The book “Surviving Depression: A Catholic Approach” was written by Sr. Kathryn J. Hermes out of her personal experience in battling depression for almost two decades in her life. Sr. Kathryn is a member of the Daughters of St. Paul and holds an M.T.S. from Weston Jesuit School of Theology.
In her best-selling book translated into 17 languages, she is able to put into words the struggles of a person undergoing depression.
Here are four takeaways from reading the book:
1. Depression Happens to Everyone
There is a misconception that only people who lack faith experience depression and that people who believe in God should remain positive and happy at all times. But this thinking is quite similar to saying that no religious person should ever get sick. On the contrary, depression is also an illness that can happen to anyone.
2. Healing Often Comes Gradually
When we’re sick, we often lose hope when as the days or months go by, it seems as though we’re not getting any better. But what Sr. Kathryn tells us is that healing does come, but it often comes gradually. Here is where we must have more patience. We must not readily give up when we are not healed at once. But with perseverance and prayer, we can appreciate the little miracles that happen everyday until we eventually reach full healing and recovery.
3. We Must Believe In God’s Love
When we are sick or depressed, we are more sensitive to the weaknesses we realize we have. We may even feel God is distant and we are not deserving of His love because we are not as perfect as we thought we were. But we must continue to believe that God truly loves us. He knows all our weaknesses. He understands our frailty. And in our most trying moments, He is nearer to us than we think, loving us just as we really are.
4. We Must Trust In God
Sometimes, when the pain or emptiness is too much, we may think God doesn’t care anymore. We may even think He is angry at us or punishing us for whatever we may have done wrong. We thus put the blame upon God and withdraw ourselves from Him. But what Sr. Kathryn reminds us is that though we may find it difficult to have faith, we must continue to trust in God. We must decide to believe even when God seems silent. We must decide to believe even when we think He has forsaken us. In the end, it is only God who can help us and it is only in His power and love that we can depend upon.
(The above Book Review first appeared in the online magazine HIDDEN SAINTS – Issue No. 1 on October 30, 2018.)
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