Depression can be mild or severe or anywhere in between. It can take the form of feeling helpless, irritable, sad or listless. At its worst we can feel that life doesn’t seem to be worth living anymore. There can be distrust of people, unshakeable pessimism, and feelings of guilt and inferiority.

Some people’s depression is a natural reaction to prolonged illness or pain, the loss of a loved one and concern about one’s own mortality. There can be attacks of dizziness, fear, weeping and exhaustion. Some have trouble sleeping, concentrating and making decisions, others are restless and hyperactive, and a few isolate themselves completely.

A few forms of depression lead us to see, smell and hear things which others are not aware of, while a few people believe unusual stories about themselves and other people.

You may have experienced any number of these thoughts, feelings and sensations, and there are many other symptoms which are not included here. Many people find it helpful to fill out the self-report checklist at www.beyondblue.org.au. This website is one of the best available and has lots of links to other informative sites.

Sir Winston Churchill had the affliction, referring to it as the ‘Black Dog’, which would lay him low for days on end. Even the renowned writer Tolstoy suffered a bout of deep depression which lasted nearly four years, after he became famous in Russia, prior to later works which spread his fame worldwide.


It might surprise some to know that Mother Teresa wasted away in melancholy to skin and bone over several months in her early novitiate years, before she understood more clearly that she was but an instrument of healing in God’s hands and that the outcome was governed by a higher will than her own.