Practical Hope for Seasonal Depression

Editors Note: This article is written by Colleen Ryan as part of our series on finding hope in the midst of depression.  In this series, our counselors are helping people understand the reality of depression and how God sustains and helps those who are depressed. View the Series Page here.

This article describes a seasonal battle with depression and how to respond in wise, biblical, and God-honoring ways.

Fall was turning into winter, and she knew what lay ahead: cold, dark, lonely, long days. She was familiar with the pattern of the changing of seasons because it also triggered a pattern in her life as well. It encompassed sadness, discouragement, and a tendency to isolate. With more time indoors, she also had more time to think about her problems, the difficulties of life, and her unfulfilling job. Relationships continued to be a struggle.

Before long, she felt a well-deserved pity party consuming her mind and heart. In light of all that was going on, wasn’t she allowed to feel this way? Didn’t she have a right to it? Who could deny her that? Yet, even she realized that her pity party wasn’t helping her. It was making things worse.

With spring still several months away, she realized that unless she sought out help she’d be in bad shape. Her mood and emotions were tainting her perspective on life and she knew it. Seasonal depression had its grip on her, and she was beginning to feel numb to its clutches. What could she do? Who could she turn to? 

A trusted friend recommended she seek out biblical counseling. With a bit of reservation, she did. She wasn’t totally convinced that it would help but thought she’d give it a try anyway.

She found her counselor caring and compassionate as they began to unpack the patterns of her life and her thought process. Over time, she began to realize that as much as she loved the Lord and took her faith seriously, she had allowed herself to become consumed with thoughts, beliefs, and desires that were contrary to that.

So how exactly did her counselor walk her through it? Here are five key areas.

1. Remember That God Has a Plan

It’s important to lay a foundation from Jeremiah 29:11, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”

This was God’s reminder to the people of Israel who had been taken captive to Babylon. He wanted to remind them that He had not forgotten them but still had a PLAN for their lives. Although this message was not written to us, its truth can still be applied to our lives. God has a plan. He always has and always will. His plan is sovereign.

• Are we willing to trust His plan?
• Does He desire to teach us something through seasonal depression?
• Do we have some wrong thinking involved?
• Are there idols of the heart that need to be rooted out?
• Do we need a “renewed mind” as Romans 12:2 references? 

2. Take Lies Captive and Replace With Truth

So much of depression involves our thought process. We tend to entertain thoughts such as: “I can’t do anything right… I’m just a failure… Life is miserable… There’s no worth or value to my life… No one likes me.”

If we continue to ponder these thoughts and don’t recognize the lies for what they are, then we are on the path to engage with depression.

So what do we do? We begin by following Paul’s admonition in 2 Corinthians 10:5 to take “every thought captive”. How do we do that? If you’re pondering the thought, “I can’t do anything right” you need to stop and ask yourself the question: “Is that true?” No, that’s a lie. So we take the lie captive. Imagine pulling it out of your brain and throwing it away.

Now you need to replace the lie with truth. The truth is: “There’s a lot that I do right… I’m a diligent and responsible employee… I do a great job caring for my elderly parents.” Nobody is perfect, but it would be a lie to believe that we can’t do anything right.

Since we’re creatures of habit, we must be very intentional about taking ALL of the lies captive and replacing them with truth. This takes work and intentionality to break the habit of believing lies.

3. Nurture Your Physical Health

While working on changing our thought patterns, we also need to be intentional about caring for our bodies.

I find it amazing how God created our bodies to need Vitamin D. He created the sun to give us that. So as best as possible, we need to get outside and absorb some of that natural Vitamin D. I realize that short winter days lack a lot of sunlight, but you could speak to your doctor or a nutritionist regarding supplementing that via a good vitamin brand. Don’t ignore Vitamin D.

Another way to take care of our bodies is through exercise and nutrition. Not everyone wants to hear it, but it’s true. There’s something physiologically going on in our bodies when we get moving. It shouldn’t surprise us that God created our bodies to need good nutrition: protein, fruits, and veggies. (I wish that ice cream were on that list.)

4. Don’t Hibernate or Isolate

It’s easy to hibernate at home during a long, cold winter, but that won’t help seasonal depression. God created us to have purpose in our days and to live in community. If your job doesn’t require you to get up and going in the morning, then find something else that brings purpose to your day. Can you volunteer somewhere? Can you invest in someone else’s life?

Also, be intentional about surrounding yourself in community. Isolation breeds depression, as we see in I Kings 19 with Elijah. He ran from King Ahab and Jezebel and isolated himself from even his trusted servant. As a result, he began entertaining thoughts of suicidal ideation. Not good. So don’t isolate yourself. Instead, engage with people. 

5. Pursue a Thankful Heart

Lastly, don’t underestimate the power of having a thankful heart. Intentionally moving from a complaining heart to one of gratitude is a choice of faith. Look at all that you have to be grateful for, both big and small. When you change your mindset, your perspective on life changes as well.

Paul says in Colossians 3:15, “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.” Yes, let’s have thankful hearts instead of ones consumed with only seeing the bad.

Conclusion

So let’s recap what we’ve discussed:

1. Remember that God has a plan. (Jeremiah 29:11)
2. Take lies captive and replace with truth. (2 Corinthians 10:5)
3. Nurture your body with Vitamin D, exercise, and good nutrition.
4. Don’t hibernate or isolate. (I Kings 19)
5. Pursue a thankful heart. (Colossians 3:15)

As you work hard to move forward, you’ll discover that your perspective on life and on God’s sovereign plan begins to shift. Yes, He is a trustworthy God who loves us unconditionally and has a good plan for our lives. So be encouraged.