Breathe. Just Breathe. (Breathe Series, Part 1)

Breathe.  Just Breathe.   (Breathe Series, Part 1)

by Lydia Floren

Depression took me by surprise. I’d never struggled with that particular problem. Anxiety, yes.   But the overwhelming feeling of gloom and doom, the closing in, even the belief that the world might be a better place if you weren’t in it? That I had not experienced, at least until last year.

A shroud of sadness

At first, I didn’t even realize what was happening. It would come and go. A feeling of hopelessness. A lack of energy. Unexplained tears.  Even after I connected the dots and figured out I was depressed, it took me awhile to pinpoint what might be triggering it. For me it was light—or rather, the lack of light. A particularly overcast summer introduced a shroud of sadness into my life. It clung to me as the days grew shorter and shorter, near-paralyzing me as its tenacles tightened.

Breathe. Just breathe.

How does one survive such oppression? Such a threat to one’s vitality? I know as a physician (and now, through experience) that there are lots of things that can help:  a special light in the morning, medication to change the brain chemistry, regular exercise, a healthy diet, positive people, connecting with God every day.

But some days are just hard. A friend who has struggled with depression for years once explained it like this:

“Some days you just breathe. All you are supposed to do that day—all you CAN do—is take your next breath.”

Breathe. Just breathe.

You may be depressed, or stressed, or overwhelmed. You may be blindsided with anger or pain or hopelessness or fear.  And some times, some days, nothing seems to help.

God understands.

God understands. God doesn’t expect nearly as much from us as we expect from ourselves. But because we live in a performance-based culture, it hard for us to wrap our minds around that fact. It is difficult for us to grasp that our true worth–our value to God, to ourselves, to the world–is not based in what we do, but in who we are.

Our true worth–our value to God, to ourselves, to the world–is not based in what we do, but in who we are. 

Once that truth sinks in, it changes everything. We can relax.  It is easier to accept that some days, what we are supposed to do—and all we are called to do—, is to breathe. Just breathe.

PS:  Here’s a great song I’ve been singing lately:

Breathe, by Jonny Diaz        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnjeMwxFuBA