My name is Daniel Freeman and I see a problem called Depression in the world today. Sometimes it results from a tragic experience in the past, sometimes from unexpressed emotions and resentments built up over time, and other times from the tragic and untimely loss of a loved one to death or suicide. Whatever brings about depression its' impact is devastating and life-altering to everyone it touches.
Nearly three years ago now my younger brother attempted suicide and later passed away in the hospital. I not only watched the effects of depression in his life and in the lives of my parents and siblings afterward but also experienced them in my life after his death as well. There was a darkness that I couldn't seem to shake and a hole that I couldn't seem to climb out of, or want to get out of at times. I was living under a huge weight that made any movement in life feel awkward and out of place, even wrong. Thankfully something changed, something happened, a process of healing began and the weight slowly lifted.
Currently I work most of every month in the deserts of Arizona helping youth learn to survive. I started working at The Anasazi Foundation in order to help out other youth struggling as my brother did. The youth who come to us are struggling with various burdens and many times those struggles and experiences have formed a deep depression in their lives where they feel they have lost all hope and/or ability to see or feel the light. As I walk with them I find myself blessed to speak with them and mentor them in their healing process. With time trust is built and they allow me to, and often times ask for, help as they begin stepping out from under the weight they have felt buried beneath for so long.
I've been working with youth and young adults in this setting for nearly two years and what I have learned has changed the way I move through life. What I have learned has changed not only how I move but who I am. It has helped me to discover meaning, hope, faith and purpose in my life. I think we can all agree that depression is a problem in our world today.
If this problem doesn't change and if it continues on as it has we will begin to experience a loss of drive, purpose and peace - in short, a loss of our discovery and our passion for life. Then we begin to lose our ability to express ourselves because it "doesn't really matter anyway..." Expression disappears and then we begin to lose the very light within us as it fades and wanes; we begin to lose our faith in life itself. The end result if something doesn't change for many leads to pills, drugs, and ultimately suicide. It is up to us to break the cycle and there is hope. There is a solution.
In order to solve this problem there are three things we need to create in our lives once more:
- Light and Faith
- Expression
- Re-Discovery and Forgiveness
We first create light by noticing what brings, or has brought, light into our lives in the past and move forward from there by filling our lives with our own unique Tools of Light. Once we have recognized these activities, places, people, or things we can begin to rebuilt the light, hope and faith we so desperately desire in our lives once again.
Second we need to express what is within us, in a healthy and productive manner. There are different ways of expressing what is inside of us and some not only harm us but they can harm others. We will explore together healthy ways of expressing the emotions locked inside us so that the crushing weight above can be diminished, our burden lightened, and a feeling of hope rekindled.
Finally it is time to rediscover our purpose, passion and drive in life. After depression it is necessary to rediscover ourselves and what matters to us the most. Before, during, and after depression you will notice that what you are passionate about, your purpose in life, your drive and your desires, will all change. This step is key to healing from depression.
A pill can help you function for a time but it can never solve the problem of depression for it never addresses the cause. I want you to think of a large rock in the ground. Now, imagine pulling it up and notice the size of the hole, the depression, underneath. The larger the rock the larger the depression. Just as it is in nature so too is it in our lives. The rocks we carry are emotions that, if not properly and healthily expressed, begin to weigh down upon us. The longer they are there the more they grow and the more the grow the deeper the depression becomes, the heavier it is and the harder it becomes to move through life.
In expressing those emotions and taking action to solve this problem in our lives we remove a portion of the weight above and begin the process of refilling the resulting hole beneath with positive things. We express the bad and then fill it in with an expression of something good. If we create a hole in our lives we must fill it with something and if we must fill it let us make sure that it is not only something that we want but also something that is good for us that, in the long run, will give us what we most want and desire.
