Episode 77: The Dark Night of the Soul—Why It Happens & What It Means

The Best of You

Dr. Alison Cook

Health & Fitness, Mental Health

5 • 710 Ratings

🗓️ 3 November 2023

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Have you felt far from God? Do you find yourself wondering what in the world God is doing amidst all that is hard? I would argue that a dark night of the soul is a healthy response to pain, brokenness, or suffering. We need to create space for these seasons of wrestling with God—not try to shove them aside or stigmatize them. In today’s episode, here’s what we cover: 1. What is a dark night of the soul? (4:09) 2. How is it different from depression? (6:55) 3. Why does God allow us to feel far from Him at times? (19:16) 4. How these seasons help us grow closer to each other (33:07) Find a full transcript and list of resources from this episode here. Do you have questions for Dr. Alison?⁠ Leave them here. Want to receive free bonus content? ⁠⁠Sign up for my free weekly email here. Related Episodes: Episode 75: Your Secret Weapon Against Stress & Anxiety—How to Transform Your Mind Through the Power of Prayer Episode 76: When Self-Help Isn’t Enough—Finding the Faith & Strength to Move Forward after Loss & Heartache With Granger Smith Episode 67: The Link Between Faith & Emotional Healing—Gen Z, College Life, & A Hidden Search for Meaning with Cindy Gao Thanks to our sponsors: Go to ⁠www.organifi.com/bestofyou⁠ today and use code BESTOFYOU for 20% off your order today. To start decoding your body's messages, and pave the way for a healthier life visit nutrisense.com/bestofyou and get $30 off your first month and one month of board certified nutritionist support. Get 35% off your first order of Sundays. Go to SundaysForDogs.com/BESTOFYOU or use code BESTOFYOU at checkout. Music by Andy Luiten Sound editing by Kelly Kramarik While Dr. Cook is a counselor, the content of this podcast and any of the products provided by Dr. Cook are not specific counseling advice nor are they a substitute for individual counseling. The content and products provided on this podcast are for informational purposes only. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:19.7	Hey everyone, I'm Dr. Allison, and I'm so glad you're here to discover what brings out the best of you. This podcast is all about breaking free from painful patterns,
1:25.4	mending the past, and discovering our true selves in God. I can't wait to
1:29.6	get started as we learn together how to become the best version of who we are with God's help.
1:37.9	Hey everyone and welcome back to this week's episode of The Best of You podcast. I'm so glad you're here. I am loving this series on
1:46.8	faith talks where we're looking at some theological concepts, some concepts that primarily relate to
1:52.7	our faith journeys through a psychological lens, right? These things go hand in hand. As you know,
1:59.6	everything we do on this podcast brings together faith and psychology. And in today's episode, I want to talk to you about a concept that is known as the Dark Night of the Soul. It's a concept I've thought about a lot and read about a lot over the years. It's one I've experienced. It's one I've learned to help
2:18.9	others differentiate from an experience of depression. So in psychology, we are often quick
2:26.8	to diagnose certain symptoms as depression when sometimes in certain situations you might be experiencing a cluster of symptoms, a cluster of things
2:38.0	that are hard that are more appropriately categorized as a spiritual dark night of the soul.
2:44.5	It's more spiritually rooted versus emotionally or psychologically rooted.
2:50.3	It's a fine line. It's an important distinction,
2:53.0	and I want to go into that today. I want to help you understand what some of those differences are.
2:58.9	So before we dive into today's topic, I would love to get your questions on two more topics that are
3:05.9	coming up in the future. The first is the topic of forgiveness. I think
3:10.4	this is a really hard topic for a lot of us. And so I'd love to get your questions. What questions
	...

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