Help For Depression

Michael J. S. Austin, Ph.D.

Depression is a deeply troubling experience for many people. Fortunately today there is much less stigma for those battling these dark thoughts, but there may still be a perceived stigma. And quite apart from any social challenges, there is the great big black thing itself. Are efforts to help patronising? Review these suggestions, and draw your own conclusions. I am not a medical practitioner, and the following brief outline is offered as an expression of my Christian convictions. Is there hope for people suffering from depression?

• SEE THE BIG PICTURE

Without the big picture any sort of personal difficulty will appear bleak and meaningless. But with it, the same problem will have a context. The biblical big picture is utterly realistic as it explains how we are part of an abnormal world. Once it was perfect, but now following the rebellion of our first parents, we are all sinful, guilty, proud rebels, who live in defiance of God, the mighty creator.

Without this context people struggle to make sense of a strange 'normality' that just doesn't make sense. With the biblical big picture we see a division between God and humanity, between each other in spoiled relationships, and in the self against self in our own personalities. While this is the source of many psychological difficulties, illnesses caused by chemical imbalance and other hereditary depressive conditions, are beyond the scope of this article. In general, the depression I am talking about includes deep sadness, persistent low mood, a sense of hopelessness and self-condemning worthlessness.

• RELEVANCE

Neither is this offered as a self-help tool for personal psychological problems as if that was an end in itself. The gospel of Christ is not a therapeutic aid for guilt, fear, or depression, but it is God's way of reconciling sinners to himself. The gospel of Christ is the revelation of the love of God in Christ, who, shedding his precious blood in death as a sacrifice, carried the penalty due to multitudes of condemned breakers of the divine law.

The goal of the gospel of Christ is the glory of God in the salvation of moral rebels, who through repentance and faith receive the forgiveness of all their sins. So, first receive reconciliation with God, and then if you are depressed or troubled, some of the material here may help you. 'Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God' (Psalm 42:5).

Note the close causal relationship between thoughts and feelings, and that these words from Scripture teach that at times we ought to challenge ourselves, and take specific actions to deal with feeling cast down and dejected. Don't become a victim of your own dark thoughts - challenge them!

• GRACE

Remember salvation is all of God's rich, wholly undeserved overflowing grace. So, if you have come to Christ on God's terms, you will have ceased trying to love God as a means to earn his acceptance. We were loved not because our performance gave us the edge over others as we tried to win God's approval - by no means! We were not loved because we were especially fine specimens of humanity. The way to avoid that muddle is to say, 'I'm special because God loves me.' To gain a sense of high personal value will certainly help to reduce depression linked with low self-esteem.

I was in a Bible study once when we noted Jesus' words 'Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows' (Luke 12:7), when one person, who was experiencing psychological difficulties, exclaimed, 'That's a lot more helpful than counselling sessions!' Some biblical counselling may be productive, but never forget the powerful, direct teaching of the word of God.

A personal realisation of God's grace will make a huge difference to your self-acceptance. The good news is that God's acceptance of you is not based on your efforts to impress God, but upon Christ's perfect law-keeping and spotless righteousness lived for you as your substitute. Now, it is he who has been accepted on our behalf, with the result, 'It [righteousness] will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespassers and raised for our justification' (Romans 4:24-25).

• REALISM, NOT PERFECTION

Self-understanding is a slow process, so don't become overly introspective and absorbed with your own psyche. Some psychological problems arise from buried fears and guilt, whether social guilt or true moral guilt. Some depressive problems may arise when we develop a serious dislike of some part of our person and adopt a burying strategy. We shove the traits we dislike down into the depths and work to create a more acceptable persona to cover the one with whom we are at odds.

Unfortunately this troubled strategy only forces parts of your person into the depths. Deep buried conflicts tend to create dark, anxious and complex thoughts, as we struggle to be someone else - more acceptable, more attractive, more intelligent, and other idealistic traits. But whichever strategy we use, some deeper level of self understanding may help you gain more balance and less self-condemnation.

Here we may find that a God-given sense of realism will help to free us from the depressing chains of idealism. Learning to accept yourself will follow as you realise that God has accepted you just as you are; not just as you wanted to be. Oh, what a big sigh of relief! '... for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control' (2 Timothy 1:7). So, learn to pray, to trust God, to confess sin, and to discipline your thought life.

• MEANING

Once you begin to see the big picture, and if you have trusted in Jesus Christ for salvation, then you have a value to God beyond measure. Then, as you grow in your knowledge of God, you also gain self-knowledge, and as you encourage others and share the gospel, you will begin to gain a far richer understanding of God's eternal purpose in Christ.

Often, various sorts of suffering, including mental anguish, may be used by God to lead us into a calmer trust and rest in the Lord Jesus. And you may also gain insights into your own tendency to depression, or that tendency to be down on yourself, as you say with calm assurance; 'There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus' and later in the chapter, 'And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose' (Romans 8:1 & 28).

Michael J. S. Austin, Ph.D.

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