Spiritual words of encouragement to a friend feeling down

Words have enormous power and influence over our emotions, thoughts and actions. Just the simple act of reading one word of encouragement can make you feel happier and more optimistic about the future.

Alternately, words also have the power to crush our spirits. Sigmund Freud thought words held a magical power we could never begin to understand. “Words can bring a great happiness when we hear or read them,” Freud once said, “or they can bring the deepest despair imaginable.”

Depression is not just about feeling sad and hopeless. It is also about feeling like life is out of control and the fear and uncertainty about whether things will get better. People with major depression desperately want to feel joy again. They want to take pleasure in watching sunsets, taking walks with friends or binging on their favorite Netflix shows again. They want their lives to be normal again.

Which brings us back to the power of words.

10 Inspirational Quotes for Depression

While there is no one miraculous fix for depression, reading spiritual or inspirational quotes may help get you through a particularly rough day. They remind us that nothing is permanent, that life gives us an almost infinite number of choices to make. Inspirational quotes also remind us we are not perfect, that there is no such thing as a “perfect” human being and that mistakes are necessary for growing emotionally and spiritually strong.

1. Have patience with yourself. When you learn to be patient with yourself, you learn to be patient with the rest of the world – Anonymous

Depression can deepen when we think other people are not performing like we expect them to. Relying on others to make you happy will only make you feel resentful and anxious (impatient). Understand that everybody you know, even your significant other or best friend, is coping with their own “invisible” life full of its own thoughts, emotions, memories and difficulties. Practicing patience with others helps you learn to be patient with yourself.

2. Never react emotionally to criticism. Take time to objectively evaluate the criticism. Is it justified? If it is, correct yourself. Otherwise, go on about your business – Norman Vincent Peale

Depression forces raw emotions to the surface, as though you have been turned inside-out. Depression diminishes our ability to stop, take a deep breath and think about the criticism. In some cases, criticism may be constructive, i.e, it is meant to help us do better or improve on something we’ve done. In other cases, criticism is an unwarranted reaction by someone else who has their own issues. If you are criticized for any reason, ask yourself, why?

3. I will love the light for it shows me the way, yet I will endure the darkness for it shows me the stars. – Og Mandino

Mandino is saying that without experiencing unpleasant times in our lives, we wouldn’t be able to fully appreciate the better or good times. Persevering through bad times teaches when to recognize and acknowledge the little joys life brings every day.

4. When you say you are depressed, all I can see is pure resilience. As a human being, you are permitted to feel inside out and “messed up.” Depression does not mean you are defective. It simply means you are human. – David Mitchell

You are a unique individual, with unique ideas, thoughts and feelings. But no one is perfect. Never let anyone cause you to think anything else.

5. Sadness and depression will fly away on the wings of time. – Jean de La Fontaine

It’s hard for depressed individuals to understand that healing takes time. Early intervention and professional medical treatment for major depression and other types of mood disorders can help speed this gradual healing process and are often key to recovery. Millions of people seek help for depression every day. Never feel stigmatized by reaching out for help.

6. We are not in control of what happens around us but we remain in control of what happens inside us.

Thoughts are more powerful than words because they control your feelings. When we are depressed, thoughts take on a life of their own by creating false perceptions of reality. What is merely a stranger glancing at us in a store takes on a distorted meaning when we are depressed. Instead of allowing your thoughts to run rampant, imagine planting a stop sign in front of them and saying “Enough!”

7. When your intentions are powerful, your actions will be just as powerful. When actions are powerful, results will be extraordinary.

We all fear making mistakes. This fear often prevents us from doing remarkable things with our lives. But what we think is fear is actually anxiety. Anxiety is not fear. Anxiety is the perception of something that may or may not be a threat to your wellbeing. Anxiety is the end result of worrying about the future and assuming all kinds of bad things will happen. What if my husband loses his job? What if the pain in my stomach is cancer? What if my daughter gets kidnapped walking to school? What if, what if, what if–

Sound familiar?

8. Declutter your life. Eliminate anything that does not contribute to your evolution as a fully realized human being.

Whether it is an excess of material clutter or an excess of negative people clutter, anything in your life that you think may be contributing to your depression should be diminished or eliminated. Although hoarding is considered a type of obsessive-compulsive disorder, many hoarders also have symptoms of major depression that may need intensive treatment.

9. We will never find peace outside ourselves until we make peace within ourselves. – Dalai Lama

Get to know those feelings of depression and anxiety quietly, gently and rationally. Try to use this experience to strengthen and expand your inner self. When you recognize false verbal thoughts, breathe deeply, close your eyes and imagine your depression as a rubber ball that you throw away from yourself as hard as you can. Watch the ball bounce away until you can no longer see it. Let yourself feel empowered by the act of throwing that ball as hard as you can.

10. Get rid of the baggage of who you are not. Embrace who you really are. It is not important what others think of you. You are not here to make others happy.

Too often we waste years of our lives being someone we think other people will approve of. We don’t do and say things we really want to say or do and instead present a false self to family and friends. Over time, we start resenting ourselves and feel hopeless over the fact we are wasting time in pursuit of goals we don’t take pleasure in achieving. Depression is often a sign you are not being true to yourself.

If you or someone you know is depressed, FHE offers comprehensive treatment for all depression types. We can help you learn to:

• Commit to moving forward and letting go of the past.
• Forgive where forgiving is needed and move on.
• Embrace solitude by taking moments spent by yourself to reflect on how far you’ve come and how much you have learned from your depression.
• Move out of your comfort zones to nurture self-confidence and a capacity for a fresh and positive perspective on life

For more information about depression treatment, call FHE Health today.