• We must not seek to know God, or anything else from or about God. We must rather humble ourselves. God will then come to us and give us that which we desire. If you don’t humbly acknowledge your spiritual poverty, you won’t be able to ask God to give you the treasures of His grace. But through humility and prayer, God pours out the riches of His knowledge, granting us communion in His life. But rather than being filled with knowledge of God, we normally live with a void at the center of our existence. There is a hole in our heart, into which crawl all the cares and worries of life. We work ourselves to exhaustion in pursuit of success and happiness. We struggle to improve our position in society, to attend the right schools, and move in the right kind of circles. But the void within us is always on the increase. Nothing in the world can fill it, because it can only be filled with God. But we mustn’t despair, because despair itself is a sign of pride, and thus will take us even further away from the humble God. Avoid that road. Resist temptation, struggle, take up your cross, and God will come and find you, wherever you are.

    —Elder Aimilanos of Simonopetra

  • Amma Theodora said: A certain monk, afflicted by many sorrows, said to himself, “Leave this place.” With these words he began to put his sandals on his feet, and suddenly he saw the devil in the form of a man sitting in the corner of his cell. The devil was also putting on his sandals. He said to the monk, “Are you leaving here because of me? Well then, wherever you go, I will be there before you.”

    —St. Ignatius Brianchaninov

  • “My melancholy is the most faithful mistress I have known; what wonder, then, that I love her in return.”

    —Søren Kierkegaard

  • An entire entertainment and travel industry is occupied today with just this: to lighten the burden of despondency for our poor contemporaries, or rather, to prevent them even from realizing that they are afflicted with this evil.  There must be no standing still, no emptiness!  “Grief shared is grief halved,” and the beneficial effects of a trip, of a “change of scene,” are they not known from of old?  But the evil is not remedied by this, only postponed.  The beautiful illusion vanishes and despondency returns and requires yet stronger doses.

    The yearning so characteristic of despondency for diverse amusements in general, and especially for human companionship, can become almost overwhelming.

    Despondency
    Gabriel Bunge

  • To despond is also most foolish, for by the help of God’s grace the Christian can always change for the better if he wishes.

    —St. John of Kronstadt, My Life in Christ

  • Your depression mixed with dread is somehow unclear. What is wrong with you? You have everything in order, both at home and in your soul. You will overcome it; what should you do?! Pray to God and entrust your fate and that of everyone close to you to Him. This is the most reliable way to peace! You should have but one concern – to not do anything that would anger God. You will have firm hope and lasting peace from this.

    —St Theophan the Recluse

  • There are people who never turn to God and never pray. Suddenly their soul experiences melancholy, their spirit worry and their heart sorrow. Then they realize that in such unhappiness no-one can help them.

    This is why they turn to God and say with a deep sigh: ‘Lord, have mercy upon me’ And the Lord hears them, although at first they only just sense divine Grace.

    Later they experience it much more and feel relief.

    —Venerable Nectarios of Optina

  • We have seen that creative people are used to solitude, and we have explored some of the reasons for this. Instead of seeking friends in whom to confide, or counsellors to whom to tell their troubles, they use their gifts to come to terms with, and to make sense of, their sufferings. Once a work is completed, it can be shared with others; but the initial response to depression is to turn inward rather than outward.

    Solitude, a Return to the Self
    Anthony Storr

  • Encouraging the depressed person to do something is a hazardous enterprise. It requires a delicate balance between being sympathetic and being robust. Too much sympathy may reinforce the depressed person’s belief in his helplessness and hopelessness. Too much active encouragement makes the depressed person feel that no one understands the depths of his despair.

    Solitude, a Return to the Self
    Anthony Storr

  • Refrain from busying yourself, therefore, with charity bazaars, sewing meetings, and other such occupations.  Busyness over many things is, in all its form, chiefly a poison.  Look within, examine yourself accurately, and you observe that many of these apparently self-giving deeds spring from a need to deafen your conscience: that is, from your uncontrollable habit of satisfying and pleasure yourself.

    Way of the Ascetics: The Ancient Tradition of Discipline and Inner Growth
    Tito Colliander