Blessed AND Depressed

Many people feel so blessed in their lives, so fortunate, yet they also feel depressed and they don’t know why. Some feel guilty about it, others are confused. Guess what? Gratitude and depression are NOT mutually exclusive. Here’s why:

1. Just like our parents can pass on their eye color or their predisposition for diabetes, they can pass on depression and other mental health conditions. Your life may be great, but you still have to contend with genetics that aren’t within your control.

2. Just because there are many good things in your life doesn’t mean there aren’t also bad things, too. Maybe you live well, but you’re lonely. Maybe you have a happy marriage and healthy kids, but you also have an incurable illness. Maybe you have a good life and support system, but you just lost your spouse of many years.

3. Even though you are very blessed now, it doesn’t mean that you haven’t had a rough childhood or life before now that’s left an indelible impact on your mental health.

4. We face a very real enemy. Satan’s job is to keep us away from God. He tries to make us doubt God and the plan He has for us, including putting thoughts in our heads that are dark or depressive.

5. Human nature is to focus on the negative. The brain processes negative emotions more thoroughly than positive ones. For every negative comment we hear, it takes at least five positive comments to counteract it.

6. Things aren’t always as they seem. Just because someone has a good life on the outside doesn’t mean that things are good behind close doors. Maybe they secretly live with an addict, maybe they’re being abused, maybe they’re in so much debt they can’t see straight. The cover of the book may be beautiful, but the content really sucks.

Next month, we’ll discuss six things you can do to combat feeling blessed and depressed.

DISCLAIMER: Material is for informational purposes and not intended to be a substitute for evaluation or treatment by a licensed professional. Material is copyrighted and may only be reproduced with written permission of Dr. Bellingrodt.

Submitted by Jennifer Bellingrodt, Psy.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist.