Rethinking Depression: A Descent Forward

“We do not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.”
— Carl G. Jung (Alchemical Studies (Collected Works Vol. 13, para. 335))

The Nigredo: Depression as a Sacred Descent

What if depression is not a malfunction of the mind, but a message from the soul – a summons to a life not yet lived? This is not a clinical breakdown, but a rethinking of depression. One that sees it not as a failure, but as a descent forward and an initiation into deeper wholeness.

Life moves in an endless cycle of death and rebirth. While many cultures and spiritual systems speak of this in terms of reincarnation, we can also observe the same process unfolding within a single lifetime. These inner cycles of loss and renewal (especially those marked by depression) can be seen as a symbolic initiation. In Jungian psychology, this experience is mirrored in the concept of the Nigredo, a term borrowed from medieval alchemy meaning “blackening.” It marks the initial stage of psychological transmutation: the symbolic death of the ego, the decomposition of outdated identities, and the necessary descent into darkness before something new can be born. Though bleak in tone, the Nigredo is not pathological – it is mythic. And it is through this inner decay that rebirth becomes possible.

The Myth of Constant Happiness

Many people describe the feeling of “having the rug pulled out from under them,” just when life appeared to be going well. This sensation is not uncommon, and it tends to arise from an unspoken belief that life should move in a linear, upward arc toward perpetual happiness. However, that myth is precisely the problem. When we expect stability and comfort to be the norm, we perceive disruption as betrayal.

Life is a chaotic wave we are meant to ride, not resist. Cycles of darkness and light are not only inevitable, they are also essential. In Western culture, we often see depression as a deviation from the norm, a detour from what life is “supposed” to be; this narrative framing is precisely what keeps us tether to our suffering and unable to transform it. We keep reaching back toward a past self, a familiar story, rather than surrendering to the transformation that depression is trying to initiate.

“In all chaos there is a cosmos, in all disorder a secret order.”
— Carl G. Jung (Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious (Collected Works Vol. 9, Part 1))

The Tao of Descent

In Taoist philosophy, humanity is meant to align with the natural rhythms of nature and life rather than exert dominion over them. There is a profound wisdom in the concept of flowing with nature rather than pushing against it. When we combine this with Jungian psychology, we come to understand that surrendering to the flow of emotional cycles (especially the painful ones) is where we find synchronicity. But again, this flow is not always joyful…and in many cases, the farthest from it.

The path of individuation is deeply personal and often wrenchingly difficult. It requires not only that we allow all emotions into awareness, but that we consciously descend into them. Particularly in the case of depression, this descent becomes a portal: a journey into the underworld of the psyche. Here, the past self that no longer serves us can decompose, so that something more authentic may emerge.

And yet, we resist this descent. Not because we are weak, but because rebirth is unknowable…and the unknown perpetuates humans living in a fear-based mindset. The past is easier to cling to because it is tangible, already lived, already understood. The future, by contrast, is shadowed and unfamiliar. We convince ourselves that because we have suffered, we are destined to continue suffering. This is the trap. But the stage of Nigredo is not a prison, it is a crucible.

“There is no coming to consciousness without pain.”
— Carl Jung

Alchemy of the Self

We are in a constant state of ebb and flow…finding and creating ourselves. Depression is not a static condition to be pathologized. When we define it solely as a chemical imbalance or a DSM diagnosis, all nuance is lost. Reality is flattened. We miss the alchemical truth: that this darkness is part of a deeper initiation into being. When met with introspection and care, the Nigredo stage can transmute into a radiant rebirth, a more integrated and resilient Self.

In this light, depression is not a flaw or failure. It is the call to transformation. It is the soul whispering that something must die – not our lives, but our illusions, our attachments, and our false selves. When we honor this experience as something deeply meaningful rather than defective, we allow it to do what it came to do: burn away the hollow performances and reveal what is real beneath. This does not mean the pain will vanish. It means the pain will become purposeful.

Now I shall leave you with this final thought: perhaps it is not the past that haunts you while in the depths of depression, but rather the future calling you to become someone you are still afraid to meet.

“When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.”
— Lao Tzu (Tao Te Ching)