Depression Deep Dive Series: Part 1 of 4
The Night Sea Journey
Part 1: The Call to Descent & Anger Inward
Welcome to Part 1: The Night Sea Journey.
In our modern world, we often view depression solely as a pathology to be eliminated. But Carl Jung viewed it differently: as a "forced introversion," a necessary descent into the depths of the psyche to retrieve something vital that has been lost. He called this the Nekyia, or the "Night Sea Journey."
This worksheet invites you to stop fighting the descent and instead ask: Why has my soul demanded this pause?
1. The Call to Descent
Depression often arrives when our current way of living has become too small for our soul. It is a "damming up" of energy because the old path is no longer viable. Instead of asking "How do I get rid of this?", we begin by asking "What is this trying to stop me from doing?"
If your depression were a stop sign, what is it trying to stop you from doing? (e.g., performing for others, working in a way that drains you, maintaining a false relationship).
2. The Loss of Vitality
Jung believed that depression occurs when our libido (life energy) retreats into the unconscious. It goes "underground" because it is needed there to work on something. We feel drained because our energy is not available for our conscious, daily life—it is busy elsewhere.
Where has your enthusiasm gone? If you imagine your energy has gone "underground" to work on a secret project, what might that project be? (e.g., healing an old wound, reimagining your future, resting after years of over-functioning).
3. Anger Turned Inward (The Freudian Layer)
While Jung looked at the purpose of depression, Freud looked at its mechanics. He famously described melancholia as "anger turned inward." When we cannot express rage at a loved one (or a situation), we swallow it. It becomes a heavy stone in our belly.
If your heavy depression could speak as fiery anger, what would it scream? Who or what is it actually furious at?