I was somewhat alarmed to see a post with this title on the Facebook page of an old school friend. The “Black Dog” is of course, depression, a reference to how it can seem to come and live with a sufferer. Fortunately it turned out that my friend was not currently struggling this, but he had suffered from it in the past and wanted to increase awareness of it. So far in my life I have been fortunate in that I have only ever had mild depression, in response to particularly stressful life events. This has always passed quickly. However, I have seen many people who have had severe depression. It can be triggered by particular events; the mild depression deepens and will not go away. Sometimes it seems to have no particular cause. Either way, it is always debilitating and potentially life-threatening. A consultant psychiatrist from a major teaching hospital once told me that the only thing he really concentrated on during his lectures to medical students was depression; it was by far the most common mental illness they would encounter and it was also the one where usually they could make a difference by prompt diagnosis and appropriate treatment. Around 1 in 6 adults experience clinical depression; it is more common in women than men and often occurs in people in their 20s and 30s, although there is a peak later in life. Like all illnesses, it is no respecter of religious views; a number of my vicar friends have been treated for it. Fortunately, they recognised the symptoms and got appropriate help from a doctor. So, in line with the wishes of my school friend, I write this to raise awareness of clinical depression, and, if that is your spirituality, to pray for those who are suffering from it, those who are helping them and those researching new treatments.
Rev David Poyner