Spiritual Depression: A Follow Up
Posted by Pastoral Musings on July 18th, 2011
A few months ago I did a series on spiritual depression.
Today I want to do a quick follow up to that series, lest I leave one important thing unsaid.
Depression can be a vicious circle. It can leave a person feeling worse and worse all of the time. It pulls one down into the depths of darkness from which he feels he can never escape.
Depression leaves one feeling at times as if death is the only way to beat it.
Though depression has a great spiritual aspect that should not be denied, the last thing that I wish to do is make every depressed person feel as though they are guilty of sin because they are depressed. It is possible to add to the depression by means of false guilt. Sometimes sin and carelessness lead to depression. There are also other factors that should not be neglected.
One thing that many of us don’t know is that there is a link to the adrenal system and depression. A person who is physically “run down”, or “burnt out” will often experience depression. Depression can often lead to the “run down”, “burnt out” feeling.
As I said, it’s a vicious circle. One problem leads to another.
Sometimes it’s like the chicken and egg thing: who knows which came first?
The issue is to realize that there is a physical as well as a spiritual aspect to depression.
I can make no recommendations for a person. I can only say that one can self-diagnose and self-treat (which may not be the wisest thing to do), or they can talk to their health care provider about this issue. In addition to other solutions, a depressed person would do well to discuss with his/her doctor about the need for a multi-vitamin, or some other supplement that will help build up their energy and replenish their body.
There is no shame in needing medicine.
There is no shame in seeing a doctor for help.
The shame is in refusing to deal with the issue as a spiritual AND physical issue.
Related articles
- The gospel and spiritual depression (wordsofgrace.wordpress.com)
- Talk to Yourself! (challies.com)
- A La Carte (5/12) (challies.com)
