Do you think one can overcome depression Biblically?

[erjunkee]

Originally Posted by lilyflower3191981

I've dated a guy who had suffered severe depression and eventually took his life. I also have a family member who suffers from severe depression and thought about killing herself. These two people were/are both deeply religious folks.

According to numerous of studies, several factors might contribute to depression.

Nutrient deficiency / Drug addiction / Hormonal imbalance / past traumatic personal experiences / psychological factors / heavy metals / Brain chemical imbalance

Another study concluded that virtually all depressed people have a significant decrease in the frontal lobe’s blood flow and activity. (sorry cannot really remember the source)

Many religious people believe that one can overcome depression just by having faith. My own interpretation to that statement is that one can overcome depression Biblically.

I wonder if they (religious people) believe depression is primarily spiritually induced. If that is the case, then people should not get better from therapy or medications.

Do you believe one can overcome depression naturally? Do you believe one can overcome depression Bibically?

This is actually an excellent question, with unfortunately, no simple/easy answer. I'm a very devout Christian and love the Lord with all of my heart. But, I'm also a physician. I see so many patients suffer from diseases/illnesses that occur b/c of years of abusing their bodies and making poor health choices. I also see people affected just as badly who stayed on the "straight and narrow" and have done a great job with eating right, staying health, exercising, yet succumb to the same maladies as the people above. I've often been presented with the question that, in either case above, will faith alone result in healing for these people?

I don't have an answer for that.

Mental illnesses occupy a special place on the spectrum of illnesses that we, as humans suffer from, b/c many times, they're not visible (unless someone is acutely psychotic, etc). I can speak for the African American community concerning mental illnesses and faith b/c I see both sides of it. In the Church, mental illnesses aren't discussed openly. It's often believed that "If you have faith and pray, the Lord will heal you." As a result, so many people in our community go without seeking appropriate care b/c they somehow perceive or are lead to believe that a lack of faith and a fault relationship with the Lord are somehow the cause of the mental illnesses they suffer from. People consequently don't see help, or if they do, they don't take medications b/c they belief "God will heal me."

I don't have an opinion as to whether or not there is a Biblical basis for being healed. The Bible is very clear in that nothing is impossible to those who believe in the Lord (Phillipians 4:13). This includes mental disorders and all illnesses. But from a medical standpoint, I see a desperate need for so many people to be in these medications b/c they struggle to function in their daily lives...

[silibran]

Originally Posted by lilyflower3191981

I wonder if they (religious people) believe depression is primarily spiritually induced. If that is the case, then people should not get better from therapy or medications.

Do you believe one can overcome depression naturally? Do you believe one can overcome depression Bibically?

If you have clinical depression, you need medical help. The Bible never did say not to seek medical help if you needed it.

[Mightyqueen801]

Originally Posted by silibran

If you have clinical depression, you need medical help. The Bible never did say not to seek medical help if you needed it.

Exactly. It's an illness of the brain, a body organ just like the heart and lungs. Just because this illness affects the emotions doesn't mean you neglect to treat the illness and just try to think it away instead. That makes no sense. You wouldn't treat a bad heart valve by quoting bible verses, would you?.

Go ahead and pray about it as you (assuming you are a religious person) would over any other illlness. Maybe you'll be led to the right sources for treatment.

[takealready]

Originally Posted by animalcrazy

I say no, praying and faith won't cure clinical depression. I worked with a woman who was quite intelligent but also had major depression issues. She thought she could control it through prayer, but wound up in and out of the psych ward multiple times. She was a fanatic about religion and wouldn't listen to reason. She insisted that she didn't need meds and that God was the only answer. She lost her supervisor position with the last episode and the depression was even worse for her. She lost her job after her last melt down and had to move to California to be closer to her family. I'm sure she lost her town house too. One little pill a day would have made her life so much easier but her fanaticism got in the way. I've worked in a couple of psych units in my 25 years in health care and there seems to be a common thread among a lot of the crazies. God is all and give me a cigarette. If God is all then why are they still crazy?

wow...

This thread is pure gold.

I have personal experience in my family with deeply religious people that are refusing to seek professional help. They thought that "God alone" would make it "go away". I always ask them this one question:

"Why do we have psychiatrists and psychologists? Do you think God would allow them to exists on this planet if they were not be be used when you need help?"