Bringing the Pieces Back Together: An Organic Inquiry Into Women’s Spiritual Transformation Through Depression

Women experience depression at twice the rate of men. Researchers have focused on biomedical and psychosocial factors in their extensive exploration into the causes and treatments of women’s depression. When viewed from a holistic lens of mind, body, and spirit, the spiritual experience of depression is missing in the literature. The purpose of this research study is to describe how a woman\u27s spiritual self transforms through depression. Organic Inquiry incorporates transpersonal psychology and feminist spirituality and was used in this study to collect and analyze the stories of 12 women through unstructured interviews. Results suggest the women\u27s spiritual transformation involved five themes: letting go, change in belief system, finding power within, bringing the pieces back together, and connection to all. For these women, depression was the catalyst for awakening consciousness. Integrating the whole person (mind, body, and spirit) in recovery from depression has implications for how society views, supports, and celebrates women’s depression as a transformative experience