{"id":434,"date":"2015-03-26T04:41:42","date_gmt":"2015-03-26T04:41:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/?p=434"},"modified":"2018-07-04T02:26:08","modified_gmt":"2018-07-04T02:26:08","slug":"easter-depression-a-personal-reflection","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2015\/03\/easter-depression-a-personal-reflection.html","title":{"rendered":"Easter Depression, A Personal Reflection"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RH-JesusAtEmptyTomb1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Easter Depression can hit people hard. Religiously, Easter is when Christians remember the death of Jesus. It\u2019s a time to reflect on His sacrifice and what it means to you that He died for your sins. You\u2019re supposed to fast, or at least cut out certain foods. Churches resemble dark tombs with shrouded statues and an empty altar.<\/span><\/p>\n

I always felt sad at Easter but when I became severely depressed, Easter became a nightmare. My mind was pre-occupied with despair and thoughts about death. Going to church I wanted some message of hope that would lift my spirit. Instead, the message reflected only on Jesus\u2019 suffering and sacrifice. I remember thinking, \u201cWhat about my suffering? Aren\u2019t I sacrificing myself to a world that doesn\u2019t care about me?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

I know that suffering and sacrifice make up half of what Easter is about. Easter is also about the joy and hope that comes from the empty tomb. But while joy and despair exist together in the human heart, the dichotomy becomes unbalanced when you\u2019re depressed. Depression tunes your thoughts into the suffering and sacrifice part of Easter.<\/span><\/p>\n

I also hated the guilt trip. My self-esteem was shot and I kept lying to myself about things I had done. I felt guilty about things I should never have felt that way about. Good Friday mass was about Jesus dying for my sins. While I understand what it means theologically, it sucks when you have to feel guilty about someone\u2019s sacrifice year after year. Okay, Jesus died for me. But I wasn\u2019t there. It\u2019s like my grandparents doing something bad and I\u2019m indirectly responsible because I\u2019m their descendent. Inherited guilt isn\u2019t healthy when it\u2019s generations removed.<\/span><\/p>\n

Collective guilt won\u2019t work on everyone because guilt diffuses. But depression sucks guilt into you, even guilt you know isn\u2019t yours. I got angry that Easter mass tried to make me feel guilty when what I really needed was hope.<\/span><\/p>\n

One Good Friday mass I attended did focus on the message of hope. The pastor focused on the positive side of death, telling us how grief can turn into joy even when we feel most despairing. Just because you feel horrible when someone you love dies doesn\u2019t mean you won\u2019t ever feel joyful again. Know that joy exists and that it will come to you.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Jesus-walking-forth-from-empty-tomb\"<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

www.tereziafarkas.com<\/a><\/p>\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Easter Depression can hit people hard. Religiously, Easter is when Christians remember the death of Jesus. It\u2019s a time to reflect on His sacrifice and what it means to you that He died for your sins. You\u2019re supposed to fast, or at least cut out certain foods. Churches resemble dark tombs with shrouded statues and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":578,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,233,97,214],"tags":[2,12,100,6],"class_list":["post-434","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-depression-help-2","category-healing","category-inspiration","category-spiritual-wellness","tag-depression","tag-emotional-health","tag-faith","tag-terezia-farkas"],"yoast_head":"\nEaster Depression, A Personal Reflection - Depression Help<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/depressionhelp\/2015\/03\/easter-depression-a-personal-reflection.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Easter Depression, A Personal Reflection - Depression Help\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Easter Depression can hit people hard. 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