5 Steps to Overcome Sadness and Depression

Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Saviour and my God. Psalm 42:11

Sadness can simply be explained as the state of not being happy while depression is a state of unhappiness or hopelessness. We often experience these negative emotions when our expectations are dashed or when we realise that we have made some major mistakes. Depression can also be caused by the prolonged use of hard drugs like cocaine etc. Sadness and depression can be experienced by anyone – pastors, judges, doctors, teachers, students, etc.

Here are a few tips on overcoming sadness and depression.

1. Acknowledge your feeling

When we are feeling sad or depressed, it helps to admit these feelings. It is alright to cry in order to unpack these emotions.  After we must ponder over why we are feeling that way. There are many dysfunctional people walking around as though everything was fine.

2. Speak to someone about it.

Start by praying to God. Hebrews 4: 15 -16 describes Jesus as the High priest who empathizes with our weaknesses because he was tempted in every way as we are – yet he did not sin. As such he can give us mercy and grace in our time of need. Jesus understands the depth of our pain. Isaiah 53: 3 is a prophecy that described the suffering that Jesus was to experience on the cross.  It says the following in relation to the Messiah. “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him”.

Besides praying, you can also speak to a trusted friend or counsellor. Seek comfort from those who understand because they have come through the same or a similar experience.

3. Encourage yourself

In Psalm 42, the psalmist describes a rather sad situation. He had been crying day and night (verse3), he was being mocked by others (verse 10). However, despite these, he realized that God had never left his side (verse 8). He finally concludes the Psalm by saying that he would praise God despite all that was happening. There is a parallel verse to this in Habakkuk 4: 17 -19.

4. Take time out and manage stress
   When we are stressed, we usually do a poor job with emotional control and our negative emotions like fear, anger, insecurity or jealousy easily get the better of us.
5. Stop looking for affirmation in the wrong places
   
   We must also accept that no matter what we do there would always be people who don’t like us. As such we must surround ourselves with a positive small group.

We must learn to affirm ourselves using the truth of God’s Word – it’s easy to believe the deception and lies of the devil especially when we are going through low moments. That is why it is important to renew our minds with the truth of God’s Word and instead believe what His Word says about our situation. When we feel unloved, we should remember that God loves us unconditionally and that it was Him who sought us and not the other way round (John 3:15-16, Romans 5:8). When we feel defeated, we should remember that Christ causes us to triumph in every situation (2 Corinthians 2:14). When rejected, remember that God accepts us as members of His family (Ephesians 1:6). Finally, remember that we are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus onto good works (Ephesians 2:10)

When it hurts so badly oh why don’t you give it to Jesus
He can see your troubled heart. He can mend the pain that binds you.

Jesus loves you so and He wants you to know He loves you so.

He’s the healer of your soul.

Song by Vinesong. Find the song here.

You may also want to read the following.

Mental Health https://floodlightdaily.org/good-mental-health/

Joy https://floodlightdaily.org/joy/