The Forest of Depression

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls;all your waves and breakers have swept over me. 

- Psalm 42:7

It is both a blessing and a great pain to both think and feel deeply. Because my mind constantly thirsts for Truth, God is able to teach me so many things about myself, others, and God. On the flipside, sometimes I think way too much--I dwell-- and when those thoughts are negative or are lies, it transfers to my emotions. Since I feel deeply as well, I am able to empathize with people who are suffering. However, I often dwell in my emotions also. So when negative thoughts or news of tragedy or anticipation of change reaches my mind, I try to process process process with all this emotion emotion emotion and one of two things happens. I either:

(1) Withdraw into myself and become overly anxious or depressed

or

(2) Entrust my deep-set thoughts and emotions to a God who responds in the way only HE can, reaching my deepest needs of mind and heart by responding with an equally, or even greater depth

That said, I stumbled upon an article in Christianity Today about depression. Based on the clinical definition, I have probably been in major depression once in my life. I know friends who struggle with depression much more than I have, and acquaintances who have suffered even more, to the point of even attempting suicide. It's terrifying. It's terrifying because the person is not thinking rationally. Even if they are, there are still lies that are being believed. Lies that can so cloud the bigger picture that it can steal a life! Some interesting points I gleaned from this article:

"And the nature of the relationships we do have is changing. Many have become what British sociologist Anthony Giddens labels "pure relationships"—"pure" in that they are detached from any social context, external structure, or security. There is no covenant, community, or being to orient the relationship or provide ongoing assurance, direction, and support. All of this must be generated by the relationship itself, which exacts a heavy burden. We can never relax in pure relationships because there is no pledge of fidelity or constancy on which to rest. We must "maintain" these relationships ourselves. Over time, constant vigilance and sustained insecurity often lead to frustration, anxiety, and weariness. These relationships are just too hard to keep up."    

• Our relationships are too individualistic. We don't rely on dedicated community in Christ, but rely on ourselves to sustain friendships. 

•  We "need" to perform maintenance work. When we become weary of this, we can feel all sorts of emotions.

"Opportunity for the church -- Uncertainty, insignificance, and powerlessness. Destructive, self-indulgent escape. Loneliness and isolation. Fear and distrust. Loss of hope. Retreat. Although hasty and incomplete, this sketch of the early-21st-century American cultural mood picks up dark details masked by indices of societal well-being. It also reminds us that to focus exclusively on the individual in our efforts to understand the depression epidemic is to miss the forest for the trees." 

• The Church has opportunity to do the most good for those who struggle with depression. The Church is a hospital for all of our broken lives. We need to address the epidemic of depression in society, not just on an individualized basis

 "Christian teaching about sin and its reverberating effects frees the church from surprise about the disordered state of human affairs. We can acknowledge the effects of sin both within and without. We can look at wrecked reality squarely in the eye and call it what it is. 

And thanks be to God, who raised the One who entered fully into our condition, breaking the power of sin, death, and hell, that we not only can name wrecked reality, but also lean into it on the promise that Christ is making all things new. 

Those who bear the marks of despair on their bodies need a community that bears the world's only sure hope in its body. They need communities that rehearse this hope again and again and delight in their shared foretaste of God's promised world to come. They need to see that this great promise, secured by Christ's resurrection, compels us to work amidst the wreckage in hope. In so doing, the church provides her depressed members with a plausible hope and a tangible reminder of the message they most need to hear: This sin-riddled reality does not have the last word. Christ as embodied in his church is the last word."  

• We know where depression comes from, can call it what it is, and know that God is not going to let depression live forever 

•  Community is essential for reminders of God's provision, love, and promises. If you don't have good community, find it. No excuses until you find one. Even if it is difficult to find one, it is out there, so why stop looking for your biggest aid in fighting depression?