BEFORE WE TELL SADNESS GOODBYE (WHY WE MAY NEED TO LISTEN TO SORROW BEFORE LETTING IT GO)
A few days ago, a very dear patient, who has been struggling with a significant depressive episode, said something to me during our consultation that went more or less like this: “One thing many people don’t agree with is that I’ve started using gratitude as an alternative to my depression. Being grateful for what I still have beyond it. Grateful for some good things I can still do, or that still happen, even while I’m depressed. This sadness has been with me for three years now, and today I realize I’ve become someone who has grown used to suffering. One of the strategies I tried was precisely to allow myself to feel that pain — to experience it fully so I could face it. But I’ve been feeling it for so long that I can’t bear it anymore. So I thought I might start using another resource, you know? Instead of surrendering to sadness, I would be grateful for the good things I still have despite it. “For example, I think: Thank you, God, that I am managing to do my daily physical acti...
