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Is
depression a real thing?
Yes
my friends it is very real. It is something that has been suffered by
many since the beginning of time. You will find many in the Bible who
cried out to God in desperate moments of their lives. David, Job and Elijah
are just a few. Some even cursed the day they were born in the midst of
their pain. The good news is each came through it and God was there every
time they called out to Him. He will be there for you too so please call
on the name of Jesus and let Him bring you through this time of your life.
What
causes depression?
There
are many answers to this question. Some of the things are physical, some
emotional, some an attack of the enemy, some wrong thinking on our parts
and also some generational things. It is why we need to seek help. We
need to find out what the cause is and what is needed to get through it
on a daily basis.
What
can I do about it?
First
and foremost you must tell someone how you are feeling. You cannot hide
it or be afraid to share it with someone you trust. If it is just something
that comes and goes make sure you have a good support system around of
family and friends who really know you and will help you walk through
it. If it is a daily way of life for you then you must seek professional
help. If you are suicidal you must call a hospital or the police so that
they may get you to a safe place for a short time until the suicide thoughts
have subsided.
There
are a few points I really want to go further into so you know exactly
what to do.
1.
Calling someone you can trust: This
is very important because not every one understands depression or what
you may be feeling at the moment. People sometimes say things that hurt
us more because they really don't know how we are feeling. It is easy
to say go take a walk and you will feel better but for someone in the
pit of depression getting out of the house is not easy. Pray the Lord
will put safe people in your life. People who know you and know the battle
you are fighting. Pray for His compassion and understanding to be with
that person as you talk to them. There were times through my depression
that I made a list of people I knew for sure loved me and would not judge
me. When it came time to make one of those calls I knew the people I could
call. I also know that this is when you don't feel like calling anyone
and the easiest thing to do is isolate. Take it from one who knows that
is the worse thing to do. The thoughts just get worse, the feelings get
worse and before you know it you don't even want to come out of the room.
For me this is the enemy's biggest tactic against those suffering with
depression. If he can get us to not reach out and get help he knows we
will simply stay in the rut. If however you pick up the phone or send
a plea in an email you can trust that the Lord will be there through someone
to just talk and listen. He is the faithful One my friends. He knows what
you are going through and He will make a way where there seems to be no
way.
2.
Calling a Professional:
I cannot tell you how important this is. You must have someone you can
trust but also someone who will be there for you and help you to work
through the problems that may be causing the depression. My only hope
is that you seek out Godly Professionals. I spent two and a half years
dealing with the secular doctors and therapists and got nowhere. I seemed
to be going in circles because they did not understand the relationship
I had with God or the faith I had in God and I could not talk openly about
things I knew the Bible said. I received a lot of wrong counseling and
made some stupid decisions based on that counseling. In Psalm 1 verse
one it says, "blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of
the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of
the scornful", David knew what ungodly counseling would do to a person,
and he advises us to seek Godly counseling. In Proverbs 11:14 we are told,
"where there is no counsel, the people fall; but in the multitude
of counselors there is safety." There is no problem with seeking
counseling just try to be sure it is Godly counsel. I was able to get
my hands on a Christian Yellow Pages and found a counselor in there. When
I moved to another state I just went through the regular Yellow Pages
under counselors. They will usually have something in their advertisement
that will let you know they are Christian. The Lord blessed me with two
wonderful Christian counselors who knew the word of God and taught me
what it said about all the problems in my life. It was a slow process
but one well worth it. Through them I was also able to find Christian
doctors who helped with the medication I needed at the time. I cannot
express how important this is. If you don't have any resources in your
phone book call a church and ask them. Most Christian counselors attend
church somewhere and if you keep trying you will find the one you need.
This step is vital to your recovery. A friend might be able to help you
get through a rough spot but the counselors are there to help you get
to the root of the problems.
3.
Suicidal Thoughts:
You need immediate help. You must call someone and get that help. Many
people think I can make it through this but again from my own experience
the battle is a strong one and someone needs to be able to help you. My
counselor had me sign a suicide contract that if I even thought about
suicide I would call her. This was hard for me because I knew if I did
call I could wind up in a hospital. She assured me that she would first
talk with me and decide if she thought I was a danger to myself at that
moment or if it was something she knew she could walk me through until
I could see her again she would do that. We made a contract and we both
signed it. If you suffer with suicidal thoughts do this with your counselor,
your doctor or a very close friend. It will help to keep you accountable
and it will help to keep you safe. Before I had the Christian counseling
my sister was left with the chore of getting me admitted to a hospital
and I was angry with her for days but when it was over I was thankful.
When these thoughts are plaguing us we are not thinking straight and the
enemy would love for us to follow through and take our lives.
In
John 10:10 Jesus clearly states that "it is the thief who comes
to steal, kill and destroy, but I have come that you might have life
and have it more abundantly."
There is only one who wants
you out of this world and his name is satan. We need to fight with everything
we have to not listen to him and if that means being in a safe place than
that is okay. The Lord will use it for good. I have a very close friend
in my life that I met in the hospital and we have remained friends for
over eight years now. You never know what God will do in the midst of
a situation like this. All I can keep repeating is He is faithful and
He will be with you where ever you go. It is His Word and you can trust
Him. I know it is scary to take that step. I have been there and I have
learned from it that sometimes the hardest step to take is the first one.
Take it my friend and let God meet you at your point of need. These are
just a few of the things I have learned through my own experiences with
depression and suicide.
There
are also some other things that became very helpful to me through
this time and I would like to share them with you.
1.
Get in the Word of God. Read it often.
Get the Scriptures in you that will help to overcome. The Bible tells
us that satan roams about seeking whom he may devour and depression
is just one thing that he might use. He is not going away my friends
but we have a Savior whose name is Jesus who has overcome the enemy
of our souls. Read the Scriptures that deal with the way you are feeling.
For me it was the Psalms. David seemed to have a lot of days like I
did and he had no problem expressing it. I always use to thing that
God put them in there just for me so that I would know I was not alone.
David cried out to God all the time, he meditated on God's ways and
he trusted Him. We cannot even begin to overcome if we don't know the
love of God in our lives. We need to know how valuable we are to Him
and how precious we are in His sight. He says,
"I give you life and I give you death, choose
life."
He
has even told us which one to choose. How simple is that. As we read His
Word and begin to grasp His love and His plan for our lives we begin to
get stronger in Him. This will help us in overcoming our thought life
and renew our mind to who we are in Christ.
2. Praise and Worship Music: I
cannot tell you how many times putting on a tape or CD had helped to calm
the worse of the storm. We begin to focus on Him and as we lift up our
praises to him the heaviness of the moment begins to get lighter. Even
if all you do is listen to it you will be helped. The Bible tells us that
whenever Saul was distressed that David would come and play music for
him. It really does help soothe us and it also lets the enemy know we
are not giving up and we will praise Our Lord right through it. Again
in the Psalms we can read how depressed David was and how much he wanted
to give up but he always magnified God in his songs. Don't have any praise
and worship music? Find a Christian radio station or pick up the Bible
and start singing the verses. Anything that you can do to magnify the
Lord in the midst of the darkness will help that darkness start to dissipate.
I know I do it often.
3. Find some good books to read. For
me the most helpful were Neil Anderson's books. He has written Victory
over the Darkness and The Bondage Breaker along with others. He has a
web site and you can receive daily emails that will help to renew your
mind. His web site is www.ficm.org. He is just one of many who have written
books to help you overcome the thoughts that plague your mind.
4. Speak God' Word daily: This may
sound as strange to you as it did to me at first. My counselor had me
write out scriptures and agree to speak them out loud every day. The one
we concentrated on the most was the armor of God found in the book of
Ephesians. The Bible says there is life and death in the power of the
tongue. If we speak words of life, God's words of life, we are speaking
life into our situations. We are declaring His Word above all the circumstances
in our lives. This will require discipline on your part but again it will
be very helpful. Ask the Lord to open up His Word to you that you might
have understanding in what you are doing and saying.
5. Hold on to Jesus: No matter how
bad you feel it will never change who Jesus is. The Bible says He is the
same yesterday, today and forever." It also says He came to bind
up the broken hearted and to set the captive free. We also learn in Isaiah
53 that He is a man who is acquainted with our grief and sorrows. He has
walked in our shoes. He knows what it is to be alone. He knows what it
is to be overwhelmed and we can know that by His cry to God in the Garden
just before His crucifixion. Jesus is the example of God's love that He
sent to us in the flesh. He is your victory and He is your strength. He
will keep us and not let us be tempted beyond what He is able to help
us with. His desire is for you and He tells us to cast all our cares on
Him because He does care for us. It is another step of trust in someone
you cannot see but you can know Him through prayer and through reading
His Word. He is love.
6. Know inside of you that no matter how bad
it seems at the moment it will get better. I can honestly tell
you when my life was falling apart all I could think about daily was dying.
There were a lot of people who cared about me and everyone told me the
reasons I had to live but in that darkness I could not grasp it. I believed
my life was my own and I wanted the pain to go away and the only way I
knew at the time to make that happen was death. Well my friends I am glad
to tell you I am still here and able to write this to you today. I found
another way for the pain to go away. His name is Jesus and He has walked
me through so much healing and forgiveness in my heart that I am truly
learning what it is to be a new creature in Him. I could not see the road
ahead of me when I was in that pit. I could not see the blessings that
God would pour into my life. I did not know that had I died I would have
missed being at the birth of my two grandchildren. I would not have known
the joy of the Lord in my life. I could not know the ministry he would
later place in my hands to help others through this. I could not see the
good at the time but the good was waiting. How much I would have missed
if I had taken my life at that time. I thank God for Jesus. I thank Him
for my friends and for the counselors he put in my path. I thank Him for
you for if you are reading this now I know you are seeking His answers
to your problems and I know that He will bring you through as He did me.
Again
I am not saying that depression is only caused by one thing. There are
many different reasons for it. If you are willing to seek help in any
of the areas I mention you can be assured that you too will have victory.
Will the depression fully go away? I can't tell you that. I can tell
you that the Lord will walk with you every day through it. He will shine
His Light into those darkest areas of pain in our lives. He will comfort
you and guide you. He will become your best friend and He will never
let you go.
I
hope this helps in some small way. We at Friends Because of Him are
committed to helping anyone going through depression. You can feel free
to contact me at any
time. I don't have all the answers, sometimes I many not even have any
but I am here to listen and to care. So please call on us if needed.
I
have also found some other pages on the web that I thought might be
helpful to you. You can link to them from here.
LINKS:
Christian Depression
Pages
A Christian Counselor
Christians
in Recovery: Links : Christian : Depression
MY TESTIMONY
- A Panic Disorder Overcomer by Jan
Season of Peace
Online
4 His Glory - Teresa's story
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