Chronic depression

I tried to commit suicide when I was 15. Depression is real and it's ugly. It's like being in a pit and having a dark cloud hang over you all the time. It took me a long time before I came out of it (probably a terrible choice of words, but I don't know how else to describe it). I carried the pain of that day and the horrible experience that preceded it for 15 years before I had a supernatural experience that solidified my faith & literally revealed how powerful God is. I don't know why God did it but I am grateful everyday because I truly hated myself & my life. Every breath I took before that experience was one step closer to death. I just want to say that it might not mean much to those suffering with depression what I just confessed but I know the emptiness, the pain, the numbness. We were well acquainted for years but I still cry sometimes just knowing that God saved me. I pray that whoever reads this can just have faith the size of a mustard seed that God can do the same and even more for you.

I agree to be demeaning or condescending to a depressed person is like throwing a bomb at them. I have struggled with deep depression on and off for many years. Sometimes depression is never totally going to go away. I have my good days and my bad days to this day. The best thing one can try to learn is coping skills and how to try to distract when you feel crappy. I find that a feeling of purpose makes one feel better. So many people just can not get over the hump to get to a point where they feel a purpose anymore. it is sad but a very true reality. The best thing you can do is not be selfish if that person needs to vent just listen kindly even if you act like your listening it is better then looking or sounded like they are bothering you. One time of a depressed person feeling like a bother may be that last link in the chain that pushes them over the edge.
[h=3][/h]

Topic close to my heart. If it is a prolonged bout of "chronic depression" could it be chemical or hormonal imbalance? The age and general life habits of the individual should be assessed and researched. Diet, exercise, amino acids, hormones can be a leg up. What books/movies/media are being allowed in and how much? It could correlate directly to these things. Then there are the emotional habits. Do we fixate on past, future events, fantasies, fears of "what if" anything but the here and now presence?

It could be a matter of solving causation vs correlation:
Things like an inability to stop thinking (no one can fully accomplish this, though the eastern religions say it can be reached). However, to create gaps in full on pseudo conscious streaming whether self or demonically induced can create gaps of peace of mind. Breathing > check out the Buteyko breathing method which helps return PH levels to neutral. I believe this one factor can be the difference between health and sickness on huge levels.

Prayer:
If the individual is a believer, non stop prayer, the gift of Glossolalia, based on firm study of the word. There should be no such thing as a miserable christian, don't look to CC to prove that. Romans is the jam, it depicts the physical/spiritual condition we all share and the panacea solution.

sometimes depression is linked to lack of sleep also

Sounds like you're doing the best thing. Listening. Not telling them to 'just get over it' or treating them as if they just need to 'change their thoughts'. Most people with depression just want to feel normal. And that's a hard feeling when so many treat you as if what you're experiencing is your fault.