"Depression, it seems to me, comes from doing life wrong, and not knowing what to do to fix it."
I actually said something about depression the other day that I thought was profound. I've been thinking about it for several days now, and I want to jot down a few thoughts about depression in general - reserving the right to modify or reverse them completely in the future. To expand on my comment a little, I think depression comes from knowing that I'm doing life wrong, and either not knowing how to fix it or being unwilling to do so.
First, depression is not necessarily truthful. Overall, I do not think I am doing or have done life wrong. If depression for a time convinces me that I have, I know deep down that it is a lie. Sure, I've made mistakes - honest ones with the best of intentions. I've taken my share of ass kickings, and learned my lessons (I hope). And overall, I am in a good place to stand on my decisions and actions in life. I've played the hand I was dealt reasonably well in my opinion.
Second, depression is not always a lie. I know some people who fight with depression pretty hard. I am nobody's judge except my own so don't take this the wrong way, but there are a lot of people who should be depressed. They have done and are doing life wrong - meaning their mistakes are intentional, their actions are self-destructive, their motives are to gain at others' expense. They're just crappy people. I think I would be depressed too if I were walking in their shoes. Rebellious, contrary, obstinate, mean people that do whatever they think will make them feel good regardless of the outcome have depression as their reward. We live in a cause/effect world, and depression at times is merely a natural effect of cause.
Depression is closely related to guilt. Many times they feed off of each other and torment the affected mercilessly. Both find their power in the past, and both try to preclude any future without them. Neither have any power or insight in the future, and hope is the one thing that will kill them - a real hope based on a commitment to change, to live life from a different perspective, to be thankful and to respect boundaries.
Add to this a Christian perspective of a merciful and forgiving God who desires more than anythng to create in each of us a wholeness that we cannot attain without Him, and to develop a relationship with each of us that is more intimate, more important and more effective than anything we have ever imagined, and depression and guilt become nothing more than stepping stones on the path to joy and peace that cannot be described. In the hands of Christ, depression and guilt are nothing more than tools, wielded by a master craftsman who is creating something that never existed before - something good, pure and beautiful.
So depression and guilt become yet another either/or. Either we are motivated to respond appropriately and seek out a higher, deeper, better way to do life or we respond inappropriately, and are victims of depression's torture until we take enough drugs, drink enough booze or whatever else we do to self destruct.
There may be other causes of depression. I'll have to think more about that sometime soon.