Mental Illness or a Demon

 In the Bible there is something called "a spirit of heaviness." I am sure a lot of us feel that more now with the holidays. Also the cold keeps us from getting outside and tanning in the sun. 😢 That is the best cure for depression. 

How do you know if your sadness is clinical depression or an evil spirit? 

I do not, and never have, believed in clinical depression. I do believe in evil spirits though. What does the Bible say to do to protect yourself from evil spirits? Ephesians 6:13-17 says, "Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."

Maybe you don't have an evil spirit. Maybe you are depressed from eating tons of junk food, and you feel guilty about it. Or maybe you have no social life. Everyone needs people. If you aren't working, go find a job. If you are single and hate it, get into online dating. You can cure your own sadness if you really want to. You just need to stay productive and keep good friends. 

Or maybe you enjoy being depressed so you don't change the things that you can. Maybe you like the sympathy. Maybe you have no idea how to take care of yourself well. Maybe no one taught you how to. But you can learn. You can figure out how to eat healthy and get your emotional needs met. Or you can simply decide to stop having so many needs. Just because you had tons of friends when you were young, doesn't mean you always have to have that. Lower your expectations for life. There are many different seasons to life. Maybe before you had tons of friends and now you have a family. It feels different but accept it. Not every season of your life will be the same. 

If you are depressed, I get it. We all feel down sometimes. Just believe tomorrow will be a better day. Try to have hope that your future will be great. Change the things you can and Never stop dreaming. If you can learn to never give up dreaming, you may never feel depressed. 

And get outside and sit in the sun. You will feel much better. 😁