Darkness of the soul
Isobel Lane writes about the darkness of depressive illness
There are many references in Quaker faith & practice to the darkness that inhabits us when ill with clinical depression or in ‘the dark night of the soul’. I think that the one that speaks most to me is at 21.65:
Art thou in the darkness? Mind it not, for if thou dost it will fill thee the more, but stand still and act not, and wait in patience till light arises out of darkness to lead thee…
- James Nayler
Waiting in patience can take a huge effort of will. It may be possible for some people where the problem is unhappiness rather than clinical depression or where the depression has receded to some extent, but to someone who is in the abyss it can be impossible. As with mindfulness, waiting in patience may help with unhappiness and the upper layers of depression, but not when it is deep-rooted.
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