How to overcome despondency and despair. How to get rid of the sin of despondency? j) Participation in the sacraments of the Church gives grace-filled help to the struggling

Despondency - what is despondency and fight with despondency?

Despondency - what is despondency and how to deal with despondency? Here real story one of our contemporary. He is 35. He is quite a successful businessman. He has a beautiful and modest wife and a little daughter, big flat in Moscow, a dacha, two cars, a lot of friends… He has what a lot of people aspire to and dream about. But none of this pleases him. He forgot what joy is. Every day he is oppressed by longing, from which he tries to hide in business, but to no avail. He considers himself an unhappy person, but cannot say why. There is money. Health, youth - is. But there is no happiness.

He tries to fight, to find a way out. She regularly visits a psychologist, several times a year she goes to special seminars. After them on a short time is relieved, but then everything returns to normal. He says to his wife: “Let this not make me feel better, but at least they understand me there.” He tells friends and family that he suffers from depression.

There is one special circumstance in his position, which we will discuss a little later. And now we have to admit that, unfortunately, this is not an isolated example. There are many such people. Of course, not all of them are in such an outwardly advantageous position, so they often say: I feel sad because I don’t have enough money, or I don’t have my own apartment, or the job is not right, or the wife is grumpy, or the husband is a drunkard, or the car broke down, or no health and so on and so forth. It seems to them that if they change and improve something a little, then the melancholy will pass. They spend a lot of energy on achieving what, as it seems to them, they just lack, but they hardly manage to achieve what they want, when again, after a brief joy, melancholy piles up. You can sort through apartments, places of work, women, cars, friends, hobbies, but nothing can once and for all quench this all-devouring hopeless sorrow. And the more wealthy a person is, the more it torments him, as a rule.

Psychologists define this condition as depression. They describe her as mental disorder, usually arising after negative events in a person's life, but often developing and without any apparent reason. Depression is currently the most common mental illness.

The main symptoms of depression are: depressed mood, independent of circumstances; loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities; fatigue, "loss of strength."

Additional symptoms: pessimism, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, anxiety and fear, inability to concentrate and make decisions, thoughts of death and suicide; unstable appetite, disturbed sleep - insomnia or oversleeping.

In order to be diagnosed with depression, it is enough to have two main and two additional symptoms.

If a person has found these symptoms in himself, what should he do? Many go to psychologists. And what do they get? Firstly, self-digging conversations, and secondly, antidepressant pills, of which there are a great many. Psychologists say that depression in most cases is successfully treated. But at the same time, it is recognized that this is the most common mental illness. Here you can see a contradiction: after all, if the disease is successfully treated, then why does it not disappear, and the number of patients even increases over time? For example, smallpox has been successfully eradicated, and for a long time there are no people who would get sick with it. And with depression, the picture is just the opposite. Why?

Is it not because only the manifestations of the disease are cured, and its true foundations are still preserved in the souls of people, like the roots of weeds that again and again release harmful shoots?

Psychology is a young science. It received official registration only 130 years ago, when in 1879 W. Wundtot opened the first experimental psychology laboratory in Leipzig.

Orthodoxy is 2000 years old. And it has its own view of the phenomenon that psychology calls "depression." And it would not be superfluous to get acquainted with this view for those who are really interested in the possibility of successfully getting rid of depression.

In Orthodoxy, the word "despondency" is used to denote this state of mind. This is a painful state in which a dreary mood penetrates the soul, which becomes constant over time, a feeling of loneliness comes, abandoned by relatives, loved ones, by all people in general and even by God. There are two main types of despondency: despondency with a complete depression of the spirit, without a feeling of any bitterness, and despondency with an admixture of feelings of anger, irritability.

This is how the ancient holy fathers of the Church speak of despondency.

“Despondency is the relaxation of the soul and the exhaustion of the mind, the slanderer of God - as if He is merciless and inhuman” (St. John of the Ladder).

“Despondency is a severe torment of the soul, unspeakable torment and punishment more bitter than any punishment and torment” (St. John Chrysostom).

This condition is also found among believers, and among non-believers it is even more common. The elder said about them: “A person who does not believe in God and in future life, exposes its immortal soul eternal condemnation and lives without consolation in this life. Nothing can comfort him. He is afraid of losing his life, suffers, goes to psychiatrists who give him pills and advise him to have fun. He takes pills, goes crazy, and then goes back and forth to see the sights and forget the pain.”

And here is how Saint Innocent of Kherson wrote about this: “Do sinners suffer from despondency, who do not rejoice in the salvation of their souls? Yes, and most of all, although, apparently, their life consists for the most part from fun and pleasure. Even in all fairness, one can say that inner discontent and secret anguish are a constant share of sinners. For conscience, no matter how much it is muffled, is like a worm that wears away the heart. An involuntary, deep foreboding of the future judgment and retribution also disturbs the sinful soul and grieves for it the insane pleasures of sensuality. The most inveterate sinner at times feels that inside him is emptiness, darkness, ulcer and death. Hence the uncontrollable inclination of unbelievers to unceasing amusements, to forget themselves and be beside themselves.

What to say to unbelievers about their despondency? It is good for them; for it serves as an invocation and an inducement to repentance. And let them not think that any means has been found for them to free themselves from this spirit of despondency, until they turn to the path of righteousness and correct themselves and their manners. Vain pleasures and earthly joys will never fill the emptiness of the heart: our soul is more spacious than the whole world. On the contrary, with the passage of time, carnal joys will lose their power to entertain and charm the soul and turn into a source of spiritual heaviness and boredom.

Someone may object: is every sad state really despondency? No, not everyone. Sadness and grief, if they are not rooted in a person, are not a disease. They are inevitable on the difficult earthly path, as the Lord warned: “In the world you will have sorrow; but take heart: I have overcome the world ”().

“Satan maliciously tries to grieve many in order to cast them into hell with despair” (St. Ephraim the Syrian). “The spirit of despair brings the most severe torment. Despair is the most perfect joy of the devil” (St. Mark the Ascetic).

“Sin destroys not so much as despair” (St. John Chrysostom). “To sin is a human thing, but to despair is satanic and destructive; and the devil himself was cast down in despair into perdition, for he did not want to repent” (St. Nilus of Sinai).

“The devil plunges us into thoughts of despair for this, in order to destroy the hope in God, this safe anchor, this support of our life, this guide on the path to Heaven, this is the salvation of perishing souls ... The evil one does everything to inspire us with the thought of despair. He will no longer need efforts and labors for our defeat, when the fallen and lying ones themselves do not want to resist him ... and the soul, having once despaired of its salvation, no longer feels how it is striving into the abyss ”(St. John Chrysostom).

Despair leads directly to death. It precedes suicide terrible sin, immediately sending a person to hell - a place remote from God, where there is no light of God, and there is no joy, only darkness and eternal despair. Suicide is the only sin that cannot be forgiven, because the suicide can no longer repent.

“During the free suffering of the Lord, two fell away from the Lord - Judas and Peter: one sold, and the other was rejected three times. Both had the same sin, both seriously sinned, but Peter was saved, and Judas perished. Why were not both saved and not both perished? Some will say that Peter was saved by repentance. But holy gospel says that Judas also repented: “... having repented, he returned thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying: I have sinned, betraying innocent blood” (); however, his repentance is not accepted, but Petrovo is accepted; Peter escaped, but Judas perished. Why so? And because Peter repented with hope and hope in the mercy of God, Judas repented with despair. This abyss is terrible! Without a doubt, it must be filled with hope for the mercy of God” (St. Demetrius of Rostov).

“Judas the traitor, having fallen into despair,“ strangled himself ”(). He knew the power of sin, but did not know the greatness of God's mercy. So many do now and follow Judas. They know the multitude of their sins, but they do not know the multitude of God's bounties, and so they despair of their salvation. Christian! a heavy and final diabolical blow is despair. He presents God as merciful before sin, and after sin as just. Such is his cunning” (St. Tikhon of Zadonsk).

So, tempting a person to sin, Satan inspires him with thoughts: “God is good, He will forgive,” and after sin, he tries to plunge him into despair, suggesting completely different thoughts: “God is just, and He will punish you for what you have done” . The devil inspires a person that he will never be able to get out of the pit of sin, will not be merciful by God, will not be able to receive forgiveness and correct himself.

Despair is the death of hope. If it comes, then only a miracle can save a person from suicide.

How despondency and its generations manifest themselves

Despondency is manifested even in facial expressions and behavior of a person: an expression on the face, which is called so - sad, slumped shoulders, drooping head, lack of interest in the environment and one's condition. There may be a permanent decrease in blood pressure. It is also characterized by lethargy, inertia of the soul. The good mood of others causes bewilderment, irritation and overt or covert protest in a dull person.

St. John Chrysostom said that “the soul, embraced by sadness, cannot speak or listen to anything healthy,” and the Monk Nilus of Sinai testified: “Just as a sick person cannot bear a heavy burden, so a dull one is not able to carefully fulfill God’s deeds; for that one has bodily strength in disorder, but this one has no spiritual strength left.”

According to St. John Cassian, such a state of a person “does not allow one to perform prayers with the usual zeal of the heart, nor to engage in sacred reading with benefit, it does not allow one to be calm and meek with brothers; to all the duties of work or worship makes him impatient and incapable, intoxicates the feeling, crushes and overwhelms with painful despair. Like a moth to a garment and a worm to a tree, so sadness harms the heart of a person.

Further, the holy father lists the manifestations of this sinful painful state: “Discontent, cowardice, irritability, idleness, drowsiness, anxiety, vagrancy, inconstancy of mind and body, talkativeness are born from despondency ... spiritual success; then he will make him fickle, idle, negligent in every business.

These are manifestations of despondency. And despair has even more serious manifestations. A person who is desperate, that is, who has lost hope, often indulges in drug addiction, drunkenness, fornication and many other obvious sins, believing that he is already dead anyway. The extreme manifestation of despair, as already mentioned, is suicide.

Every year, a million people around the world commit suicide. It is terrible to think about this number, which exceeds the population of many countries.

In our country the most big number suicide was in 1995. Compared to this indicator, by 2008 it had decreased by one and a half times, but still Russia remains among the countries with the most high level suicide.

Indeed, more suicides occur in poor and disadvantaged countries than in rich and economically stable ones. This is not surprising, since in the first, people have more reasons to be discouraged. But still, even the richest countries and the richest people are not free from this misfortune. Because under external well-being, the soul of an unbeliever often feels even more acutely the painful emptiness and constant dissatisfaction, as was the case with that successful businessman, whom we mentioned at the beginning of the article.

But he can be saved from the terrible fate that annually overtakes a million people by the special circumstance that he has and which many of those unfortunate people who drive themselves to suicide in despair are deprived of.

From what do despondency and its offspring grow?

Despondency arises from distrust of God, so we can say that it is the fruit of lack of faith.

But what, in turn, is distrust of God and lack of faith? It does not arise by itself, out of nowhere. It is a consequence of the fact that a person trusts himself too much, because he thinks too high of himself. And than more people trusts himself, the less he trusts God. And trusting yourself more than God is the clearest sign of pride.

The first root of despondency is pride

Therefore, in the words of St. Anatoly of Optina, “despair is a product of pride. If you expect everything bad from yourself, you will never despair, but you will only humble yourself and peacefully repent.” “Despair is a denouncer of unbelief and selfishness in the heart: he who believes in himself and trusts in himself will not rise from sin with repentance” (St. Theophan the Recluse).

As soon as something happens in the life of a proud man that exposes his impotence and unfounded confidence in himself, he immediately becomes discouraged and despairs.

And this can happen from a variety of reasons: from offended pride or from what is not being done in our own way; also from vanity, when a person sees that his equals use b about greater advantages than he; or from the embarrassing circumstances of life, as St. Ambrose of Optina testifies to this.

A humble person who believes in God knows that these unpleasant circumstances test and strengthen his faith, just as the muscles of an athlete in training are strengthened; he knows that God is near and that He will not put more trials than he can bear. Such a person, who trusts in God, never loses heart even in difficult circumstances.

The proud man, relying on himself, as soon as he finds himself in difficult circumstances that he himself cannot change, immediately falls into despondency, thinking that if he cannot correct what happened, then no one can correct it; moreover, at the same time, he is sad and annoyed because these circumstances have shown him his own weakness, which the proud cannot endure calmly.

Precisely because despondency and despair are a consequence and, in a certain sense, a demonstration of disbelief in God, one of the saints said: “In a moment of despair, know that it is not the Lord who leaves you, but you the Lord!”

So, pride and lack of faith are some of the main causes of despondency and despair, but still far from the only ones.

St. John of the Ladder speaks of two main types of despair, arising from different causes: “There is despair that comes from a multitude of sins and a burden of conscience and unbearable sorrow, when the soul, due to the multitude of these ulcers, sinks and drowns in the depths of hopelessness from their severity. But there is despair of another kind, which comes from pride and haughtiness, when the fallen think that they did not deserve their fall ... From the first, abstinence and good faith heal; and from the latter - humility and not judging anyone.

The second root of despondency is the dissatisfaction of passions

So, with regard to the second kind of despair, which comes from pride, we have already shown what its mechanism is. And what is meant by the first kind, "proceeding from a multitude of sins"?

This kind of despondency, according to the holy fathers, comes when some passion has not found satisfaction. As St. John Cassian writes, despondency "is born from the dissatisfaction of the desire for some kind of self-interest, when someone sees that he has lost the hope born in the mind to receive some things."

For example, a glutton suffering peptic ulcer or diabetes, will be discouraged because he cannot enjoy the desired amount of food or the variety of its taste; a stingy person - because he cannot avoid spending money, and so on. Despondency is accompanied by almost any unsatisfied sinful desires, if a person does not refuse them for one reason or another.

Therefore, St. Nilus of Sinai says: “He who is bound by sorrow is overcome by passions, because sorrow is the result of failure in carnal desire, and desire is associated with every passion. He who conquered passions does not possess sadness. Just as a sick person is seen by the complexion, so sadness reveals the passionate. Whoever loves the world will grieve a lot. And whoever neglects what is in the world will always be glad.”

As despondency grows in a person, specific desires lose their significance, and there remains a state of mind that seeks precisely those desires that cannot be fulfilled - already to feed the despondency itself.

Then, according to the testimony of the Monk John Cassian, “we are subjected to such grief that we cannot receive even kind faces and our relatives with usual friendliness, and whatever they say in a decent conversation, everything seems to us untimely and superfluous, and we do not give a pleasant answer to them, when all the curves of our hearts are filled with bile bitterness.

Therefore, despondency is like a swamp: the longer a person plunges into it, the harder it is for him to get out of it.

Other roots of sadness

The causes that excite despondency in unbelievers and in people of little faith have been described above. However, despondency attacks, albeit less successfully, believers. But for other reasons. St. Innokenty of Kherson writes in detail about these reasons:

“There are many sources of despondency – both external and internal.

First, in the souls of the pure and close to perfection, despondency can come from leaving them for a while by the grace of God. The state of grace is the most blessed. But lest he who is in this state imagine that it comes from his own perfections, grace sometimes withdraws, leaving his favorite to himself. Then the same thing happens to the holy soul, as if midnight had come in the middle of the day: darkness, coldness, deadness, and at the same time despondency appear in the soul.

Secondly, despondency, as people experienced in the spiritual life testify, comes from the action of the spirit of darkness. Unable to deceive the soul on the way to heaven with the blessings and pleasures of the world, the enemy of salvation turns to an opposite means and brings despondency to it. In such a state, the soul is like a traveler, suddenly caught in darkness and fog: it sees neither what is ahead nor what is behind; doesn't know what to do; loses courage, falls into indecision.

The third source of despondency is our fallen, impure, weakened nature, dead from sin. As long as we act out of self-love, filled with the spirit of the world and passions, until then this nature in us is cheerful and alive. But change the direction of life, go from the wide path of the world to the narrow path of Christian self-denial, set about repentance and self-correction—an emptiness will immediately open inside of you, spiritual impotence will be revealed, heart deadness will be felt. As long as the soul does not have time to be filled with a new spirit of love for God and neighbor, until then the spirit of despondency, to a greater or lesser extent, is inevitable for it. This kind of despondency is most experienced by sinners after their conversion.

The fourth, the usual source of spiritual despondency, is a lack, much less a cessation of activity. Having ceased to use its strengths and abilities, the soul loses its liveliness and vigor, becomes lethargic; the former occupations themselves oppose her: discontent and boredom appear.

Despondency can also occur from various sad events in life, such as: the death of relatives and loved ones, loss of honor, property and other unfortunate adventures. All this, according to the law of our nature, is accompanied by unpleasantness and sorrow for us; but, according to the law of nature itself, this sadness should decrease with time and disappear when a person does not indulge in sadness. Otherwise, a spirit of despondency is formed.

Despondency can also occur from certain thoughts, especially gloomy and heavy ones, when the soul indulges too much in such a thought and looks at objects not in the light of faith and the Gospel. So, for example, a person can easily fall into despondency from frequent reflection on the iniquity that prevails in the world, about how the righteous here mourn and suffer, while the wicked are exalted and blissful.

Finally, the source of spiritual despondency can be various painful conditions body, especially some of its members."

How to deal with despondency and its creations

Great Russian saint Reverend Seraphim Sarovsky said: “You need to remove despondency from yourself and try to have a joyful spirit, and not a sad one. According to Sirach, “sorrow has killed many, but there is no benefit in it ()””.

But how exactly can you remove despondency from yourself?

Let us recall the unfortunate young businessman mentioned at the beginning of the article, who for many years can do nothing with the despondency that gripped him. He was convinced from his own experience of the truth of the words of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov): “Earthly entertainments only drown out sorrow, but do not exterminate it: they fell silent, and again sorrow, rested and, as it were, strengthened by rest, begins to act with greater force.”

Now it's time to tell in more detail about that special circumstance in the life of this businessman, which we mentioned earlier.

His wife is a deeply religious person, and she is free from that gloomy, impenetrable longing that shrouded her husband's life. He knows that she is a believer, that she goes to church and reads Orthodox books, as well as that she does not have "depression". But for all the years that they have been together, it has never occurred to him to connect these facts together and try to go to the temple himself, read the Gospel ... He still regularly visits a psychologist, receiving short-term relief, but not healing.

How many people are exhausted by this mental illness, not wanting to believe that healing is just around the corner. And this businessman, unfortunately, is one of them. We would like to write that one fine day he became interested in faith, which gives his wife the strength not to succumb to despondency and keep the pure joy of life. But, alas, so far this has not happened. And until then, he will remain among those unfortunates, about whom St. Demetrius of Rostov said: “There is no sorrow for the righteous that would not turn into joy, just as there is no joy for sinners that would not turn into sorrow.”

But if suddenly this businessman turned to the treasury of the Orthodox faith, what would he find out about his condition and what methods of healing would he receive?

He would have learned, among other things, that there is a spiritual reality in the world and that spiritual beings are active: the good ones are angels and the evil ones are demons. The latter, in their malice, seek to inflict as much as possible more harm soul of man, turning him away from God and from the path to salvation. These are enemies seeking to kill a person both spiritually and bodily. For their purposes, they use different ways, among them the most common is the suggestion to people of certain thoughts and feelings. Including thoughts of despondency and despair.

The trick is that demons try to convince a person that these are his own thoughts. A person who does not believe or has little faith is completely unprepared for such a temptation and does not know how to relate to such thoughts, he really takes them for his own. And, following them, he comes closer and closer to death - in the same way, a traveler in the desert, mistaking a mirage for a true vision, begins to chase after him and goes further and further into the depths of a lifeless desert.

A believer and spiritually experienced person knows about the existence of the enemy and about his tricks, knows how to recognize his thoughts and cut them off, thereby successfully opposing demons and defeating them.

A despondent person is not one who experiences thoughts of despondency at times, but one who is defeated by them and does not fight. And vice versa, it is not the one who has never experienced such thoughts that is free from despondency - there are no such people on earth, but the one who fights with them and defeats them.

St. John Chrysostom said: “Excessive despondency is more harmful than any demonic action, because demons, if they rule in someone, then rule through despondency.”

But if a person was deeply struck by the spirit of despondency, if the demons received such power in him, then it means that the person himself did something that gave them such power over him.

It has already been said above that one of the reasons for despondency among unbelievers is the lack of faith in God and, accordingly, the lack of a living connection with Him, the source of all joy and good. But the lack of faith is rarely something innate for a person.

Faith in a person is killed by unrepentant sin. If a person sins and does not want to repent and renounce sin, then sooner or later he inevitably loses faith.

Conversely, faith is resurrected in sincere repentance and confession of sins.

Unbelievers themselves deprive themselves of the two most effective ways fight depression - repentance and prayer. “The destruction of despondency is served by prayer and unceasing meditation on God,” writes the monk.

It is worth giving a list of the main means of combating despondency that a Christian has at his disposal. Saint Innocent of Kherson speaks of them:

“Whatever causes despondency, prayer is always the first and last remedy against it. In prayer, a person stands directly in the face of God: but if, standing against the sun, it is impossible not to be illumined with light and not to feel warmth, all the more so, spiritual light and warmth are the immediate consequences of prayer. In addition, prayer attracts grace and help from above, from the Holy Spirit, and where the Spirit is the Comforter, there is no place for despondency, there sorrow itself will be sweet.

Reading or listening to the word of God, especially the New Testament, is also strong remedy against sadness. It was not in vain that the Savior called to Himself all those who labor and are burdened, promising them peace and joy. He did not take this joy with Him to heaven, but left it entirely in the Gospel for all those who grieve and are despondent in spirit. Whoever is imbued with the spirit of the Gospel ceases to grieve without joy: for the spirit of the Gospel is the spirit of peace, comfort and joy.

Divine services, and especially the holy sacraments of the Church, are also great medicine against the spirit of despondency, for in the church, as the house of God, there is no place for it; the sacraments are all directed against the spirit of darkness and the weaknesses of our nature, especially the sacrament of confession and communion. Laying off the burden of sins through confession, the soul feels lightness and vigor, and receiving the body and blood of the Lord in the Eucharist, it feels revival and joy.

Conversations with people rich in Christian spirit are also a remedy for despondency. In conversation, we generally emerge more or less from the gloomy inner depths into which the soul plunges from despondency; besides this, through the exchange of thoughts and feelings in the conversation, we will borrow from those who are talking to us a certain strength and vitality, which is so necessary in a state of despondency.

Reflection on comforting objects. For thought in a dull state either does not act at all, or circles around sad things. To get rid of despondency, one must force oneself to think otherwise.

Occupation of oneself with bodily labor also drives away despondency. Let him begin to work, even reluctantly; let him continue the work, although without success: from the movement the body comes to life, and then the spirit, and cheerfulness is felt; Thought in the midst of labor will inconspicuously turn away from objects that bring melancholy, and this already means a lot in a state of despondency.

Prayer

Why prayer is the most effective tool against sadness? For many reasons.

First, when we pray during despondency, we thereby fight against the demon that is trying to plunge us into this despondency. He does this so that we despair and move away from God, this is his plan; when we turn to God in prayer, we destroy the enemy’s tricks, showing that we did not fall into his trap, did not surrender to him, but, on the contrary, we use his intrigues as an excuse to strengthen the connection with God that the demon tried to break .

Secondly, since despondency in most cases is a consequence of our pride, prayer helps to heal from this passion, that is, it pulls out the very root of despondency from the earth. After all, every humble prayer asking God for help - even such a short one as “Lord, have mercy!” - means that we recognize our weakness and limitations and begin to trust God more than ourselves. Therefore, each such prayer, even uttered through force, is a blow to pride, similar to the blow of a huge weight that crushes the walls of dilapidated houses.

And finally, thirdly, and most importantly: prayer helps because it is an appeal to God, Who alone can really help in any, even the most hopeless situation; the only one who is strong enough to give true consolation and joy and freedom from despondency.

“In sorrows and temptations, the Lord helps us. He does not free us from them, but gives us the strength to endure them easily, not even noticing them. If we are with Christ and in Christ, then no sorrow will confuse us, and joy will fill our hearts so that we will rejoice both during sorrows and during temptations” (St. Nikon of Optina).

Some advise praying to the guardian angel, who is always invisibly next to us, ready to support us. Others advise reading the Akathist to the Sweetest Jesus. There is also advice to read the prayer “Virgin Mary, rejoice” many times in a row, with the hope that the Lord is certainly for the sake of prayers Mother of God give peace to our soul.

But special attention deserves the advice of St. Ignatius (Bryanchaninov), who recommended during times of despondency to repeat such words and prayers as often as possible.

"Thank God for everything".

"God! I surrender to Your Holy Will! Be with me Thy Will."

"God! I thank You for everything You are pleased to send to me.”

“I accept what is worthy according to my deeds; remember me, Lord, in your kingdom."

The Holy Fathers noted that it is especially difficult for a person to pray in despondency. Therefore, perform immediately big prayer rules not everyone can, but pronounce those short prayers that St. Ignatius pointed out, everyone can, it's not difficult.

As for the unwillingness to pray in despondency and despair, we must understand that this is not our feeling, but a demon instilled in us specifically for the purpose of depriving us of the weapon with which we can defeat him.

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk speaks of this unwillingness to pray in despondency: “I advise you the following: convince yourself and force yourself to prayer and to any good deed although you don't want to. Just as people drive a lazy horse with a whip so that it walks or runs, so we need to force ourselves to do everything, and especially to prayer. Seeing such work and diligence, the Lord will give desire and diligence.

Of the four phrases proposed by St. Ignatius, two are phrases of gratitude. About why they are given, he himself explains: when such thoughts come, thanksgiving is pronounced in simple words, with attention and often - until peace is brought to the heart. There is no sense in mournful thoughts: they do not relieve grief, they do not bring any help, they only upset the soul and body. This means that they are from demons and it is necessary to drive them away from oneself ... Thanksgiving first calms the heart, then brings consolation to it, and subsequently brings heavenly joy - a guarantee, a foretaste of eternal joy.

During despair, demons inspire a person with the idea that there is no salvation for him and his sins cannot be forgiven. This is the greatest demonic lie!

“Let no one say: “I have sinned a lot, there is no forgiveness for me.” Whoever says this forgets about the One Who came to earth for the sake of the suffering and said: “... there is joy among the angels of God and about one sinner who repents” () and also: “I came to call not the righteous, but sinners to repentance” () " - teaches St. Ephraim the Syrian. As long as a person is alive, it is really possible for him to repent and receive forgiveness of sins, no matter how serious they may be, and, having received forgiveness, transform his life, fill it with joy and light. And demons are trying to deprive a person of this very opportunity, instilling in him thoughts of despair and suicide, because after death it is already impossible to repent.

So “none of the people, even having reached the extreme degree of evil, should not despair, even if he has acquired the skill and entered into the nature of evil itself” (St. John Chrysostom).

St. Tikhon of Zadonsk explains that being tested by despondency and despair makes a Christian more cautious and experienced in spiritual life. And "the longer" such a temptation continues, "the more benefit it will bring to the soul."

The Orthodox Christian knows that the more severe the sorrow of all other temptations, the greater the reward will be received by those who endure sorrow with patience. And in the fight against despondency, the greatest crown is bestowed. Therefore, “let us not lose heart when afflictions and sorrows befall us, but, on the contrary, we will become more glad that we are walking the path of the saints,” advises St. Ephraim the Syrian.

God is always near each of us, and He does not allow demons to afflict a person with despondency as much as they would like. He gave us freedom, and He also makes sure that no one takes this gift from us. So at any moment a person can turn to God for help and repent.

If a person does not do this, this is his choice, the demons themselves are not able to force him to do so.

In conclusion, I would like to quote a prayer composed by St. Demetrius of Rostov just for people suffering from despondency:

God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Father of bounty and God of all comfort, comforting us in all our sorrow! Comfort every one who is grieving, saddened, in despair, overwhelmed by the spirit of despondency. After all, every person was created by Your hands, wise in wisdom, exalted by Your right hand, glorified by Your goodness ... But now we are visited by Your Fatherly punishment, short-term sorrows! “You compassionately punish those you love, and you show mercy generously and look down on their tears!” So, having punished, have mercy and quench our sorrow; turn sorrow into joy and dissolve our sorrow with joy; surprise us with Thy mercy, wonderful in the advice of the Lord, incomprehensible in the destinies of the Lord and blessed in Thy deeds forever, amen.

Vasily Lvov

Despondency is a state of mind and physical parameters relating to the asthenic pole of human self-awareness, which is characterized by the presence of an apathetic mood, depression. Complete despondency is characterized by an unwillingness to do anything and a lack of any interest in one's own position and life, accompanied by a strong decline in strength, and is a concomitant moment depressive disorder affective sphere.

Being close in its meaning and feeling of grief, longing, melancholy, despondency is not their synonym and reflects a greater indifference to what is happening. When grieving, a person feels pain and loss, the importance of who (or what) he is mourning, with melancholy emotional sphere sadness captures, while in despondency practically nothing touches the human soul. Such an apathetic and insensible state can lead to the development of psycho-neurological spectrum diseases, cause suicidal thoughts and attempts, in the hope of ending a meaningless existence, or in the hope of feeling something. Despondency is hard to experience also because a person does not forget how he perceived the world before, i.e. he remembers his joy and delight, pain and sadness, how his eyes burned and how the world played with colors, and now he sees only dullness, and feels only emptiness.

What is despondency

The loss of a sense of time is characteristic of this state, when there are no prospects for the future and the emotional moments of the past are gradually overwritten, each becomes insanely similar to the previous one - among such monotony, not only any hope or passion is lost, but also a person’s ideas about himself.

A special place for the state of despondency is allocated in religion, where it is even ranked among the mortal sins. It should be noted separately that the state of despondency characterizes not only an individual, but can be used in relation to a certain social group or the whole state (this state is caused by the lack of competent leadership, distant and ambitious goals in the future, as well as the presence of leaders who do not have bright charisma and intrapersonal strength).

Getting discouraged, a person chooses how to deal with it on his own - someone converts, someone goes to psychologists, and someone independently pulls himself out of the destructive swamp of indifference, literally by the hair. But the way out similar condition not always provided, some are in it for years or so and end their life path, being in despondency.

Sheer despondency occurs if you ignore the causes of occurrence and leave attempts to get out of dullness, but how to start to get out depends on what reasons the condition was caused by.

Despondency is a rather dangerous state of decline, in which not only mental sphere, but may appear pain at the somatic level. decreases, the importance of the surrounding world, relationships and processes tends to zero, sleep disturbances are observed, passivity increases, the desire for loneliness increases, it becomes theoretically permissible, and sometimes practically desirable, as a way to stop the gray swamp red tape, just like psychostimulants and hallucinogens, designed at least somehow diversify life and shake the sensual sphere. Such symptoms manifest themselves in people in a state of sadness, acute grief and sadness, but if its duration goes beyond a week, and the degree of manifestation of these aspects increases, then you need to go to friends or a specialist.

If you observe a similar condition in your loved ones, and they refuse to admit that there are problems, refuse to change anything, then we can talk about the need for therapeutic intervention - go to a consultation with a psychiatrist or psychotherapist who has a medical license so that they can suggest how to prevent the progression of despondency may need hospitalization. Like any emotional condition, various degrees its severity is despondency, how to deal with them depends on the duration and reasons that favor the development of an apathetic state.

The most serious are majestic circumstances of ultimate force that are not under human control (wars, disasters, natural disasters, illness and death of groups of people and individual members). Such circumstances greatly undermine the habitual supports of a person, unsettle and serve as a development for many negative emotional experiences, but it is worth noting that, being the most destructive for the human psyche, they are the least common as triggers for despondency.

Much more often, the cause of this condition is significant relationships and the negative aspects that occur in them - divorces and insults, resentment, inattention and other destructive aspects of human relations. They are the ones who are part of significant relationships, most often manifested, in contrast to fires and wars. Expecting care and gratitude from close people constantly confronts a person with a discrepancy with reality (this is normal, since we all show both advantages and disadvantages), the question remains how a person copes with such incidents, how much he accepts the weaknesses of others and allows life to flow in its turn.

And if in some cases the influence of people around really objectively affects a person, then a change in relationships or social circle can improve the emotional background, the situation is much more complicated if people have nothing to do with it and are only objects of the sufferer's internal projections. You can drive yourself into despondency with your own hands under physiological conditions (illness, physical exhaustion, prolonged lack of sleep), as well as with a certain psychological warehouse, based on an inadequate perception of the outside world. The perception of the world shifts when passing through age lines and crises, when the former life and social roles change (marriage, relocation, new position) and the inability of a person to quickly adapt to changed conditions.

With increased demands and expectations from others, the expectant suffers as a result, noticing the uselessness and futility of getting what he wants from the outside world, instead of reorienting himself to achieve it on his own. In principle, the frustration of any significant needs leads either to a jump in achievement motivation, or to resentment, internal closeness and despondency in order to experience disappointment. This is the mechanism that saves the psyche from colliding with the experience that this moment exceeds its resources, but be in constant despondency may become more dangerous and lead to chronic condition desensitization.

How to get rid of sadness

Despondency can be compared to an extinguished inner fire, when a person not only does not see where to move, but also does not understand why to seek this path. Passion for some idea or activity will help to get out of this state, but you should not demand from yourself a keen interest in everything that happens - it is unlikely to jump out instantly. You should give time during which you can simply look at different directions and genres, you can come to the sections and be an immovable dumb spectator, you can walk the streets looking for something that can emotionally hook you. The presence in the environment of people full of excitement and hope, aspirations and positive views, whose energy is able to move mountains has a positive effect on getting rid of despondency.

The human psyche is arranged with the help of mirror neurons, and moods and attitudes towards life are transmitted through direct contact with a person. This statement is true for any states and emotions, so even if you are a desperate merry fellow, surrounding yourself with depressive whiners, you risk losing your fuse very quickly. Keep track of who you communicate with and what activity is happening around you. If you are discouraged, then consciously, controlling the process (after all, interest, as a leading system is temporarily disabled), choose everything as opposed to discouragement as possible.

It is believed that the opposite of despondency is fun, but this is a rather rough and superficial view, since it reflects only one aspect of the concept. Looking deeper, the opposite of discouragement is inspiration or creativity. While despondency is emptiness, grayness, disinterest and inaction, inspiration includes creation, fullness, active activity, if not physical, then spiritual. It is the loss of connection with one’s creative component that causes the loss of the taste of life, and accordingly, it is necessary to overcome the disease by returning creativity to your life. There is no need to paint pictures if you have never done it, but you can remember your love for baking and come up with new recipe or make repairs from improvised materials - the whole surrounding space is a blank slate for flight, you need to try to find your abilities and desires.

Look for the causes of your condition and eliminate them, and do not endlessly struggle with the consequences. If you are oppressed by the monotony and dullness of your work, then you can cheer yourself up as much as you like, but as long as the activity remains the same, the result will be disappointing. In this option, you should either change the activity or add exciting elements to it. Absence visible results leads to despondency with the same probability as complete well-being, only the wording differs - there is no point in striving, because everything is useless or because everything is already there. Shaking, leaving the comfort zone, arranging authorial austerities for oneself allows one to feel first a lack, and then desires that give rise to aspirations and a thirst for activity, sweep indifference from the main parameter of reality.

Do not be afraid to change your life, especially if you don’t care anyway, then in worst case you will remain in the same state. Go to unfamiliar cities, increase your social circle, load yourself new job or a hobby - it is not necessary that you will like a new city, but new acquaintances will delight you. Possibly from active life changes there will be a feeling of limited people (and this will give rise to the idea of ​​​​opening your own development courses), perhaps new cities will be horrified by their dirt and devastation (and you will think about a volunteer movement to correct the situation). All the emotions gained during the new experience will be useful in order to jump out of despondency, and it will be love and admiration for the world or indignation and anger at the existing order of things - it is not so important.

Take care of the physical support of your body, because despondency shifts the work of hormone production and somatic sensation - make up for the lack of endorphins with all possible ways. The best option are physical exercise(choose jogging as you wish, gym, fitness training, swimming pool), bananas and chocolate (direct suppliers of the hormone of happiness to the body), touch and intimacy (with tactile sensations and orgasm is produced great amount essential substances, normalizing the work hormonal system). Replenish the supply of essential vitamins (nibble vegetables and fruits, drink them in capsules or pops - the main thing is that all trace elements are contained in the required amount), walk more often, saturate the body with vitamin D, which is one of the main helpers in the fight against.

Narcotic substances and alcohol are depressants, so their use in a state of despondency will drive you into a dead corner, the way out of which will lie exclusively through a neuropsychiatric dispensary. If you feel the need to stimulate emotional processes, then for now it is better to sign up for a training with the application or be like individual psychotherapy.

Do not stop setting yourself goals, let them be small things for every day - training, meeting a new person, choosing a hairstyle. Firstly, the awareness of the fulfillment of goals helps to overcome the feeling of one’s own worthlessness, secondly, it gives the direction of movement, and thirdly, it facilitates the very process of getting out of despondency, because it’s still easier to follow a written plan that you can draw up as you read this text. Otherwise, in the absence of motivation (namely, this is bright for such a state), it will nullify all the invented strategies for overcoming despondency.

Despondency and sadness - how to deal with it

Despondency, like sadness, significantly changes a person's life and is familiar to almost every adult. The world that requires being in a constant manic state, heroically overcoming problems and sorrows, further strengthens such feelings by conserving them. Fully lived pain leaves life, making room for other, more sunny experiences, and if you pretend that everything is in order, closing negative feeling into a dark closet (from oneself or from society), then it will destroy the personality from the inside, taking strength and poisoning existence, but not retreating completely until it is released and lived.

The state of sadness does not bring anything good, and in its long course it can break a person, so many seek to deal with it quickly and radically, looking for the necessary pills. The problem is that medicines will help to establish neural connections, metabolism, work nervous system and normalize hormonal background, but they will not help to change the worldview and ways of responding.

In most cases, a person himself provokes the development of sadness and despondency, choosing this path out of habit. Remember how wary society is about joy, but tragedy and Bad mood always have the right to exist. The habit of perceiving changes as a problem and the need to return everything to its former place with incredible efforts does not justify the costs and spoils the mood, closing the opportunity to see behind the changes not a tragedy, but the possibility of new achievements and positive undertakings. It is worth starting to track your automatic thoughts, brought in by external reactions, subjecting them to serious criticism and a forced search for positive moments. Take a break before blaming yourself for awkwardness or narrow-mindedness, explaining the bad attitude of others with your ugliness, and not their lack of culture. Such critical thoughts are often not related to reality, but reflect an opinion (usually caused severe injury) from previous life situations.

Reinforce your resource states and watch for internal automatisms. Avoid the reasons that lead you to a sad state, and if you are already discouraged, then try to choose a clear course and follow it without remaining motionless.

, is a mournful, cramped state of the human heart, due to the influence of various adverse factors on it.

Synonyms of this word: despair, boredom, sadness, sadness, grief, melancholy, spleen.

In Orthodoxy, despondency is considered the 8th deadly sin.

Mortals sins directly destroy the human soul, and as a result, the body. Despondency is otherwise called evil debauchery. Under the influence of this passion, a person becomes lazy and cannot force himself to any saving work. Nothing pleases and comforts a person, he does not believe in anything and does not hope for anything. It is often said that " sad spirit dries out the bones.

Despondency is like a sin does not come from our Creator, but, like other similar negative ones, originates from the underworld.

feeling despondency almost all people are affected, but obsessed with it spirit become, basically, those who are prone to feeling sorry for themselves, increased vulnerability, resentment, self-condemnation, constant indulgence on themselves, overestimated self-esteem. It is difficult to communicate with such people. They see in everything an excuse from other people, as if to offend more strongly, to reproach, to belittle. Sinfulness at whining puts its stamp on the face of such a person, a kind of cliché that forms his spiritual world with all the ensuing consequences. What are the thoughts in the heart of a man, such is he.

The Bible often refers to the heart spirit person.

Carefully examining Holy Bible, we can see that spirit Man consists of three components: conscience, intuition, the ability to perceive the voice of God.

The soul also has three components: mind, feelings, will.

In other words, a person is spirit containing the soul, and placed in the body.

Despondency, as one of the varieties sin, penetrates into the soul, takes root there, then spreads, like a viral infection, beyond its limits and strikes spirit a person, which has an extremely negative impact on his spiritual and physical health.

Proverbs 17:22 "A merry heart does good, like medicine, but sad spirit dries the bones."

As is known, bones man contain bone the brain in which blood cells mature and immune system essential for the proper functioning of the whole organism. The lack of this substance leads to serious diseases. Watch carefully for a person who lives permanently in despondency, sadness, sadness, depression. His gait, speech, gestures, complexion, look, manner of communication will tell a lot about him.

External signs of a sad spirit

• Apathy
• Insomnia or increased sleepiness
• Lack of appetite or vice versa - overeating
• bowel dysfunction increased fatigue
• decreased sexual desires

Proverbs 15:13 A merry heart makes the face merry; grieve spirit discouraged.

Recently, doctors have increasingly come to the conclusion about the direct influence of the spiritual and mental state of a person on his physical health.

How to save yourself from the spirit of despondency?

Ps.41:6 "Why are you discouraged, my soul, and why are you embarrassed? Trust in God, for I will still praise Him, my Savior and my God."

The psalmist addresses a question to his soul. He does not hide from the problem, does not close his eyes to it, but aloud raises the question to the soul: "why are you discouraged and why are you embarrassed?"

This implies:

1 A mental problem cannot be ignored. It must not be allowed to spread into our spirit. She needs to look into her eyes, deal with her: where the wind blows from, what are the reasons for its occurrence.

2 To command your soul, that is, to make a strong-willed decision, to place your hope in your Creator, who has a way out of any situation for a person. But that's not all. You must also make a decision, no matter what state you are in, immediately begin to praise God and your Savior. Believe me, the darkness in your soul will instantly dissipate, and in the light of His love, a way out of any impasse will open for you. Don't let the spirit of discouragement dominate you.

Gal.6:9 Doing good, let us not lose heart, for in due time we will reap, if we do not faint.

In his epistle to the Galatians, the Apostle Paul, inspired by God, commands to do good to the people around him, first of all to his own by faith, and, moreover, not to lose heart. Why? Yes, because sin of despondency can bring to naught all the efforts of a person in his good deed and not bear fruit. We can weaken if we allow the spirit of despondency dominate us. One must always control one's thoughts, investigate them, where do they come from, who is their master?

James 1:17 "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, from the Father of lights..."

From this passage of Scripture we see that everything that is best, everything that is perfect, everything that is good comes to a person from God. This is for us as a guideline for filtering our thoughts. Everything that is not from God, and this is sorrow, tightness, torment, despondency, and so on, must be given to the Heavenly Father in prayer for spiritual support. It is very good if believers approved in God pray for you.

Here is a sample prayer for deliverance from the spirit of discouragement.

Lord, I come to You in the name of Jesus Christ. You see my heart. It's captivated spirit of despondency. I confess to You that I have sinned when I allowed this unclean spirit into your heart. I can't, God, get rid of him myself. Cleanse me, God. Sanctify with Your Spirit. In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I command you spirit of despondency, leave me, go away. I am a child of God and you have no part in me. The Lord Jesus paid for me with His blood shed at Calvary. I am redeemed from slavery to sin and free. In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Saying this prayer from pure heart, believe that God has heard you and the solution to your problem is already there. Start acting by faith: regardless of the situation in your life, trust completely in God, glorify Him, read the Bible, do good to people. Find yourself some ministry at the local church you attend. And you will see: freedom will come into your life like a dawn, and joy, like the morning rays of the sun, will warm you, and all your former problems will melt like steam, like thick fog. May God bless you and give you peace. Amen.

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Hello dear readers of my blog! Today I decided to structure and collect the top methods that will help in such a matter as defeating depression, despondency and melancholy. Although sometimes these states turn out to be resourceful and useful for us, at least for development and gaining experience, but if their life is delayed, measures must be taken, otherwise they can destroy relationships with other people, health, career and life in general.

About feelings

I already talked about depression in the article, but despondency and longing are felt physically, in the form of heaviness on the face, chest, heart, and generally throughout the body. A person, living through them, is more relaxed, his mental and somatic processes slow down, and in general, the pace of life becomes very slow.

Blues performs useful feature, because it makes it possible to pause and look back to realize what is happening to me, where I am now, to reconsider my values ​​and, in general, to take a different look at the situation, because sometimes in a hurry we do not have time to notice ourselves and others, track our feelings and needs . But there is also back side when a person begins to enjoy this relaxed and viscous state.

And if there is a tendency to pessimism, then the risk of falling into a vicious circle negative thinking only increases. And a gloomy worldview becomes his constant companion, intensifying depression. Therefore, let's look at the options with which it is possible to improve your life and get rid of the inner emptiness.

Top 15 Best Methods

1.Responsibility

Take responsibility into your own hands and say to yourself: “I have only one life, and it depends only on me what I will turn it into and how I will live it!”. No need to rely on other circumstances and people, understand that no matter what fate is predetermined, at any moment we can change it. After all, if a person decides that he is unlucky and his life is meaningless, no one and nothing can help him. Our attention is selective, and then any opportunities and chances will simply not be noticed, and the emphasis will be only on failures. Your life depends only on you! For example, see my article , and you will see that these heroes were at their most different situations, sometimes in those when there was no way out, and still managed to pull themselves together, did not give up and achieved world recognition.

2. Testing

In our life, something does not happen just like that, tests are given so that we develop. So analyze and fantasize about why this happened to you? Despondency and melancholy do not arise just like that, but as a result of any events or unjustified expectations.

3.Planning and control

To return to life, it is important to understand that someone is waiting for you somewhere, that there are planned things and the need to leave the house. The best medicine for depression and the like emotional disorders and shocks - this is work, as soon as a person falls out of the rhythm of life, when you don’t have to go anywhere, when you don’t know what to do and who needs it in general, and there is only a desire for the day to end as soon as possible - it will be very difficult to get out. Therefore, plan your every day so that it does not look like another, turning into an ordinary routine existence.

4. Nutrition

16. Learn to forgive

This is very important quality, to forgive people, insults, betrayal, some life situations, etc. And how to do this, you can read in this manual.

Conclusion

That's all, dear readers! Remember that the quality of your life depends only on you. Find the strength in yourself to look back and notice all its diversity, and then no melancholy and despondency will prevent you from enjoying it. Don't forget to subscribe to blog updates. Bye Bye.