One Monk's Journey Through Faith

Here's an update on Michael Patton's depression. He's a Bible/preaching/apologetics teacher who dwells in Norman, Oklahoma. Apparently the stress of ministry got to him about 2 months ago and he just sort of... "snapped." You think you know depression when you see it in others and you give them the stock lines you learned in your counseling classes. Heh. Maybe you'd exemplify What not to say to those who are suffering. We've all done that.

Until you experience it yourself, you have no idea. Trust me on that one. I may not know Michael's experience, but I know how the "After-Depression" feels. I took medicine for several years. Now, I do not take anti-depressants. As long as I have my ADHD medicine, I get through the day just fine. Without it, I can't concentrate. And I feel somewhat ashamed for being unable to focus on serious mental tasks, but it's an annoyance I accept as a part of who I am.

But there was a time when I did not have this sort of self-acceptance. Those were dark days and endless nights. But that is not who I am now. Praise God. Perhaps I have a thorn in my flesh, but it is not some gaping wound. I am pressed, but not crushed. Persecuted, not abandoned.