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.
SURVIVING DEPRESSION...
https://www.amazon.com/SurvivingDepressionCatholicKathrynHermes/dp/0819872253