Joanna Swinney is a remarkable young lady. She is a writer, speaker and editor. She is married to Shawn, an associate vicar and is the mother of two young girls.
She also has a life-long battle with depression.
Jo is author of the book “Through The Dark Woods: A Young Woman’s Journey Out of Depression.”
On this podcast I interview Jo about her life and the lessons she has learnt and is learning about the dreaded D word.
Jo is refreshingly frank and honest about her life. Quoting from James Jones (previously Bishop of Liverpool 1998-2013) in the foreword to the book:
“Jo is fun, she’s serious, she’s open yet protective of her own identity, she’s an adventurer but doesn’t forget where the safe places are, like a strong swimmer always with an eye on the beach. She writes engagingly and takes you to places that are familiar to every human being. Herein lies the importance of her story. Depressive feelings, as well as moments of elation, are the emotions of being alive and form the experience of us all, and clinical depression affects one in five of us. All of us will in our lifetime either experience depression or be intimately affected by someone who is depressed. This honest testimony of a young woman will help you identify and name these episodes and to know with a little more wisdom how to be and what to do when they happen.”
So do come and join us as we explore some answers on to how to combat depression in our lives. We are looking at:
What depression can personally feel like
The importance of the right support and relationships
The tragedy of suicide
Specific survival ideas and tips that really do make a difference
A spiritual perspective to depression
For all this and much more do listen to the podcast!
Also it would be great if you felt able to rate the programme on iTunes as well as pass it on to those who you think would benefit from listening.
If you would like to understand this subject more, please see the following previous blog posts:
Is the rate of depression actually increasing or not?
Lincoln: How depression moulded a great leader
Did Churchill’s depression make him a great war-time leader?
Why I am working on becoming a happier person
9 Reasons why you could be feeling down. Particularly #4
Could your lifestyle be what is getting you down?
What are the forms of Major Depressive Disorder?
Rick Warren and the secret anguish of Major Depressive Disorder
Why has there been a 400% increase in the prescribing of antidepressants?
The transcript of the podcast is here..
You can order Jo’s book below. Her website is here.
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Dear Sir,Kindly explain me A spiritual perspective to depression.
Dear Samuel
That’s a big question! We touch on elements of that in the podcast. Also the ebook ‘Hope in The Darkness’ that you can download from the site goes into more detail on this.
Kindly explain How depression moulded a great leader ?
Dear Samuel
This is referring to the life of Abraham Lincoln and how his depression gave him a sensitivity and empathy with others. Please see the blog post Lincoln: How Depression Moulded A Great Leader along with Failure And Depression: The Other Side Of Lincoln’s Life.