DEPRESSION

Overcoming depression

Being in a bad mood or feeling miserable from time to time is normal. It may be caused by stress at work or personal difficulties but it may just happen as part of day to day life. If your mood is persistently low, you can’t motivate yourself to do things you would normally do, you’re finding it difficult to concentrate or your thoughts have become persistently negative, you could have depression.

What is depression?

Depression is a name given to a cluster of symptoms which impair daily functioning and which trouble people in mind, body and spirit.  There are many causes of depression.  For example;

• ­ You may have experienced something to trigger having a depression for example a recent bereavement, a separation or divorce, a prolonged illness, a change of job or home
• ­ You may have experienced something traumatic in your past such as sexual abuse which is a significant aspect of having depression. 
• ­ You may have suffered postnatal depression. 

Sometimes symptoms of depression arise without explanation.

How having a depression affects you and your

ministry

When priests fail to live up to demands imposed by themselves or others they often turn their frustration back on themselves, leading to self-doubt, feelings of failure and hopelessness.  This can lead to having a depression. Clergy sometimes fail to talk about depression because it conflicts with their understanding of their faith and ministry.

Depression is not uncommon!

It is important to remember that depression is common amongst those in clergy.  This has been shown in a range of studies which showed the following results;

• ­ A quarter of clergy admit to suffering from depression at some point in their career¹. 
• ­ More than 30% of clergy say they suffered from depression since becoming a priest or vicar, with 43% admitting to working too hard¹.
• ­ 18% to 25% of all ministers are depressed at any one time².

Most counsellors agree the majority of clergy depression goes unreported and untreated because of career fears, social stigma and spiritual taboo.  It is widely documented by his biographers that Martin Luther King suffered from chronic depression.

Depression and faith

Many a minister has been known to ask “How can I be depressed when I have a strong vocation and believe in God’s love?”
Christians have a range of thoughts and perspectives when battling with this question:

• ­ Some think that their faith or calling should act as an inoculation against mental and emotional distress such as a depression. 
• ­ Sometimes there is the expectation that spiritual activities such as praying, reading the Bible more or working harder will help to prevent or get over a depression. This is rarely the case as it only adds to the pressure. 
• ­ Having a depression can be viewed as your mind telling you that something needs to change either internally or externally.
• ­ Depression has been described as a form of mental hibernation in order for something new to emerge.
• ­ A crisis such as having depression can be viewed as a holy summons to cross a threshold.

It is important to take encouragement from the Biblical characters who experienced depression; for example Elijah, the Psalmist, Paul and yet who were also effective in their ministry.

Beating Depression

Psalms 42 and 43 give a good description of the clinical features of depression and provide assurance that depression is both part of normal human experience and understood by God. The psalmist describes the depressed person's mood changes, loss of appetite, grief and mourning, difficulty in planning and paranoia. The immediate cause is not clear - but may have been due to circumstances, as a result of physical symptoms or spiritual. Depressed people often find prayer difficult so need friends who will pray for them, encourage them to put their hope in God and remind them that better times will come.

One of the glories of God's Word is that it speaks of human experience just as vividly now as when first written. For a detailed account of the vicissitudes of old age look no further than Ecclesiastes 12:1-7, which describe fading eyesight, poor dentition, tremor and fear of falling. Or perhaps Proverbs 23 :29-35 for the experience of the bloodshot, bruised, swaying and hallucinating alcoholic. Depression is commonly diagnosed in general practice and up to half of us may suffer depression at some time in our lives. Might there be something in God's Word to describe depression? I believe psalms 42 and 43 give us a good insight.
All of us will come across depression at some time, whether in ourselves or others. These psalms suggest that it is a common part of the human experience and give us a clear view of how it feels to be depressed. The psalmist describes his mood as 'downcast' and 'disturbed' three times. He says, 'tears have been my food,' suggesting a chronicity to his condition, and perhaps loss of appetite. His depression has physical sensation, 'My bones have suffered mortal agony' with perhaps an indication of morbidly expecting his own death. Depressed people often have feelings of grief and mourning either as a cause or effect of depression, 'Why must I go about mourning' occurring in both psalms 42 and 43. He has feelings of chaos, represented by the deeps in the waterfall, and of being overwhelmed: 'all your waves and breakers have swept over me.' Many depressed people do seem to struggle with organising their thoughts and feel out of control. Planning in depressed people may become difficult: 'When can I go and meet with God?' Paranoia-like feelings may occur in depression and are described in 43:1.
Since there is such a detailed description of depression in God's Word, we can reassure depressed Christians that God understands the depressive condition. Some depressed people report feeling guilty that they do not feel happier, considering all of God's gifts to them. These psalms give us 'permission' to be depressed.
The cause for the psalmist's depression is not clear. The cause may be spiritual; a felt separation from God. One of the striking features of these two psalms is this feeling. From the beautiful and wellknown opening verses of Psalm 42 describing thirsting for God, he asks rhetorically, 'where can I go and meet with God?' and poignantly, 'why have you forgotten me?' This separation is felt rather than real as Romans 8:39 reassures us that 'neither height nor depth nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.' His sense of separation from God may be either a cause or a consequence of his depression. Certainly no Christian can be content or complete without fellowship with God.
Perhaps it is his circumstances that are causing his depression. He is separated from his fellows and may be lonely living in Jordan away from his Jerusalem home. Perhaps he has withdrawn from his friends as a result of his depression. Persecution undermines the toughest man (Ps 42: 3), and the depressed Christian maybe more susceptible to mocking, 'Where is your God?' Physical symptoms can be a cause or at least a precipitation for depression. It might, however, be argued that the psalmist rejects any of these as the cause of his depression as he repeatedly asks why he is depressed. The Christian depressive and his attendants may find it difficult to separate cause and effect; spiritual, physical or emotional. Since the answer eloquently stated in these psalms is to turn to God, this may not matter very much anyway.
Some of the distortion and slowing of mental processing which may occur in depression can prevent the depressed Christian from praying to God for himself. The practical effects of this means that his Christian friends may need to do the praying for him. The very fact of the depressed person's inability to pray can add to his feelings of guilt. Since he may already have low self-esteem and low self-confidence or even paranoia, he will not find it easy to express this inability to Christian brothers and sisters. These two psalms then give us one way to pray for, and counsel, the depressed Christian. We can point out that the depressed person should try to put their hope in God, for he sends forth his light and truth, which will guide our depressed brother. We can reassure our brother that he will praise God again and that God will be his delight (43:3-4), even if he doesn't feel it possible at that moment. The psalmist makes a deliberate decision to put his hope in God (42 :5, 11, 43:5). He is entirely confident that God will respond - that God will send forth his light, guide him, and that he will be with God on his Holy Mountain, where there is no chance of depression.

Overcoming depression

The first step is to recognise depression.  You may have depression if:

• ­ Your mood is persistently low over two or three weeks
• ­ You can’t motivate yourself to do things you would normally do
• ­ You’re finding it difficult to concentrate
• ­ Your thoughts have become persistently negative

It is also common for the sex life of someone who is depressed to be affected.

Taking action

The next step is to act and put the following principles into practice:

• ­ If you notice these negative changes persisting it’s time to do something
• ­ Don’t allow an illness to develop just hoping it will go away
• ­ Ask for help!
• ­ Review your stress levels over a period of time
• ­ Consult a doctor or psychological health specialist as soon as convenient
• ­ If the difficulties do not resolve do not delay in seeking professional help

Taking the above steps will start a process of monitoring you and treating you for depression before it becomes severe.  Depression is very treatable. Research has shown that when therapy is combined with medication, there is a 90 percent successful treatment rate.
There are many difference ways forward with depression; Self help, Talking treatments and Medication with antidepressants.

Self Help

Self-help methods of overcoming depression can include:

• ­ Increasing your levels of exercise.  This is known to stimulate endorphins which have a positive effect on mood. 45 – 60 minutes 3 times a week for 10 -12 weeks
• ­ Reading self help leaflets, books, internet programmes based on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) principles and techniques

Talking Treatments
There are various types of counselling and therapy, which one is appropriate for you will depend on the factors involved in your depression.

• ­ Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) helps identify unrealistic and unhelpful ways of thinking and then develop new, more helpful ways of thinking and behaving
• ­ Psychodynamic counselling helps you to see how your past experiences may be affecting your life now.
• ­ Bereavement Counselling helps when you are struggling after someone close to you has died
• ­ Couple counselling helps if your depression seems to be linked with your relationship
• ­ Problem Solving counselling this helps you clarify key problems, break them down into manageable parts and develop problem solving skills.

Medication with antidepressants

Anti-depressants:

• ­ Are usually prescribed for severe or long lasting depression
• ­ Will take 2 -3 weeks before being fully effective
• ­ Will decrease anxiety after a few days
• ­ Will improve sleep patterns after a few days 
• ­ Are normally taken for about 6 months after you start to feel better
• ­ Are not addictive but need to be withdrawn slowly
• ­ May produce side effects which are usually minimal and short term
• ­ If side effects persist then a different drug can be tried
• ­ It sometimes takes time to find the specific drug and dose to suit the individual