Depression: Its Cure

What is written here about depression does not reflect the expertise of a trained psychologist or psychiatrist. Rather it is the viewpoint of a pastor who not only has had to deal with the scourge of depression in his own life, but also has had the privilege of helping his parishioners in their battle with depression.

In searching for a cure to depression it is imperative that we take as our starting point the Scriptures. It is true that the Bible is not a textbook on psychology. Nevertheless, Scripture does contain a great deal of psychology (a word concerning the soul), and therefore has much to say to the problem of depression. Besides, the Bible is God's infallibly inspired Word, the sole rule for faith and practice. In the Scripture therefore we will find the key to overcoming what to many is the horrible enemy of depression.

 What Hope is There for the Depressed Christian?
 

The biggest concern of a depressed person is whether there is any hope for him, any way out. A person who slips into the pit of depression experiences that his life has fallen apart. He is overcome with anxiety and insecurity. He can no longer concentrate. He can barely function. All joy is gone from his life. In spite of his best efforts he has slowly been backed into a comer. He does not know where to turn, what to do. He is caught and knows no way out. His greatest fear is that he will never escape the horrible pit into which he has fallen, that he will be emotionally incapacitated for the rest of his life.

God's Word gives hope and wonderful assurance to the believing Christian in his depression. This is not the case, however, for the unbeliever. The Bible holds forth no hope for those outside of Jesus Christ. To the ungodly the Bible speaks only of wrath and condemnation. This is very depressing! This is not to say that the unbeliever cannot manage to overcome depression to one degree or another. The point is that one is given no encouragement or hope in Scripture, so long as he remains in his unbelieving state.

The Bible, however, does give tremendous hope to the believer in Christ. The Bible assures the believer that the Lord will never leave him or forsake him, not even in the darkness of his depression (cf. Gen. 28: 15, Heb. 13:5). The Lord is his refuge so that he has nothing to fear (cf. Ps. 46). The Lord is his keeper (cf. Ps. 121). In addition, nothing is impossible for the Lord. When one is in the state of depression, the resumption of a normal, productive, happy life seems totally impossible. However, what is impossible for man is possible with God (Gen. 18:14; Matt. 19:26). Finally, there is the promise to the believer that God will provide a way to escape the trials and temptations of life, even his depression (cf. I Cor. 10:13).

These and other assurances the Christian must accept by faith. As indicated, the depressed Christian cannot see a way out. If he did, he would certainly have followed it; for a depressed person wants more than anything else to be delivered from the horrible scourge of depression. However, the situation looks hopeless, impossible. The depressed believer must therefore not live by sight but by faith. He must simply believe and be ready to follow God's way out. Sad to say, it is not uncommon for the depressed Christian to lose even the assurance of his salvation. In that case, he must be pointed to the sure promises of God to save the believer, and he must be called to walk in the way of faith.

It is important that the depressed Christian have this hope of recovery. Overcoming depression is a slow and difficult process. It requires that a person learn things about himself that are humbling and painful. It requires that he also learn a new approach to life that is sometimes even frightening. If he is to do this, he must have the hope that in Jesus Christ there is a way out of his depression.

What are Some Key Elements in Dealing with Depression?

In dealing with depression it is helpful to recognize that there are certain character traits that make one prone to depression. 

One such trait is low self-esteem. By low self-esteem we mean a low estimation of self, feelings of inferiority and worthlessness. One who has low self-esteem sees many good qualities in others but can find very little that is worthwhile in himself. He is convinced that there is very little that he can do and has done that is really worthwhile. He concentrates his attention on all the failures of his life, real or imagined. This convinces him that he is a failure. For this reason he also tends to hate himself.

There are very few who can live with this kind of self-estimation. Who can accept the conclusion that he is inferior, worthless, of no account? For that reason, those with low self-esteem generally strive to convince themselves that they are of true worth and value. They are constantly trying to prove themselves, in order that they may find a measure of self-acceptance.

This inner drive for self-acceptance generally leads a person to live for the approval of others. If others approve of him, he can approve of himself. If others accept him as worthwhile, he can accept himself. This is generally not a conscious thing, but it is very real. Those who have low self-esteem crave the praise of others, are elated at the approval of their peers, but are devastated at disapproval.

This inner drive for self-acceptance also leads to perfectionism. By perfectionism we mean the tendency to set high and lofty goals, to have unrealistic standards. The perfectionist is always in pursuit of the unattainable. Such people tend to be workaholics, overachievers. They can accomplish a great deal. On the other hand, however, these same perfectionistic tendencies can make someone a pathetic underachiever. A person can have such high standards and such lofty goals that he can never accomplish anything. He is afraid to get started on anything for fear his efforts will not be good enough. Or he may get started but, for fear of failure, never finish anything. The point, however, is that the perfectionist is driven by the desire to prove himself, that he may salvage for himself some form of self-esteem and self-acceptance.

These tendencies (low self-esteem, seeking the approval of others, perfectionism) place a person on a collision course with depression.

The chief cause of depression is stress. Certainly there may be and often are other contributing factors. But the chief factor in most depression is stress. Place a person under enough emotional stress for a long enough period of time and he will inevitably slip into the black pit of depression.

Now, consider that those with the tendencies we have just described do in fact live at a very high stress level. How stressful, after all, to live constantly with the conviction of being inferior and worthless! How stressful to live for the approval of others! It is impossible to please all the people all the time. How stressful to strive for unrealistic and unattainable goals, to "fail" again and again, to live with the feelings of guilt that come with such "failures."

The stress that is generated by this approach to life often leads to depression. The normal problems and crises of life quickly overload such a person with more stress than he can handle. The result is the blackness of depression.

To overcome depression requires that these tendencies be overcome and reversed.

The Bible has a great deal of instruction at this point.

First, the Bible teaches that a born-again Christian, who is living his faith in Jesus Christ, is not worthless, not inferior, but very important and valuable.

This is not the case, of course, with the unbeliever. We must not accept the popular notion that everyone, regardless of his relationship to Jesus Christ and regardless of his behavior, is of great value and worth and thus can esteem himself highly. This is humanism at its worst. God's Word is very clear on this point. The unbeliever, who lives apart from Jesus Christ, is totally depraved. He is vile and wicked in all his ways. He may be wonderfully gifted, have tremendous potential and ability; but, being an unbeliever, he uses all his good gifts sinfully. For that reason he is worthless. In his unbelieving state he is of no value whatsoever to the kingdom of Jesus Christ. His life and accomplishments do not promote the cause of God but are a hindrance. Consequently, he is nothing; he accomplishes nothing worthwhile. He has every reason to feel inferior, to esteem himself as nothing, to hate himself.

In Jesus Christ, however, this is all changed. The testimony of Scripture is that the born-again Christian is a new creature in Jesus Christ (cf. II Cor. 5:17). He is the workmanship of God, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that he should walk in them (Eph.2:10).

The implication of these and similar passages are enormous. This implies, for example, that the true Christian is wonderfully gifted of God. He not only has certain natural gifts but also the gift of grace to use his natural abilities in the service of God.

This implies also that the Christian has important work to do in the kingdom. Each believer has a place of labor in the kingdom that is uniquely his. For that place of labor he has been wonderfully gifted by God. And no one else can fill his place, do his work. Others in the church and kingdom are also wonderfully gifted by God. But they have been fitted to occupy a different place, to do other work. Each has his own unique place of labor for which he has been wonderfully gifted. Furthermore, the place of work that God has for each in the kingdom is important. For God will use it to advance the cause of His kingdom.

These spiritual realities must guide the born-again Christian as he seeks to come to a proper estimation of himself. For the Christian to have feelings of inferiority and worthlessness is to deny the work of Jesus Christ in his life and the glorious place God has for him in the kingdom. To esteem himself as important, valuable, and of great worth in Jesus Christ is to lay hold of the reality of his own salvation. 

With this proper estimation of himself the born-again Christian can also accept himself. God does. In Romans 14:17, 18 the apostle Paul indicates that those who serve Christ in righteousness, peace, and joy of the Holy Spirit are acceptable(euartetos, well-pleasing) to God. If God accepts His people as they labor in their respective places in His kingdom, they too must accept themselves. If God is pleased with them as His workmanship, they must be pleased with themselves as well.

With a proper self-esteem the born-again Christian can also love himself. In a certain sense the Christian must hate himself. He must loathe his sin (cf. Ez. 6:9). He must also loathe himself for his sin (cf. Ez. 20:42). He must hate what the New Testament Scriptures call the old man, or the old man with its deeds (cf. Rom. 6:6; Col. 3:9). This is our old sinful self not yet renewed by grace. This self-loathing must bring the Christian to his knees daily to find forgiveness in the cross and the power of grace to overcome sin in his life. On the other hand, however, the born-again Christian certainly is to love himself. This is implied in the great commandment of the law, which is to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matt. 22:39). The Christian is to love what God has made him to become in Jesus Christ - a new creature wonderfully fitted to good works in the kingdom of Jesus Christ.

When the depressed believer learns to take this perspective of himself, the tremendous load of stress generated by a wrong estimation of himself is wonderfully lifted. He has found an essential key to overcoming his depression.

But the depressed believer must not be content to stop here. He must continue to free himself from self-induced stress by learning to live for the approval of God rather than of men.

How stressful it is to live for the approval of men. Our fellow men tend to place unreasonable and impossible demands upon us. They expect of us what we cannot attain. Their approval of us is at best fickle. Besides, no one can please everybody. One who will be all things to all men to gain their approval places himself in an impossible situation.

It is much easier, and thus less stressful, to seek the approval of God. God approves of us when in faith we use our gifts in the loving service of Him and the neighbor. God does not call us to do the impossible. His expectations of us are consistent with the gifts and abilities He has given to us. God's calling to us is to labor in our respective places in His kingdom according to the measure of grace He has bestowed on us. When we busy ourselves in this, God is well pleased. It is true, that God calls us to serve Him perfectly, without sin. And this is impossible so long as we are in the flesh. However, God has graciously provided a covering for our sins in the blood of Jesus Christ. Laboring therefore in the loving service of God, and taking our stand in the shadow of the cross to cover our sins, we enjoy God's blessed approval. It is imperative that we seek God's approval rather than that of men. For this is the command of Scripture. To Timothy the apostle Paul writes, "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed" (II Tim. 2:15). In II Corinthians 5:9 Paul indicates that he and his co-laborers "labor that we may be accepted (eurtetos, well-pleasing) of Christ." In turn, servants are warned not to be men pleasers (cf. Eph. 6:6, Col. 3:22).
Faithfulness to these injunctions of holy Writ is another essential key for the depressed believer to conquer his depression.
Finally, the depressed believer must learn to set realistic goals and standards for himself. This means that he must learn to live according to God's expectations of him. In the first place, God expects the believer to labor diligently in the place God has given him in the kingdom and for which he has been especially fitted. God does not call the Christian, nor has He fitted the Christian, to do every good work. There are many important tasks in the kingdom that belong to others. Each believer must come to understand what is his place in the kingdom, the work for which he is fitted, and then be content to fill that place. It may not be glamorous. It may not put him in the limelight. But it is important work and God's good gift to him. Hence, he must be content to labor there according to his several abilities. This is what God expects of him. This is what the believer must expect of himself and no more.

Furthermore, God expects the believer to work but also to rest. "To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven" (Eccl. 3: 1). There is a time to work but also a time to rest and to play. There is a time to enjoy one's family. There is a time for prayer and meditation. There is also time for a vacation. Jesus Himself often needed time away from the press of the multitudes. Knowing our limitations God in His wisdom and grace even commands us to observe a day of rest, the first day of every week.

The depressed believer, however, with his perfectionistic tendencies seeks to be and do more than this. He expects more of himself than God expects. He expects of himself more than God has equipped him to do. He expects the impossible of himself. The stress, worry, anxiety, and endless problems generated by this mad approach to life easily overwhelm a person with stress and depression.

If the believer will overcome depression, he must forsake the stressfulness of perfectionism and conform his expectations of himself to God's expectations of him.

How is Depression Actually Overcome?

To overcome depression the believer needs help.

First of all, and most importantly, he needs the help of God. As we have noted earlier, if a Christian is to overcome depression he must change deeply entrenched attitudes and patterns. This requires nothing less than the power of divine grace. The believer obtains this divine power through the Word and prayer.

The sorry plight of the child of God who has fallen into deep depression is that he can scarcely pray, or concentrate sufficiently to read the precious Word of God. Such is the scourge of depression. Nevertheless, the depressed Christian must do the best he is able in this regard. If he can  concentrate on God's Word for only a few seconds, then that is where he must start. If all he can pray is, "God help me," then he must pray this with the assurance that God will hear even this brief plea. It is also helpful for the believer in the throes of depression's anxiety to reflect on familiar and comforting passages of Scripture, especially those that relate the mighty works of God to deliver His people in the past.

But the depressed child of God also needs the help of his fellow saints. The power of God's grace also reaches us through the communion of the saints.

The depressed Christian usually does not understand the principles we have been dealing with in this article. If he did, he probably would have been able to avoid the depths of depression. Besides, the judgment of a depressed person is greatly diminished. He sees everything through the dark glasses of depression, which distorts reality.

Hence, the depressed Christian must have the help of his fellow saints. He needs the help of others who understand the intricate maze of depression and can show him the way out. Ideally this would include his pastor, family members, and church members. It may require a professional counselor. The depressed believer also needs the support of others who perhaps do not understand what depression is all about but are sympathetic. He needs their support, encouragement, and prayers.

There are several important things to remember about the healing process in depression.

First, progress is slow. It takes months to slip into a deep depression; it takes equally as long to climb out of it. Those who expect to overcome depression in a few weeks will be sadly disappointed. In fact, false expectations of a quick recovery can have devastating effects when these expectations are not realized.

Secondly, it is necessary temporarily to relieve the depressed person from the crushing responsibilities of life. In depression the normal routine and responsibilities of life become too much to handle. To overcome depression it is important that a person be relieved of the responsibilities he can no longer handle. To make clear the importance of this, consider a person who has strained his back by overworking himself. For his back to heal he must rest it for a while. Should he continue to carry the same load as before, his condition will only worsen. No different are our mind and emotions. A depressed person has overloaded them with stress and strain. To allow the mind and emotions to "heal" he must give them a rest. He must get from underneath the heavy load of stress. This requires the help of family members. It may even require hospitalization.

Thirdly, a depressed person must be helped through different layers of problems. A depressed person has what we may call surface problems. These are problems of which he is aware. They usually are problems with his job, various family members, guilt feelings, etc. These problems are occasioned by the depression which has taken away his ability to function and which probably has made him irritable. These problems must be dealt with first of all. For they are very real and are pressing down upon the depressed person. However, after these problems are brought under control, there are deeper problems that must be handled. These are problems that have brought on the depression. In many instances the depressed person is not even aware of these problem areas. Quite often, if not always, underlying depression are the tendencies we have treated earlier: an unbiblical self- estimation, a tendency to seek the approval of men, perfectionism.

Fourthly, the depressed person may need medical attention. There is an inseparable connection between body and soul. When therefore the soul is ravaged by the scourge of depression, the body is invariably affected. Sometimes depression so adversely affects the body that medical attention is necessary. In this connection, anti-depressant drugs are also worthy of consideration. In depression there is a chemical imbalance in the brain. Many have debated whether this imbalance triggers the depression or the depression the imbalance. Perhaps there is a reciprocal relationship. The fact is that there is such an imbalance and that anti-depressant drugs often are able to help. Many suffering depression have been able to overcome depression much more quickly with the help of anti-depressant drugs.

Finally, the depressed believer is greatly helped by the love, concern, and prayers of his fellow saints. As emphasized before, the depressed Christian must learn not to live for the approval of others. Nevertheless, we all need the support, love, and prayers of our fellow saints. This is especially true when there is depression. Pray for one who is in depression. If he is able to receive you, visit him. Do this even if you do not understand depression. Show him your concern and support. Encourage him. He may not, however, be able to receive you, because of inner fears and turmoil. Then write him to encourage him and to express your love. This support from fellow saints is an essential element in overcoming depression.  

 James Slopsema 

http://www.prca.org/prtj/apr1993.pdf 

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