For decades, researchers in medicine, psychotherapy, and spirituality have studied depression—its causes and the paths to healing.
This illness, far more common than most people realize, ranges from mild cases (what we call sadness) marked by chronic unease and persistent self-doubt, to severe cases where sufferers find life unbearable for themselves and those around them.
This book serves not only those struggling with depression, but everyone who supports them: family, friends, and caregivers. It is clear and concise, packed with information and practical guidance. It describes the sense of helplessness that depression brings, the distorted thinking patterns the illness creates, and examines its physical dimensions and the influence of psychological and spiritual life. It offers useful exercises in self-directed psychological healing. Above all, it conveys hope and love for the suffering—drawn from the lived experience of those who wrote it.
Depression can be overcome and defeated when the skill of those who care for the depressed person joins forces with the patient's own will and commitment.
The two authors—a priest and a psychologist—know this struggle intimately, both through their professional work and through having lived and recovered from it themselves. What makes this book distinctive is its refusal to rely on medication alone, or psychotherapy alone, or religious faith alone. Instead, it weaves all three together into a unified vision of the human person—one whose body, mind, and spirit are inseparably linked, each affecting the others, each deserving attention.
We are whole beings. Every element within us shapes the rest.
We can do no better than to close with the words of Psalm 34, cited by the authors on page 201—words spoken by one who has known both suffering and healing.
«Celebrate with me the Lord; let us exalt his name together. I sought the Lord, and he answered me.
He freed me from all my fears.
Look to him and be radiant; your faces will never be ashamed.
This poor soul cried out, and the Lord heard, and saved him from all his troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he saves those whose spirit is crushed».