Battling Depression: The Difference

Consider the phrase: "battling depression".  How one perceives it becomes its definition, and then follows how one lives with it.

bat·tle/ˈbatl/

Noun:	A sustained fight between large, organized armed forces.
Verb:	Fight or struggle tenaciously to achieve or resist something: "he has been battling against the illness".
Synonyms:	noun.  fight - combat - action - war - fighting - struggle verb.  fight - combat - struggle - contend - war - wrestle

More info »Wikipedia - Dictionary.com - Answers.com - Merriam-Webster

 

For example, do I think of it as an figurative or imagined "enemy"?  Perhaps, "Depression" is an entity (a ghost, a thing, a being, etc.) which is against me.  I battle it as I would an oppressor or a thief who comes in the night to steal from me.  I employ offensive measures in order to win against it.  To win is to rid it of its "life force".

Or, do I think "battling depression" is an effort?  "Depression" is faceless, lifeless, vague and abstract.  It is a nothing!  But, I am conscious of its presence and aware of its aura.  I am on guard and stand my ground so that it does not penetrate my borders.  I shield against it.  I push it further from me.  And, I keep true to myself and does not let it rob me of who and what I am.

What I mean to ask is this:

A.  Am I battling depression?

or

B.  Am I battling depression?

The difference is this:

If A, then my focus should be to understand what depression is, what it can do to me, how it affects me, and how I can win over it.  However, if B, then I should concentrate on my strategy (get enough sleep, exercise, take my medication regularly, take advantage of my support group, develop an inner strength to stand firm, eat well, use a seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) lamp, etc.)

Is "battling depression" a noun or a verb to you?  Is your answer A. or B.?  Know the difference.  For in knowing, we have a new kind of hope; a clearer vision to live another moment, another day, week, month, and year. Vive la différence!  Long live the difference!

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More Information: Five small (but big) ways to beat depression every time  -From the Daily Mind

1. Realize that depression is transient
2. Be careful with the label “I have depression”
3. Learn the value of human contact
4. Eat and drink healthy
5. Get out in the sun and run

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