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The Danish philosopher who was also the father of Existentialism, Soren Kierkegaard is among the few philosophers who went forth to put interesting insights in trying to create a distinction between depression and despair.
The philosopher he himself having had to endure a continuous struggle with depression from when he was a child until his demise at the age of 42, writing in his journals:
I am in the profoundest sense an unhappy individuality, riveted from the beginning to one or another suffering bordering on madness, a suffering which must have its deeper basis in a misrelation between my mind and body…
Soren Kierkegaard
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According to the philosopher, the depression he continuously struggled with was a psychological disorder, having resulted from, in his words:
misrelation between his mind and body...
There was a difference though in his perspective about his condition, Kierkegaard never at one point consider the ailment as a curse, he saw it as a blessing, writing in his journals:
Yet it is an indescribable blessing to me that I was mentally depressed as I was.
Soren Kierkegaard
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According to Kierkegaard, depression paired with despair is only when depression turns from a blessing to a curse. The philosopher saw despair as rather a lack of spiritual strength, despair as a spiritual disorder, rather than a psychological disorder as depression.
And for this reason, the philosopher saw it important for anyone afflicted with depression, to hold onto hope that the individual's life will eventually improve and he will rid he/her self of the ailment, and also take it as an opportunity to learn the more valuable lessons hidden in depression and cultivate internal strength.
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In distinguishing between depression and despair: while one who is depressed is struggling with mental and emotional anguish, the one who is in despair is the one who has given up all hope and in the process fails to see the valuable lessons inherent in one's bout with depression.
According to Kierkegaard one remains spiritually healthy despite being afflicted with depression if one holds onto hope that one-day things will change, but once one relinquishes hope for a better tomorrow, one descends into the worst of all possible conditions, that being despair which leads to spiritual poverty.
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As the writer Gordon Marino explains in his book, Kierkegaard in the Present:
It is not uncommon to hear depression described as “hell on earth”, and yet for Kierkegaard, it is as we have seen entirely possible that a person could live in such a hell and still be in a robust spiritual condition.
Gordon Marino
According to the philosopher Kierkegaard, the important thing when struggling with depression is how one relates to it.
An attitude of hope and strength in the face of a bout with depression signified for him spiritual health.
Attitude matters in many areas, actually in almost areas, so it comes as no surprise to see that it also influences how one fair with the suffering and pain as a result of depression.
There goes some wisdom for y'all HIVERS.
See you in my next update. 👋
Peace