An old legend tells of an angel who was sent by God to inform Satan that all the methods he uses to defeat God’s children would be taken from him. The devil pleaded to be allowed to keep just one. “Let me retain depression,” he begged.
The angel, thinking this is a modest request, agreed. “Good!” the devil exclaimed, as he laughed to himself. “In that one gift, I have secured all.”
In his book Depression, What It Is and What to Do About It, Roger Barrett describes this condition as: “a miserable, wretched experience that leaves you exhausted, uninvolved, and in deep, hopeless despair. There seems to be absolutely nowhere to turn and not one single thing you can do to escape these horrible feelings. You feel doomed, trapped, and at the end of your rope… It’s awful!”
