Depression is one of
the
most wide-spread problems of our time.
Nowadays when we suffer depression,
we usually seek a chemical explanation and
use drugs to 'cure' it.
But such methods may merely mask the
deepest form of depression.
While we must certainly
acknowledge
the physical and bio-chemical causes of some
depression,
the success of anti-depressant drugs should
not lull us
into thinking we have solved the whole
problem.
This exploration of our
inner spaces will contrast two forms of depression:
psychological or situational depression
and existential or spiritual
depression.
Psychological depression is always linked
with specific life-situations:
We get depressed when our jobs are boring,
when we suffer financial reversals,
when our children disappoint us, when our
marriages become unhappy,
when we have problems with our friends and
associates,
when love lets us down, when nobody seems
to care about us, etc.
But the other kind of
depression
cannot be directly traced to a cause.
We are quietly haunted by a vague sense or
dark mood.
Thru the hollow depths of our being sounds
a low, moaning tone,
which breaks into consciousness when our
daily preoccupations fall away.
Attempting to understand this deeper
depression
will be the main thrust of this presentation
and discussion.
OUTLINE:
I. TWO KINDS OF DEPRESSION
A. Psychological
Depression—From
Disappointments and Failures.
B. Existential
Depression—Uncaused,
Irrational, Pervasive.
C. Differentiating
Psychological
and Existential Depression.
II. THE DYNAMICS OF EXISTENTIAL DEPRESSION
A. The Collapse of
Comforting
Life-Illusions.
B. Capturing Existential
Depression in Descriptive Words.
C. Boredom and Depression.
D. Attempting to Cope
with Existential Depression.
III. FREEDOM FROM EXISTENTIAL DEPRESSION—EXISTENTIAL JOY
James Park is an
existential
philosopher.
This talk is based on the second chapter
of his longest book:
Our
Existential Predicament: Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety, & Death,
Chapter 2 "Existential
Depression".
A four-page chapter on the same subject
is found in a study book by James Park:
Opening to Grace:
Transcending Our Spiritual Malaise:
Chapter 3 "Psychological Depression & Spiritual Depression".
If you would like to read a three-page article on
the differences
between psychological depression and existential depression, go to:
Being
Depressed
in Spirit: Deeper than Psychological Depression.
Return to Top 40 Sermon Subjects by James Park.
Return to the UNITARIAN-UNIVERSALISM page.
Return to the beginning of this home page:
An Existential
Philosopher's
Museum.