7:47 AM
Ovidia
Beliefnet's Dena Ross talks with Christian recording artist Amy Grant about, among other things, struggling with depression. Read the entire interview here:
In the book, you talk about battling depression off and on. What do you do to help yourself come out of a slump?
It's so funny what age is doing. I never thought getting older would be so great. But when it comes to depression, I have experienced less the older I've gotten. And I think part of it is, there are things that I know to look for in myself. I know winter time hits me like a ton of bricks.
My great-uncle told us when were kids, "If you're born into this family, you need to go take a brisk walk every day." He didn't know what endorphins were, but he knew that we battled that downward spiral. If I will make myself get some exercise, that always helps. And then, invest in somebody else. That's not hard when you're part of a family. Even if I'm feeling like a piece of wood, I'll wake up in the morning and I just think, "Somebody's got to put the bacon on. I will feel better about this moment if I do eggs on toast with a little melted cheese for the kids." It takes about four minutes to make breakfast for your children in the morning. You start doing little acts of getting beyond yourself. Sometimes it takes days or weeks. But you just learn there is a process to getting out of a slump.
Tiny little things that you have to do, responsibility that you can't slough off, is good when you battle depression—making lunch for your kids, or having to do laundry because nobody has clean underwear. Rather than grind your teeth over it, go, "Thank God I have got to do this little task that makes me move." And the more that [I'm] used to the rhythms of [my] own life, the more I realize, as bleak as this feels right this minute, it'll pass.
