state of soul. This is a painful condition in which a melancholy mood penetrates the soul, becoming permanent over time, a feeling of loneliness, abandonment by family, friends, all people in general, and even God comes. There are two main types of despondency: despondency with complete depression of spirit, without a feeling of any bitterness, and despondency with an admixture of feelings of anger and irritability.
This is how the ancient holy fathers of the Church talk about despondency.
“Despondency is relaxation of the soul and exhaustion of the mind, slandering God - as if He is unmerciful and unloving of mankind” (Rev. John Climacus).
“Despondency is a grave torment of the soul, an unspeakable torment and a punishment more bitter than any punishment or torment” (St. John Chrysostom).
This condition also occurs among believers, and among non-believers it is even more common. Elder Paisiy Svyatogorets said about them: “A person who does not believe in God and future life, exposes his immortal soul to eternal condemnation and lives without consolation in this life. Nothing can console him. He is afraid of losing his life, suffers, goes to psychiatrists, who give him pills and advise him to have fun. He takes pills, gets stupid, and then goes back and forth to see the sights and forget the pain.”
And here is how Saint Innocent of Kherson wrote about this: “Do sinners who are not concerned about the salvation of their souls suffer from despondency? Yes, and most often, although, apparently, their life consists mostly of fun and pleasure. Even in all fairness, it can be said that internal discontent and secret melancholy are the constant lot of sinners. For conscience, no matter how much it is drowned out, like a worm, eats away at the heart. An involuntary, deep premonition of future judgment and retribution also disturbs the sinful soul and upsets for it the insane pleasures of sensuality. The most inveterate sinner at times feels that there is emptiness, darkness, ulcer and death inside him. Hence the irrepressible inclination of unbelievers to incessant entertainment, to forget themselves and be beside themselves.
What to say to unbelievers about their despondency? It is good for them; for it serves as a call and encouragement to repentance. And let them not think that any means will be found for them to free themselves from this spirit of despondency until they turn to the path of righteousness and correct themselves and their morals. Vanity pleasures and earthly joys will never fill the emptiness of the heart: our soul is more spacious than the whole world. On the contrary, as time goes on, carnal joys will lose their power to entertain and charm the soul and will turn into a source of mental heaviness and boredom.”
Someone may object: is every sad state really despondency? No, not everything. Sadness and grief, if they are not rooted in a person, are not a disease. They are inevitable on the difficult earthly path, as the Lord warned: “In the world you will have tribulation; but take heart: I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
The Monk John Cassian teaches that “in only one case should sadness be considered useful for us, when it arises from repentance of sins, or from the desire for perfection, or from contemplation of future bliss. The holy apostle says about it: “Sorrow for God’s sake produces unchangeable repentance leading to salvation; but worldly sorrow produces death” (2 Cor. 7:10). But this sadness, which produces repentance towards salvation, is obedient, friendly, humble, meek, pleasant, patient, as if it comes from love for God, and in some way cheerful, encouraging with the hope of its perfection. And demonic sadness can be very severe, impatient, cruel, combined with fruitless sadness and painful despair. Weakening the one subjected to it, it distracts from zeal and saving sorrow, like reckless... So, in addition to the above-mentioned good sorrow, which comes from saving repentance, or from zeal for perfection, or from the desire for future benefits, all sorrow, as worldly and causing death, must be rejected, expelled from our hearts."
The first consequence of despondency
As Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk rightly notes, from a practical point of view, this “worldly sadness is useless, for it cannot return or give a person anything of what he grieves over.”
But from the spiritual side it also carries great harm. “Avoid despondency, for it destroys all the fruits of asceticism,” the Monk Isaiah the Hermit said about this.
The Monk Isaiah wrote for monks, that is, for those who already know the basic principles of spiritual life, in particular that patiently enduring sorrows and self-restraint for the sake of God brings rich fruit in the form of cleansing the heart from sinful dirt.
How can despondency deprive a person of this fruit?
You can take a comparison from the world of sports. Any athlete has to endure hard work during training. And in wrestling sports you also have to experience real blows. And outside of training, the athlete seriously limits himself to food.
So, he can't eat what he wants, he can't go where he wants, and he has to do things that make him exhausted and cause real pain. However, with all this, if the athlete does not lose the goal for which he endures all this, then his perseverance is rewarded: the body becomes stronger and more resilient, patience tempers it and makes it stronger, more skillful, and as a result, he achieves his goal.
This happens to the body, but the same thing happens to the soul when it endures suffering or restrictions for the sake of God.
An athlete who has lost his goal, ceases to believe that he can achieve results, becomes despondent, training becomes meaningless torture for him, and even if he is forced to continue it, he will no longer become a champion, which means he will lose the fruit of all his labors which he voluntarily or unwittingly endured.
It can be assumed that a similar thing happens to the soul of a person who has fallen into despondency, and this will be fair, since despondency is a consequence of loss of faith, lack of faith. But this is only one side of the matter.
Another is that despondency often causes and is accompanied by murmuring. Murmuring manifests itself in the fact that a person shifts all responsibility for his suffering onto others, and ultimately onto God, while he considers himself to be innocently suffering and constantly complains and scolds those who, in his opinion, are to blame for his suffering - and there are more and more “guilty” people as a person sinks deeper and deeper into the sin of murmuring and becomes embittered.
This is the gravest sin and the greatest stupidity.
The essence of the murmur can be represented by simple example. Here’s a man coming up to the socket, reading the inscription above it: “Don’t stick your fingers in - you’ll get an electric shock,” then he sticks his fingers into the socket - shock! - he flies to the opposite wall and begins to scream: “Oh, what a bad God! Why did He allow me to be electrocuted?! For what?! Why would I do this?! Oh, this God is to blame for everything!”
A person, of course, can start by swearing at the electrician, the outlet, the one who discovered electricity, and so on, but he will certainly end up blaming God. This is the essence of murmuring. This is a sin against God. And the one who grumbles about circumstances means by this that the One who sent these circumstances is to blame, although he could have made them different. That is why among those who grumble there are so many “offended by God,” and vice versa, “those who are offended by God” constantly grumble.
But, the question arises, did God force you to stick your fingers into the socket?
Murmuring reveals spiritual and psychological infantilism: a person refuses to accept responsibility for his actions, refuses to see that what is happening to him is a natural consequence of his actions, his choice, his whim. And instead of admitting the obvious, he begins to look for someone to blame, and the most patient, naturally, turns out to be the extreme one.
And it was precisely with this sin that the vegetation of humanity began. How was it? The Lord said: You can eat from any tree, but don’t eat from this one. There is only one commandment, and how simple it is. But the man went and ate it. God asked him: “Adam, why did you eat?” The Holy Fathers say that if at that moment our forefather had said: “I have sinned, Lord, forgive me, I’m guilty, it won’t happen again,” then there would have been no exile and the whole history of mankind would have been different. But instead Adam says: “What about me? I’m okay, this is all the wife you gave me...” That’s it! This is who first began to shift responsibility for his own actions to God!
Adam and Eve were expelled from paradise not for sin, but for their unwillingness to repent, which manifested itself in grumbling - against their neighbor and against God.
This is a great danger to the soul.
As St. Theophan the Recluse says, “shattered health can also shake salvation when grumbling speeches are heard from the lips of a sick person.” Likewise, the poor, if they are indignant and grumble because of poverty, will not receive forgiveness.
After all, grumbling does not relieve trouble, but only makes it worse, and humble submission to the determinations of God’s Providence and complacency take away the burden of trouble. Therefore, if a person, having encountered difficulties, does not complain, but praises God, then the devil bursts with anger and goes to someone else - to the one who complains, in order to cause him even greater trouble. After all, what stronger man grumbles, the more he destroys himself.
The exact impact of these destructions is evidenced by the Monk John Climacus, who compiled the following spiritual portrait of the murmurer: “The murmurer, when given an order, contradicts and is unfit for action; Such a person does not even have a good disposition, because he is lazy, and laziness is inseparable from grumbling. He is resourceful and resourceful; and no one will surpass him in verbosity; he is always slandering one another. The murmurer is gloomy in charitable matters, incapable of receiving strangers, and hypocritical in love.”
It would be useful to give one example here. This story happened in the early 40s of the 19th century in one of the southern provinces of Russia.
One widow, a woman from the upper class, with two young daughters endured great need and grief, began to grumble first at people, and then at God. In this mood she fell ill and died. After the death of their mother, the situation for the two orphans became even more difficult. The eldest of them also could not resist grumbling and also fell ill and died. The younger sister grieved excessively both over the death of her mother and sister and over her extremely helpless situation. Finally, she too became seriously ill. And this girl saw in a spiritual vision heavenly villages filled with indescribable beauty and joy. Then she was shown scary places torment, and here she saw her sister and mother, and then heard a voice: “I sent them sorrows in their earthly life for their salvation; If they had endured everything with patience, humility and gratitude, they would have been granted eternal joy in the blessed villages you have seen. But with their grumbling they ruined everything, and for this they are now tormented. If you want to be with them, go and complain.” After this, the girl came to her senses and told those present about the vision.
Here, as in the example of the athlete: whoever sees a goal ahead, believes that it is achievable, and hopes that he personally can achieve it - he can endure hardships, restrictions, labor and pain. A Christian, who endures all those sorrows that an unbeliever or one of little faith presents as reasons for despondency, has a higher and more holy goal than any athlete.
It is known how great the saints are. Their exploits are recognized and respected even by many non-believers. There are different ranks of holiness, but among them the highest are martyrs, that is, those who accepted death for confessing Christ. The next rank after them is confessors. These are those who suffered for Christ, endured torture, but remained faithful to God. Of the confessors, many were thrown into prison, like Saint Theophan the Confessor; others had their hand and tongue cut off, like Saint Maximus the Confessor, or their eyes were torn out, like Saint Paphnutius the Confessor; still others were tortured, like Saint Theodore the Inscribed... And they endured all this for the sake of Christ. Great job!
Many will say that they ordinary people, this is hardly possible. But in Orthodoxy there is one important principle that allows every person to become a saint and be numbered among the confessors: if someone glorifies and thanks God in misfortune, he bears the feat of a confessor. Here is how Elder Paisius the Svyatogorets speaks about it:
“Let's imagine that I was born crippled, without arms, without legs. Completely relaxed and can’t move. If I accept this with joy and praise, God will number me among the confessors. So little needs to be done for God to number me among the confessors! When I myself crash my car into a rock and accept what happened with joy, God will count me among the confessors. Well, what more could I want? Even the result of my own carelessness, if I accept it joyfully, God will recognize it.”
But a person who falls into despondency deprives himself of such a great opportunity and goal; it closes his spiritual eyes and plunges him into murmuring, which cannot help a person in any way, but brings a lot of harm.
The second consequence of despondency
This is the first consequence of despondency - grumbling. And if anything could be worse and more dangerous, then this is the second consequence, because of which Venerable Seraphim Sarovsky said: “There is nothing worse than sin, and nothing is more terrible and destructive than the spirit of despondency.”
“Despondency and incessant anxiety can crush the strength of the soul and bring it to extreme exhaustion,” testifies St. John Chrysostom.
This extreme exhaustion of the soul is called despair, and this is the second consequence of despondency, unless a person copes with this sin in time.
Here is how the holy fathers speak about this stage:
“Despair is called the gravest sin of all sins in the world, for this sin rejects the omnipotence of our Lord Jesus Christ, rejects the salvation given by Him - it shows that arrogance previously dominated in this soul and that faith and humility were alien to it” (St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov) )).
“Satan maliciously tries to sadden many in order to plunge them into Gehenna with despair” (Reverend Ephraim the Syrian). “The spirit of despair brings the most severe torment. Despair is the most perfect joy for the devil” (Reverend Mark the Ascetic).
“Sin does not destroy as much as despair” (St. John Chrysostom). “To sin is a human matter, but to despair is satanic and destructive; and the devil himself was cast into destruction by despair, for he did not want to repent” (Rev. Nile of Sinai).
“The devil plunges us into thoughts of despair in order to destroy hope in God, this safe anchor, this support of our life, this guide on the path to Heaven, this salvation of perishing souls... The evil one does everything to instill in us the thoughts of despair. He will no longer need efforts and labors for our defeat, when those who have fallen and lie down do not want to resist him... and the soul, once despairing of its salvation, then no longer feels how it strives into the abyss” (St. John Chrysostom).
Despair already directly leads to death. It precedes suicide, the most terrible sin, which immediately sends a person to hell - a place far from God, where there is no light of God, and no joy, only darkness and eternal despair. Suicide is the only sin that cannot be forgiven, since the suicider cannot repent.
“During the free suffering of the Lord, two fell away from the Lord - Judas and Peter: one sold, and the other denied three times. Both had equal sin, both sinned grievously, but Peter was saved and Judas perished. Why weren’t both saved and why weren’t both killed? Some will say that Peter was saved by repenting. But the Holy Gospel says that Judas also repented: “... having repented, he returned the thirty pieces of silver to the high priests and elders, saying: I have sinned by betraying innocent blood” (Matthew 27: 3-4); however, his repentance was not accepted, but Petrovo was accepted; Peter escaped, but Judas died. Why is this so? But because Peter repented with hope and hope for the mercy of God, but Judas repented with despair. This abyss is terrible! Without a doubt, it needs to be filled with hope for God’s mercy” (St. Demetrius of Rostov).
“Judas the traitor, having fallen into despair, “hanged himself” (Matthew 27:5). He knew the power of sin, but did not know the greatness of God's mercy. This is what many do today and follow Judas. They recognize the multitude of their sins, but do not recognize the multitude of God’s mercies, and so they despair of their salvation. Christian! the heavy and final blow of the devil is despair. He represents God as merciful before sin, and as just after sin. Such is his cunning” (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).
Thus, tempting a person to sin, Satan instills in him the thoughts: “God is good, He will forgive,” and after the sin he tries to plunge him into despair, instilling completely different thoughts: “God is just, and He will punish you for what you have done.” . The devil inspires a person that he will never be able to get out of the pit of sin, will not be pardoned by God, will not be able to receive forgiveness and reform.
Despair is the death of hope. If it occurs, then only a miracle can save a person from suicide.
How despondency manifests itself and its products
Dejection manifests itself even in a person’s facial expressions and behavior: a facial expression that is called sad, drooping shoulders, a drooping head, a lack of interest in the environment and one’s condition. There may be a persistent decrease in blood pressure. Also characterized by lethargy and inertia of the soul. Good mood those around him cause bewilderment, irritation and obvious or hidden protest in the sad person.
St. John Chrysostom said that “a soul overwhelmed by sadness cannot speak or listen to anything healthy,” and St. Neil of Sinai testified: “Just as a sick person cannot bear a heavy burden, so a sad person is unable to carefully fulfill God’s works; for this one’s bodily strength is in disarray, but this one has no spiritual strength left.”
According to the Monk John Cassian, such a state of a person “does not allow one to pray with the usual zeal of the heart, nor to engage in sacred reading with benefit, does not allow one to be calm and meek with brothers; makes one impatient and incapable of all the duties of work or worship, intoxicates feeling, crushes and suppresses with painful despair. Like a moth to clothing and a worm to a tree, so sadness harms a person’s heart.”
Further, the holy father lists the manifestations of this sinful painful state: “From despondency are born discontent, cowardice, irritability, idleness, drowsiness, restlessness, vagrancy, inconstancy of mind and body, talkativeness... Whoever it begins to overcome, it will force him to remain lazy, careless, without any spiritual success; then he will make you fickle, idle, and careless in every matter.”
These are the manifestations of despondency. And despair has even more severe manifestations. A person who is desperate, that is, who has lost hope, often indulges in drug addiction, drunkenness, fornication and many other obvious sins, believing himself to be already lost anyway. The extreme manifestation of despair, as already mentioned, is suicide.
Every year, a million people around the globe commit suicide. It’s scary to think about this number, which exceeds the population of many countries.
In our country the most big number there were suicides in 1995. Compared to this indicator, by 2008 it decreased by one and a half times, but still Russia remains among the countries with the most high level suicides.
Indeed, more suicides occur in poor and disadvantaged countries than in rich and economically stable ones. This is not surprising, since in the former there are more reasons for despondency. But still, even the richest countries and the richest people are not free from this misfortune. Because under the external well-being, the soul of an unbeliever often feels even more acutely the painful emptiness and constant dissatisfaction, as was the case with that successful businessman whom we remembered at the beginning of the article.
But he can be saved from the terrible fate that befalls a million people every year by the special circumstance that he has and which many of those unfortunate people who drive themselves to the point of suicide in despair are deprived.
From what do despondency and its products arise?
Dejection arises from distrust of God, so we can say that it is the fruit of lack of faith.
But what, in turn, is distrust of God and lack of faith? It does not appear by itself, out of nowhere. It is a consequence of the fact that a person trusts himself too much, because he has too high an opinion of himself. And the more a person trusts himself, the less he trusts God. And trusting yourself more than God is the clearest sign of pride.
The first root of despondency is pride
Therefore, according to the Monk Anatoly of Optina, “despair is a product of pride. If you expect everything bad from yourself, then you will never despair, but only humble yourself and repent peacefully.” “Despair is an accuser of unbelief and selfishness in the heart: he who believes in himself and trusts in himself will not rise from sin by repentance” (St. Theophan the Recluse).
As soon as something happens in the life of a proud man that exposes his powerlessness and unfounded trust in himself, he immediately becomes despondent and despairs.
And this can happen from the most various reasons: from offended pride or from what is not done our way; also from vanity, when a person sees that his equals enjoy greater advantages than he; or from the constraining circumstances of life, as the Monk Ambrose of Optina testifies.
A humble person who believes in God knows that these unpleasant circumstances test and strengthen his faith, just as the muscles of an athlete are strengthened during training; he knows that God is near and that He will not test him more than he can bear. Such a person, who trusts in God, never loses heart even in difficult circumstances.
The proud man, who relied on himself, as soon as he finds himself in difficult circumstances that he himself is unable to change, immediately becomes despondent, thinking that if he cannot correct what happened, then no one can correct it; and at the same time he is sad and irritated because these circumstances have shown him his own weakness, which a proud man cannot bear calmly.
Precisely because despondency and despair are a consequence and, in a certain sense, a demonstration of unbelief in God, one of the saints said: “In a moment of despair, know that it is not the Lord who leaves you, but you the Lord!”
So, pride and lack of faith are one of the main causes of despondency and despair, but still far from the only ones.
St. John Climacus speaks of two main types of despair, arising from different reasons: “There is despair that comes from a multitude of sins and aggravation of conscience and unbearable sadness, when the soul, due to the multitude of these ulcers, plunges and, from the severity of them, drowns in the depths of hopelessness. But there is another type of despair, which comes from pride and exaltation, when the fallen think that they did not deserve their fall... The first is cured by abstinence and trustworthiness; and from the latter - humility and not judging anyone.”
The second root of despondency is dissatisfaction of passions
So, as for the second type of despair, which comes from pride, we have already shown above what its mechanism is. What is meant by the first type, “coming from a multitude of sins”?
This type of despondency, according to the holy fathers, comes when any passion has not found satisfaction. As the Monk John Cassian writes, despondency “is born from the dissatisfaction of the desire for some kind of self-interest, when someone sees that he has lost the hope born in his mind to receive some things.”
For example, a glutton who suffers peptic ulcer or diabetes, will be depressed because he cannot enjoy the desired amount of food or the variety of its taste; a stingy person - because he cannot avoid spending money, and so on. Despondency is accompanied by almost any unsatisfied sinful desires, if a person does not renounce them for one reason or another.
Therefore, St. Neil of Sinai says: “Whoever is bound by sadness is overcome by passions, because sadness is a consequence of failure in carnal desire, and desire is associated with every passion. He who has conquered passions is not overcome by sadness. Just as a sick person is visible by his complexion, so a passionate person is revealed by sadness. He who loves the world will grieve much. And whoever does not care about what is in the world will always have fun.”
As despondency increases in a person, specific desires lose their meaning, and what remains is a state of mind that seeks out precisely those desires that cannot be achieved, precisely to feed the despondency itself.
Then, according to the testimony of the Monk John Cassian, “we are subjected to such grief that we cannot receive even our kind persons and relatives with usual friendliness, and no matter what they say in a decent conversation, everything seems untimely and unnecessary to us, and we do not give a pleasant answer to them, when all the bends of our heart are filled with bilious bitterness.”
That’s why despondency is like a swamp: the longer a person plunges into it, the harder it is for him to get out of it.
Other roots of despondency
The reasons that arouse despondency in non-believers and people of little faith have been described above. However, despondency attacks, although less successfully, on believers. But for different reasons. Saint Innocent of Kherson writes in detail about these reasons:
“There are many sources of despondency - both external and internal.
Firstly, in souls that are pure and close to perfection, despondency can occur from their abandonment for a time by the grace of God. The state of grace is the most blissful. But so that the one in this state does not imagine that it comes from his own perfections, grace sometimes withdraws, leaving his favorite to himself. Then the same thing happens to the holy soul as if midnight had come in the middle of the day: darkness, coldness, deadness and at the same time despondency appear in the soul.
Secondly, despondency, as people experienced in spiritual life testify, comes from the action of the spirit of darkness. Unable to deceive the soul on the way to heaven with the blessings and pleasures of the world, the enemy of salvation turns to the opposite means and brings despondency into it. In this state, the soul is like a traveler suddenly caught in darkness and fog: it sees neither what is ahead nor what is behind; doesn't know what to do; loses vigor, falls into indecision.
The third source of despondency is our fallen, unclean, weakened nature, deadened by sin. As long as we act out of self-love, are filled with the spirit of peace and passions, until then this nature in us is cheerful and alive. But change the direction of life, get off the broad path of the world onto the narrow path of Christian self-sacrifice, take up repentance and self-correction - immediately an emptiness will open inside you, spiritual impotence will be revealed, and heartfelt deadness will be felt. Until the soul has time to be filled with a new spirit of love for God and neighbor, then the spirit of despondency, to a greater or lesser extent, is inevitable for it. Sinners are most subject to this kind of despondency after their conversion.
The fourth, ordinary source of spiritual despondency, is lack, especially cessation of activity. Having stopped using its strengths and abilities, the soul loses vitality and vigor, becomes sluggish; the very previous activities contradict her: discontent and boredom appear.
Dejection can also occur from various sad events in life, such as: the death of relatives and loved ones, loss of honor, property and other unfortunate adventures. All this, according to the law of our nature, is associated with unpleasantness and sadness for us; but, according to the law of nature itself, this sadness should decrease over time and disappear when a person does not indulge in sadness. Otherwise, a spirit of despondency will be formed.
Dejection can also occur from certain thoughts, especially gloomy and heavy ones, when the soul is too indulged in such thoughts and looks at objects not in the light of faith and the Gospel. So, for example, a person can easily become despondent from frequent reflection on the untruth that prevails in the world, on how the righteous here grieve and suffer, while the wicked are exalted and blissful.
Finally, the source of spiritual despondency can be various painful conditions of the body, especially some of its members.”
How to deal with despondency and its consequences
The great Russian saint, Venerable Seraphim of Sarov, said: “You need to remove despondency from yourself and try to have a joyful spirit, not a sad one. According to Sirach, “sorrow has killed many, but there is no benefit in it (Sir. 31:25).”
But how exactly can you remove despondency from yourself?
Let us remember the unhappy young businessman mentioned at the beginning of the article, who for many years could not do anything about the despondency that gripped him. From his own experience he was convinced of the truth of the words of St. Ignatius (Brianchaninov): “Earthly entertainments only drown out sorrow, but do not destroy it: they fell silent, and again sorrow, rested and, as if strengthened by rest, begins to act with greater force.”
Now it’s time to tell you in more detail about that special circumstance in the life of this businessman, which we mentioned earlier.
His wife is a deeply religious person, and she is free from that gloomy, impenetrable melancholy that shrouds her husband’s life. He knows that she is a believer, that she goes to church and reads Orthodox books, and that she does not have “depression.” But in all the years that they were together, it never occurred to him to connect these facts together and try to go to church himself, read the Gospel... He still regularly goes to a psychologist, receiving short-term relief, but not healing.
How many people are exhausted from this mental illness, not wanting to believe that healing is very close. And this businessman, unfortunately, is one of them. We would like to write that one fine day he became interested in faith, which gives his wife the strength not to succumb to despondency and maintain the pure joy of life. But, alas, this has not happened yet. And until then, he will remain among those unfortunates about whom St. Demetrius of Rostov said: “The righteous have no sadness that does not turn into joy, just as sinners have no joy that does not turn into sadness.”
But if suddenly this businessman turned to the treasury Orthodox faith, what would he know about his condition and what methods of healing would he receive?
He would have learned, among other things, that there is a spiritual reality in the world and there are spiritual beings at work: good ones - angels and evil ones - demons. The latter, in their malice, strive to cause as much harm as possible to a person’s soul, turning him away from God and from the path to salvation. These are enemies who seek to kill a person both spiritually and physically. For their purposes, they use different methods, among them the most common is instilling certain thoughts and feelings in people. Including thoughts of despondency and despair.
The trick is that demons try to convince a person that these are his own thoughts. A person who is an unbeliever or has little faith is completely unprepared for such a temptation and does not know how to relate to such thoughts; he actually accepts them as his own. And, following them, he comes closer and closer to death - in the same way, a traveler in the desert, mistaking a mirage for a true vision, begins to chase him and goes further and further into the depths of the lifeless desert.
A believer and spiritually experienced person knows about the existence of the enemy and about his tricks, knows how to recognize his thoughts and cut them off, thereby successfully confronting demons and defeating them.
A sad person is not the one who experiences thoughts of despondency from time to time, but the one who is overcome by them and does not fight. And vice versa, free from despondency is not the one who has never experienced such thoughts - there are no such people on earth, but the one who fights with them and defeats them.
Saint John Chrysostom said: “Excessive despondency is more harmful than any demonic action, because even if demons rule in someone, they rule through despondency.”
But if a person is deeply struck by the spirit of despondency, if the demons have gained such power in him, then it means that the person himself has done something that gave them such power over him.
It was already said above that one of the reasons for despondency among non-believers is the lack of faith in God and, accordingly, the lack of a living connection with Him, the source of all joy and good. But lack of faith is rarely something innate to a person.
Unrepentant sin kills faith in a person. If a person sins and does not want to repent and renounce sin, then sooner or later he inevitably loses faith.
Conversely, faith is resurrected in sincere repentance and confession of sins.
Non-believers deprive themselves of two of the most effective ways fight depression - repentance and prayer. “Prayer and constant meditation on God serve to destroy despondency,” writes St. Ephraim the Syrian.
It is worth giving a list of the main means of combating despondency that a Christian has. Saint Innocent of Kherson speaks about them:
“No matter what causes despondency, prayer is always the first and last remedy against it. In prayer, a person stands directly in the face of God: but if, standing against the sun, one cannot help but be illuminated by light and feel warmth, much less spiritual light and warmth are the direct consequences of prayer. In addition, prayer attracts grace and help from above, from the Holy Spirit, and where the Comforter Spirit is, there is no place for despondency, there sorrow itself will be turned into sweetness.
Reading or listening to the word of God, especially the New Testament, is also a powerful remedy against despondency. It was not in vain that the Savior called to Himself all those who labored and were burdened, promising them peace and joy. He did not take this joy with Him to heaven, but left it entirely in the Gospel for all those who mourn and are discouraged in spirit. He who is imbued with the spirit of the Gospel ceases to grieve joylessly: for the spirit of the Gospel is the spirit of peace, tranquility and consolation.
Divine services, and especially the holy sacraments of the Church, are also a great medicine against the spirit of despondency, for in the church, as the house of God, there is no place for it; The sacraments are all directed against the spirit of darkness and the weaknesses of our nature, especially the sacrament of confession and communion. By laying aside the burden of sins through confession, the soul feels lightness and cheerfulness, and by receiving the flesh of the Lord’s body and blood in the Eucharist, it feels revived and joyful.
Conversations with people rich in the Christian spirit are also a remedy against despondency. In an interview, we generally emerge more or less from the gloomy inner depths into which the soul plunges from despondency; In addition, through the exchange of thoughts and feelings in an interview, we borrow from those talking to us a certain strength and vitality, which is so necessary in a state of despondency.
Thinking about comforting objects. For a thought in a sad state either does not act at all, or circles around sad objects. To get rid of despondency, you need to force yourself to think about the opposite.
Engaging yourself in physical labor also drives away despondency. Let him begin to work, even reluctantly; let him continue the work, although without success: from movement, first the body comes to life, and then the spirit, and you will feel vigor; in the midst of work, the thought will quietly turn away from objects that make me sad, and this already means a lot in a state of despondency.”
Prayer
Why is prayer the most effective remedy against despondency? For many reasons.
Firstly, when we pray during times of despondency, we thereby fight against the demon who is trying to plunge us into this despondency. He does this so that we despair and move away from God, this is his plan; when we turn to God in prayer, we destroy the tricks of the enemy, showing that we did not fall into his trap, did not surrender to him, but, on the contrary, we use his intrigues as a reason to strengthen the connection with God that the demon tried to break .
Secondly, since despondency in most cases is a consequence of our pride, prayer helps to heal from this passion, that is, it pulls out the very root of despondency from the ground. After all, every humble prayer asking God for help - even such a short one as “Lord, have mercy!” - means that we recognize our weakness and limitations and begin to trust God more than ourselves. Therefore, each such prayer, even pronounced through force, is a blow to pride, similar to the blow of a huge weight, which destroys the walls of dilapidated houses.
And finally, thirdly, and most importantly: prayer helps because it is an appeal to God, Who is the only one who can really help in any matter, even the most hopeless situation; the only one who is able to give real consolation and joy and freedom from despondency. "
The Lord helps us in sorrows and temptations. He does not free us from them, but gives us the strength to easily endure them, not even to notice them.
If we are with Christ and in Christ, then no sorrow will confuse us, and joy will fill our heart so that we will rejoice both during sorrows and during temptations” (Rev. Nikon of Optina).
Some advise praying to the guardian angel, who is always invisibly next to us, ready to support us. Others advise reading an akathist to the Sweetest Jesus. There is also advice to read the prayer “Rejoice to the Virgin Mary” many times in a row, with the hope that the Lord will certainly give peace to our soul for the sake of the prayers of the Mother of God.
But special attention deserves the advice of Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov), who recommended that in times of despondency, repeat such words and prayers as often as possible.
"Thank God for everything".
"God! I surrender to Your Holy will! Be Your Will with me."
"God! I thank You for everything that You have been pleased to send to me.”
“I accept what is worthy according to my deeds; remember me, O Lord, in Thy Kingdom.”
The Holy Fathers noted that it is especially difficult for a person to pray in despondency. Therefore, not everyone will be able to fulfill large prayer rules at once, but everyone can say those short prayers that St. Ignatius indicated, it is not difficult.
As for the reluctance to pray in despondency and despair, we need to understand that this is not our feeling, but a demon instilled in us specifically for the purpose of depriving us of the weapon with which we can defeat him.
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk speaks about this reluctance to pray when despondent: “I advise you the following: convince yourself and force yourself to pray and to every good deed, even though you don’t want to. Just as people whip a lazy horse to make it walk or run, so we need to force ourselves to do everything, and especially to pray. Seeing such work and diligence, the Lord will give desire and zeal.”
Of the four phrases proposed by St. Ignatius, two are phrases of thanksgiving. He himself explains why they are given: “In particular, thanks to God, sorrowful thoughts are driven away; When such thoughts invade, thanksgiving is pronounced in simple words, with attention and often - until the heart brings peace. There is no sense in sorrowful thoughts: they do not relieve sorrow, they do not bring any help, they only upset the soul and body. This means that they are from demons and you need to drive them away from yourself... Thanksgiving first calms the heart, then brings it consolation, and subsequently brings heavenly joy - a guarantee, a foretaste of eternal joy.”
In times of despair, demons inspire a person with the idea that there is no salvation for him and his sins cannot be forgiven. This is the greatest demonic lie!
“Let no one say: “I have sinned a lot, there is no forgiveness for me.” Whoever says this forgets about the One who came to earth for the sake of the suffering and said: “...there is joy among the angels of God even over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:10) and also: “I came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:32),” teaches St. Ephraim the Syrian. While a person is alive, it is truly possible for him to repent and receive forgiveness of sins, no matter how serious they may be, and, having received forgiveness, transform his life, fill it with joy and light. And it is precisely this opportunity that demons try to deprive a person of, instilling in him thoughts of despair and suicide, because after death it is no longer possible to repent.
So “none of the people, even those who have reached the extreme degree of evil, should despair, even if they have acquired the skill and entered into the nature of evil itself” (St. John Chrysostom).
Saint Tikhon of Zadonsk explains that the test of despondency and despair makes a Christian more careful and experienced in spiritual life. And “the longer” such a temptation continues, “the greater the benefit it will bring to the soul.”
An Orthodox Christian knows that just as much as the sorrow of all other temptations is greater, those who endure sorrow with patience will receive a greater reward. And in the fight against despondency, the greatest crown is bestowed. Therefore, “let us not lose heart when sorrows befall us, but, on the contrary, let us rejoice more that we are following the path of the saints,” advises St. Ephraim the Syrian.
God is always next to each of us, and He does not allow demons to strike a person with despondency as much as they would like. He gave us freedom, and He makes sure that no one takes this gift from us. So at any moment a person can turn to God for help and repent.
If a person does not do this, it is his choice; the demons themselves are not able to force him to do so.
In conclusion, I would like to quote a prayer composed by St. Demetrius of Rostov just for people suffering from despondency:
God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of mercies and God of all consolation, who comforts us in all our sorrow! Comfort everyone who is grieving, saddened, despairing, or overwhelmed by the spirit of despondency. After all, every person was created by Thy hands, wise by wisdom, exalted by Thy right hand, glorified by Thy goodness... But now we are visited by Thy Fatherly punishment, short-term sorrows! “You compassionately punish those you love, and you show mercy generously and look upon their tears!” So, having punished, have mercy and quench our sorrow; turn sorrow into joy and dissolve our sorrow with joy; Surprise us with Thy mercy, O Lord, wondrous in counsels, Incomprehensible in destinies, Lord, and blessed in Thy deeds forever, amen.
(Dmitry Semenik)
Sadness is light and black or is it a sin to be sad? ( Priest Andrey Lorgus)
Depression. What to do with the spirit of despondency? ( Boris Khersonsky, psychologist)
Schizophrenia is the path to the highest degree of non-covetousness ( Brother)
Depression and TV ( Dmitry Semenik)
Any diagnosis in psychiatry is a myth ( Psychiatrist Alexander Danilin)
Dejection is a lack of faith in yourself, in the ability to improve or change your life. It paralyzes a person and causes a refusal to act, to refuse to fight. Sometimes depression leads to suicidal thoughts. You need to fight despondency, otherwise it will quietly lead you to the conclusion that nothing can be done and therefore there is no point in doing anything. How to get rid of despondency if it is not even clear where it comes from and where it goes? Let's talk about this in the article.
How to get rid of sadness and depression
First, think about what is the cause(s) of despondency. As a rule, this is a major failure, serious stress, as well as a routine that we are forced to deal with at home and/or at work.
And, accordingly, fatigue from total immersion in all this multitude of small and again boring, routine, but, as it seems, necessary, irrevocable and urgent matters. When, because of this routine, we do not see the goal and generally do not understand what and how.
When, for some foreseeable period of time, 2–3 days, we do not see the results of our efforts, that is, we do not receive feedback from the work being done and are immersed only in the process of work, this reduces motivation and plunges us into despondency.
Sometimes, paradoxically, the cause of despondency, on the contrary, can be complete lack of preoccupation with anything, absolute relaxation. And from here comes a feeling of one’s own uselessness, restlessness and often loneliness.
If you want to get rid of despondency, in any case, think about what can be qualitatively changed in your lifestyle and in your lifestyle in general? Also think about how you can radically reverse the situation. That is, if you were previously immersed in many things and worked without a break, then you need relaxation.
Need abrupt change settings - vacation, trip to the mountains, to a sanatorium, etc. If, on the contrary, you have been suffering from idleness and uselessness, you urgently need to get involved in some kind of active activity - getting a corresponding job or two at once, new acquaintances, perhaps new personal relationships, marriage or some other social activity, joining a group active people, hobby club and so on. That is, you need to bring something significant, qualitatively new into your life.
Thus, if you carefully and consciously approach the consideration of this problem - how to get rid of melancholy and despondency, then a solution will be found without the help of specialists. It is important here not to delay and not allow yourself to plunge into a state of despondency for a long time. As with any other problem, the disease is easily overcome in the early stages.
Chronic sadness can develop into depression, which is considered one of the most difficult conditions to treat. And in this case, you probably won’t be able to do without the help of a specialist – a psychologist or psychotherapist. So be attentive and caring about yourself and your condition.
How to deal with despondency and despair
To do this, you can try to cope with your pessimistic mood. To do this you need to use simple ways improving mood. Perhaps some of them will suit you too. These are the methods:
The first thing you need to do is understand that, most likely, no one but yourself can help you solve this problem. Alas, today no specialist is able to control someone else’s soul, which means you will have to cope with despondency on your own.
Try to believe that overcoming depression is no more difficult than falling into it. To fight despondency, convince yourself that your condition is temporary, and also that the dark streak in life will end very soon and will be followed by a bright one, filled with positivity and happiness.
If you want to get rid of despondency, mentally return to the past and find all the positive, joyful moments in it, remember what made you happy. Then, using the same principle, review all the events of the present. Even in the most severe trials you have experienced, you can find positive sides.
Of course, it is quite difficult to notice positive aspects at a time when everything around is shrouded in the darkness of despondency, but, if desired, it is possible. After that, try to come up with about ten positive scenarios further development events, even completely incredible, but invariably joyful.
Believe me, the result is worth it. If you manage to carry out a similar reconfiguration of your thoughts (yesterday everything was fine, today is also good, and tomorrow will be much better), then you will no longer have to think about the question of how to overcome despondency - it will disappear by itself.
Think about the activities that have always brought you pleasure. Perhaps you like to travel - so go on a short excursion; any travel agency will offer you a whole host of “weekend” options. Do you like to embroider, cook, listen to music, play computer games? Abstract from problems and devote a few hours to your hobby. Very soon you will notice that your mood has improved significantly.
Breath. To combat depression, pay attention to your breathing. When a person is worried or upset, he breathes quickly and shallowly. Therefore, if at this moment you take a deep breath, then hold your breath for a few seconds, and then exhale the air completely, then such breathing will free the mind from negative thoughts, and the body will receive more oxygen. By breathing this way for 30 seconds, your mood will noticeably improve.
Massage of bioactive points. Experts have found that biologically active points The points responsible for our mood are the points located in the recess of the palm and on the earlobes. Therefore ten screwing movements thumb in the dimple of the palm of the opposite hand and a strong massage of the earlobes will help get rid of a depressed state, despondency and sadness.
Physical exercise. If the bad mood is protracted, then you need to try to fight despondency this way: switch to physical exercise, splashing out all your negativity in it. And besides, muscle fatigue itself is an excellent thought switch. In this case, the “tail principle” applies - this is when the tail begins to control the head. Any physical activity will do: ride a bike, join a pool, or just go for a walk.
Aromatherapy. It is believed that smells also perfectly “switch” negative thoughts. To do this, simply apply a drop of essential oil to your wrist and inhale its scent. It is better to use mint or orange scents for these purposes.
If you want to get rid of despondency, transfer problems to paper. Take bright markers and paints. Use them to draw on paper what your subconscious tells you. Draw until it becomes easier, then tear the paper into small pieces and throw away. Usually seven minutes is enough for such art.
Increased pleasure hormone. This could be the touch or hug of a loved one. Or maybe just sweets. Just don't get carried away with them. To combat depression, review your diet. Try to include fatty fish. If this is not possible, fish oil capsules will also work.
Most importantly, do not be alone during periods of depression. Have a little party: cover festive table and invite friends or relatives to your place, spend romantic evening with a loved man. You will see that in a matter of hours there will be no trace left of your depressed state.