The World of Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul

Depression and the Dark Night
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Depression and the Dark Night As a counselor, the most valuable lesson obtained from All the Way Down by Parker Palmer is that depressed individuals should embrace their weaknesses, darkness, light, liability, and strengths to start the healing journey (Palmer, 2000). Many people fail to heal from depression since they reject the truth about themselves. They cling to things they believe to be true but are not in reality. The rejection of truth only makes individuals more depressed.   The “dark night of the soul” means an extremely challenging situation or painful period in a person’s life. Everyone faces challenging moments in life. For instance, people lose their loved ones or are diagnosed with life-threatening diseases, such as breast cancer. That period of suffering before one accepts reality is called the “dark night of the soul.” Palmer gives his experience of the world of depression in a way that an individual understands better. Depression comes in various forms. Some are biochemical or genetic and respond to drugs. Another is situational and responds to inner work, which leads to change, choices, and self-knowledge. There is another form that lies in between (Palmer, 2000). Depressed people wrestle with the desire to die. In addition, depression makes individuals reject simple answers based on religion and science. The person embraces mystery or culturally unacceptable things. In other words, depression is the state of disconnection that deprives an individual of building and sustaining trusting relationships. The primary similarity between depression and the "dark night of the soul" is that they are both challenging moments in a person's life. In addition, they both involve the disconnection from reality. People believe in things th...