Posted by Chris on Apr 23, 2011 in
Church,
God,
Life 
I know of nothing darker in scripture, and nothing better to ruminate on the day after our Lord’s death. Please take a moment to read it all.
LORD, you are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to you.
May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
I am overwhelmed with troubles
and my life draws near to death.
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength.
I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off from your care.
You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.
You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction?
Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
But I cry to you for help, LORD;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Why, LORD, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
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Tags: darkness, depression, Lent, liturgical year, liturgy, scripture
Posted by Chris on Apr 11, 2011 in
Life 
I gave up Facebook for Lent. Many people ask how I could not be on Facebook since I’m posting there almost every day. Two reasons:
1) My blog, www.chrismorton.info, autoposts to Twitter and Facebook.
2) I’ve been able to use the time this has freed up to be more creative, and write more, thereby producing more of said autoposts.
Besides being more creative, spending less time on Facebook has helped with the sense of depression I often experience. I’m not sure if there’s any scientific studies to back this up, but anecdotally, I can think of three ways social networking darkens my days.
First, there is the constant reminders of relationships you don’t have. There’s the old friends you’ve lost touch with and the girls that got away. They are constant reminders of brighter days and deep friendships that are now distant memories. It makes me fantasize of what life would have been like if I hadn’t moved, had been bold enough to ask someone out or had got the job I wanted.
Second, there is a sense of social isolation. Reading one’s Newsfeed is much like being in a room full of people, and having no one who will talk to you. It seems like everyone else is so happy and engaged. It seems like you are invisible to them.
Thirdly it’s just a waste of time. Spending hours reading the status updates of people I barely know or looking at pictures of parties I didn’t go to keeps me from eating with friends, writing in my journal, working on my homework or making myself or my world a better place.
This Lenten break from Facebook has been really good thing. I’m trying to figure out how I’ll limit my usage after Resurrection 
Day. Social media is a tool, but I’ve been using it like a drug. Lent has helped me see that this is a dangerous addiction.
What about you? How do you use Facebook and other social media? Do you feel like it has improved your relationships? How have you limited its affect on your non-digital life?
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Tags: creativity, depression, Facebook, social media
Posted by Chris on Mar 29, 2011 in
God,
Life We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
[youtube]JoC1ec-lYps[/youtube]
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Tags: David Crowder, depression, doubt, Faith, Hope, How He Loves Us, John Mark McMillan, Kim Walker, prayer, songs
Posted by Chris on Mar 3, 2011 in
Life 
Whether you are someone who has dealt with serious or clinical depression, or you are just a normal person who gets down from time to time, you have undoubtedly heard the negative voices in your head. They sound like this:
“You’re going to fail at this the way that you fail at everything else.”
“No one would ever want to be with you if they knew the truth.”
“There’s nothing you can do to make things better.”
“It’s only a matter of time before they fire you / she leaves you / you’re broke and on the streets.”
The voices act like a skipping record player, and not in a cool DJ way, but in a having to hear the same crap over and over again way. When I described this to a counselor, she said “Why don’t you tell them to stop.”
That’s it. One step. Just say, out loud if you have to:
“Chris, (or Joe or Phyllis or whoever) STOP.”
This doesn’t solve the problem, fix the situation or reverse any childhood traumas or solve world hunger. But from time to time you have to tell your brain who’s boss. Telling it to stop will give you a second to clear your mind, get some perspective, and start thinking about how to solve the problem.
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Tags: counseling, depression, therapy
Posted by Chris on Feb 23, 2011 in
God,
Life 
How should we read stuff like this?
Give up on innovation. “Nothing under the sun is truly new.”
Give up on justice. “What is wrong cannot be made right. What is missing cannot be recovered.”
Drink beer. A lot. “So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work.”
Rethink your stance on abortion. “But most fortunate of all are those who are not yet born.”
Solve your sleep problems by getting a blue collar job. “People who work hard sleep well, whether they eat little or much. But the rich seldom get a good night’s sleep.”
Stop complaining about your job. “To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God.”
Blog less. “The more words you speak, the less they mean.”
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Tags: bible, depression, Ecclesiastes, Solomon
I know of nothing darker in scripture, and nothing better to ruminate on the day after our Lord’s death. Please take a moment to read it all.
