But how can we do it? How do we rid ourselves of these pent-up feelings? Exercise, just plain hard work is one way. It relieves a lot of tension. A person could almost jog himself out of a depression. Some even believe the brain produces its own "mood-elevating chemicals," which are enhanced by exercise, among other things.

That is not easy to do. When we are depressed we often exhibit apathy. There is a slow down in the body processes. We lose interest in usual activities. We don't feel like doing anything. It's hard just to get through the day. At those dark times we lack energy.

Tears are another way. Depressed people tend to cry a lot anyway. That is good. Tears are a God-given means of release. I hope you never lose your ability to cry. Someone has said that the answer to all of man's emotional problems is salt water: sweat, tears, or the ocean. There is some truth there.

Talking is perhaps the most effective way to rid ourselves of harmful emotions. When we talk it is like pulling the plug out of the bathtub. All sorts of bad feelings are drained from us. Everyone needs someone in whom he can confide without fear of condemnation.

The head of the medical school at the University of Oregon said sometime ago that probably more good is done between two friends at ten o'clock in the morning over a cup of coffee than in the doctor's office all day long. Talking to a friend can help to bring life back into perspective and enable us to solve our problems. If we had more friends we would need fewer psychiatrists. Find a non-judgmental listener and pour your soul out to them.

And as you talk to others, don't forget to talk to God. He, too, will listen non-judgmentally. Elijah practically accused God of infidelity. But God is not defensive. He deals patiently and tenderly with His over-wrought child. He will do that with you also.

God didn't say, "Elijah, prophets shouldn't talk like that." He didn't make him feel guilty for his feelings. He accepted him and listened to him. Say what you want to God. He can take it. He will not be judgmental as you pour out the hurts of life to Him.

A word of caution however; be careful about talking about your problem too much. The person who goes around pitying himself bores others with repeated stories of his troubles; the result is he is left more and more to himself.

Get Life Back In Perspective

The third thing that helped Elijah was to get life back in perspective. He felt that God had forsaken him and that he alone remained faithful to the Lord. His reasoning went something like this: "Here I am, doing my best to serve the Lord and look what happened. God has forsaken me. I alone am left. It's me against the world."

Depressed people often feel like that. They have problems because they pay more attention to negative events than to positive ones, focus on immediate rather than the long-term consequences of behavior, are overly hard on themselves, attribute success to outside forces and failure to their own lacks, and in general reward themselves too little and punish themselves too much.