“After darkness, light” -Martin Luther
So here it goes. My very first blog post. Just to be clear, I am not writing this in my mom’s basement nor am I writing in the proverbial coffee shop. I am writing, however, in a dark place. I mean this both literally and figuratively. Life is funny how it gives you so many twists and turns. At this point I am considering cancelling my season passes to Six Flags. Life is one big crazy ride that you wish would just stop at times just so you can take a breather.
That dark place that I referred to is called depression. Some say it is the common-cold of mental disorders and I have had this “cold” my entire life. In fact, pretty much everyone who has ever lived on this planet has experienced some form of depression whether it is the mild “blues” to Major Depressive Disorder.
Signs include:
- sadness, anger, pessimism, hopelessness, apathy, inertia, fatigue, loss of interest and energy, low self-esteem, self criticsm, feelings of guilt, shame, helplessness, insomnia or sleeping to much, loss of concentration, loss of appetite or eating too much, thoughts of self-harm or even suicide.
Other common signs may include aggressive outbursts, impulsive behavior, being accident prone, and overworking to avoid facing your feelings.
I high-lighted the ones I usually deal with. Sometimes, I may have several of these symptoms but I tell people I’m alright. This is what us mental helath professionals call masked-depression. It’s a form of depression that is often directed inwards. I have become a master of hiding how I feel. At least I think that I have. It also runs in my family which is common with those who deal with this. Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere. I will be fine one minute then the next I will just feel “blah”.
The psychiatrist Aaron Beck states that depressed people show negative thinking in three areas:
- They view the world and life experiences negatively,
- Many may have negative views of themselves,
- They view the future as negative as well.
Check. Check. Check. That’s me in a nutshell when I am going through those dark periods. For many people dealing with depression, they often deal with guilt fealings as well. They feel guilty for not being able to snap out of it. Or they may isolate themselves so that they dont have to deal with people asking them what is wrong or why cant you “just get over it”?
That is the one question that I believe most people disdain the most. If I can just get over it, don’t you think that I would? So therefore, we tend to isolate ourselves from the rest of the world out of self-pity or lack of self-confidence. Those of us who are Christians have to be careful of this. Man was not left to be alone. Isolation for a Christian often means staying away from church and others who can lift us up and help us “put our hope in God” like the Psalmist said.
Remember, after Elijah had a great victory on Mt. Carmel, he founf himself under a tree wanting to die. Long story short, God told him to eat and take a nap. Sometimes, a good nutritious meal and a nice nap changes our perspective on things. As a Chrisitan, fellowship with other believers gives us rest for our weary souls and the spiritual food we need to contunie to live that abundant life that God intended us to have.
I have seen this far too often over the years as a pastor and a therapist. Especially in the church where we dont like to talk about mental health issues. We tend to feel that if I am not “happy, happy, joy joy” all the times then it must refelct on our faith or lack thereof. However, the Bible is full of people in the scriptures that had to deal with issue. Here are just a few examples of these heroes of the faith:
- David dealt with depression in Psalm 43, 69, 88, 102
- Why so downcast my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your trust in God for I will yet praise thee”
- After Job losses everything he had bouts of hoplessness and despair
- Moses felt periods of discouragement and needed some pep talks form God
- Jonah in the belly of the whale ( Yeah, I think I would be a little depressed too)
- Peter weeped after he denyed Jesus three time
- Judas (not so much a hero) committed suicide after he betrayed Jesus
- Jeremiah was known as the “weeping prophet”
Even Jesus himself felt deep sadness the night he was betrayed as he thought about the road before him:
He began to show grief and distress in mind and was deeply depressed. Then he said unto them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow”
Mathhew 26:37-38 (Amblified Bible)
But Paul in Romans gave us insight on how to deal with depression when it pokes its nasty head into our business.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit
Romans 15:13
What is some things that he dont really have when we are sad? It is hope, peace and joy. Paul tells us that God is the God of hope and that he will fill you with joy and peace “as you trust in Him”. Then when we trust in Him, we will “overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” This means that even though we are going through some things, the way we handle it will not only effect ouselves but those around us as well. In the misdst of the storm we will have peace, joy, hope knowing that God of hope will never leave us or forsake us.
So, how is the church supposed to address this topic instead of ignoring that it exists within the church walls? First, remember these important facts:
- even Christians feel depressed or down at times,
- ones worth as a Christian is not based upon how happy they feel. Happiness is a feeling that comes and go but joy is the inner peace that we have regardless of what we are going through,
- since some depressed people may tend to be covert about how they feel, the church may need to be actively seeking out those who may be dealing with this issue but are too afraid to say anything about it.
Therefore, the we need to pray that the church will be whole in body, mind and spirit. Churches are good about praying about healing in the spirit and body but often neglect the mind. Counselors are good about focussing on healing of the mind but often neglect the body and spirit. We need to remember that our thoughts lead to our emotions and that will often lead to certain maladaptive behaviors. Furthermore, we need to pray for those who are depressed or wounded that they will seek out help. Finally, we need to change our thinking about mental health issues in the church and that He will remind those going through depression that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made”.
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