Abraham Lincoln, arguably one of the most influential men of the 19th century, experienced several documented periods of deep depression. At one point, he wrote to a friend: “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on earth. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell; I awfully forbode I shall not.  To remain as I am is impossible.”

I can’t think of a better way to describe how I felt during the worst of my own depression. Thankfully, I no longer feel this way. But I understand—the experience of depression is excruciating.

“Where Can I Turn for Peace”

A wise therapist once told me that life isn’t really about being happy. It’s about finding peace. This lesson struck me with renewed force when I learned the story behind our beloved Latter-day Saint hymn “Where Can I Turn for Peace?” (Hymns, no. 129).

The lyricist of this hymn, the late Emma Lou Warner Thayne, was brilliant. A devoted wife, a mother of five daughters, a champion tennis player, and a professor at the University of Utah for more than 30 years, she inspired men and women the world over with her writings. She wrote honestly and served admirably in many callings in the Church. And she struggled mightily to find peace amid severe trials that threatened her family, including her oldest daughter’s battle with mental illness. For three years, Thayne did everything she could to solve the mystery of her daughter’s suffering and to find peace and help for a diagnosis she knew little about. She called it “the bleakest time I had ever known.”  In the midst of this adversity…

kdm — This article strikes ‘close to home’ for there has been mental illness in my family. Personally, I have struggled with ‘issues’ that have been there for most of my life, yet I haven’t picked up on them until very recently. What was said by Jane Clayson Johnson, is a fresh perspective that I am confident, in time, will lead to much needed resolution(s).—  Again…For the complete article see: ‘The Myths of Mental Illness’ and click on the photo.