“Let me leave the extraordinary illnesses I have mentioned to concentrate on MDD—“major depressive disorder”—or, more commonly, “depression.” When I speak of this, I am not speaking of bad hair days, tax deadlines, or other discouraging moments we all have. Everyone is going to be anxious or downhearted on occasion. The Book of Mormon says Ammon and his brethren were depressed at a very difficult time,2 and so can the rest of us be. But today I am speaking of something more serious, of an affliction so severe that it significantly restricts a person’s ability to function fully, a crater in the mind so deep that no one can responsibly suggest it would surely go away if those victims would just square their shoulders and think more positively—though I am a vigorous advocate of square shoulders and positive thinking!
No, this dark night of the mind and spirit is more than mere discouragement. I have seen it come to an absolutely angelic man when his beloved spouse of 50 years passed away. I have seen it in new mothers with what is euphemistically labeled “after-baby blues.” I have seen it strike anxious students, military veterans, and grandmothers worried about the well-being of their grown children.
And I have seen it in young fathers trying to provide for their families. In that regard I once terrifyingly saw it in myself. At one point in our married life when financial fears collided with staggering fatigue, I took a psychic blow that was as unanticipated as it was real. With the grace of God and the love of my family, I kept functioning and kept working, but even after all these years I continue to feel a deep sympathy for others more chronically or more deeply afflicted with such gloom than I was.” (Jeffrey R. Holland, “Like a Broken Vessel,” October, 2013)
I am extraordinarily grateful for the climate we live in in regards to mental health. I know we have a long way to go. It still feels hard and embarassing to talk about — even for me and I am the biggest advocate for the normalization of mental health issues. We talk about it openly in our house and make sure our kids don’t feel ashamed of their struggles, but for some reason it is still hard for ME to admit that I am going through a depression. I am still trying to work out why I feel that way. But I am grateful for leaders who are willing to talk about it. I am so grateful for Elder Holland for sharing his struggle with us. And I am grateful for a Savior who can ease the burden. I am reaching for Him with all my might.
