Mar 24 2008
Will God Get You Out of Your Depression?
[ABC News]
Religion, it seems, can act as a double-edged sword when it comes to mental health.
“Religion can amplify things, both positively and negatively,” said Brother Larry Whitney, university chaplain for community life at Boston University. “It’s not religion; it’s the misuse of religion that creates a negative reaction.”
“You might be shocked to find out there are some denominations that do harm to people,” said Patricia Murphy, chaplain and assistant professor of psychiatry at Rush University. “Some congregations teach that depression is a sin … that’s the reaction they get when they turn to their pastor.”
Being punished by your religious leader for an unavoidable disorder sounds bad enough — yet it’s often compounded with tacit warnings against leaving the condemning sect.
“Some religious groups are taught that the only way you get to heaven are if you are in that denomination,” says Murphy. “There are some people who are wounded by that, it adds to their depression, God becomes a problem, religion becomes a problem.”
Read about it here.
[From me]
I believe pastors and other Christians that just say pray harder are hurting people. God wants us to have an abundant life but just praying harder doesn’t always solve the problem. Can God heal someone? Yes and He does. But sometimes He uses counseling. Sometimes it could even be demon possession.
I believe the key is exchanging our old life for the new life we have in Jesus. Once we accept Jesus we have a new identity and we must not allow the flesh to control us.
What do you think?
12 responses so far
Kevin, Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post.
Unfortunately, it’s not just depression where people get the just pray harder response from pastors. I work with battered women and so many of them have heard just pray for him and it’ll get better. For these women, that could be fatal advice. People need to be told that counseling for issues could very well be God’s way of helping them transform their lives. We have dependence on Christ first and then inter-dependence with the body of believers to affect transformation.
Important subject Kevin. Thanks for posting on it. I think we need to keep in mind that there are numerous issues in dealing with and thinking about depression. Depression is not just always emotional. It can be physical, spiritual, and etc. It is necessary to try to determine which type of depression it is.
This is an issue our family knows a good deal about on several fronts. I can say that while my mom has suffered from severe depression for years - she also has joy due to her relationship with God. Prayer is a vital part of her treatment along with medication and counseling. My husband experienced a period of depression a few years ago. He tried medicine and that did not work. Why not? His was not physical. His was spiritual because he was not listening to and following God’s direction for his/our life. Therefore, there was no joy in his work. Amazingly when he did decide to listen and follow God - the depression was completely gone.
Thanks again for posting on this subject. This is one that I have spoken on recently to a break out group at a retreat here locally. I have been asked to speak on it again when the arrangements can be made. God did not say that as a Christian we would always be happy. That’s where I think one of the biggest misconceptions remains especially inside the walls of the church.
I believe in the power of prayer, and there is power in prayer to help people suffering from depression. God answers our prayers sometimes by getting us to go and see a doctor, and taking medication to help us when we are depressed. The problem is that those of us who have never suffered from clinical depression have a tough time relating to those who do. Some people are not just down in the dumps, but genuinely depressed, and they need professional help, not just a pat on the back.
Religious groups hurt people who are down in a lot of other ways besides just telling them to pray more. They tell them that they don’t have enough faith, or that their depression is a result of sin in their lives. It can have long-lasting effect on peoples’ lives.
I’m thankful that the Prince of Peace is the Lord over it all, and that if we cry out to Him, He will hear us, and answer us, and help us overcome.
Far too many people try to “diagnose depression” and give their very simplistic, unrealistic, and non-effective “prescriptions” as to how they can recover from “depression.”
Then, on the other side of the matter, some folks believe that “everything” is depression-related.
I believe that “depression” (which I’ve battled on and off for many years) is a very, very complex issue, and must be handled with extreme care.
Phil Hoover’s last blog post..“Precious in the sight of the Lord” Dr Charles W Conn goes to glory!
Kevin, do you believe that a Christian with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit can be demon possessed?
I believe they can be demon oppressed after they accept Christ.
My dad is more of an expert on this. He has dealt with people who have accepted Jesus and still had demons in them. They just don’t disappear because it is Spiritual warfare. So yes, I believe they can be but I don’t believe they can’t get demons after they accept Jesus unless they were already there.
Kevin Bussey’s last blog post..Will God Get You Out of Your Depression?
I believe in praying for everything! That being said, I don’t believe “just” prayer is always the answer. My entire family has suffered from depression, from just so-so to bi-polar. Mental issues are just like any other sickness, some MUST be treated with medication. I think it’s very sad when people are made to believe that somehow they aren’t christian enough or they wouldn’t have these problems. I’m not saying that everyone believes this way, but I know there are some. “If you just trusted enough in God and His promises” . . . we wouldn’t expect someone suffering from heart problems do rely on that and that alone . . . too often we (christians) attitube mental illness to a lack of faith. A very grave mistake in my opinion.
According to scripture it’s not possible for a Christian with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit to be demon possessed. But, I absolutely agree with you on demon oppression.
I suffered greatly from depression/anxiety over 3 yrs ago. At that time I was a practicing pharisee, but didn’t know as of yet. My family and I attended a church over flowing with pharisees. The legalistic, holier than thou atmosphere finally broke me after attending like churches for 10 yrs.
I finally came to the end of myself, and gave my life over to Christ. Giving my life over healed my anxiety/depression and gave me a joy unspeakable and full of glory. I have been set free!!!!
I believe depression comes when we try to live life our way, not God’s way.
Matt. 5 is a great study on how to live God’s way.
I’m really glad to see that the posters here would seek medical care instead of relying on prayer alone. Instances like this story from Foxnews.com are tragic, not to mention criminal. I’m not against prayer any more than I’m against wishing or thinking; But I am against failure to act responsibly. In my view, failure to seek necessary medical care for any reason, including the reliance on prayer, is irresponsible.
But that does raise a question, at least in my mind: if those who do not pray are helped by medical care to the same degree that people who pray are helped, then why do people who pray feel that God is answering their prayer through medical care? Studies show that prayer has no effect on the outcome of medical treatment (here’s an example from the Washington Post). So if God heals people, then why do you seek medical treatment? If God heals people through medical treatment, then why are people who do not pray healed just like people who do pray?
Just to reiterate: I don’t mean to suggest that people neglect medical care in favor or prayer, I’m only trying to understand how the faithful can reconcile this apparent contradiction.
A3,
Sorry your post got hung in spam and wordpress isn’t emailing me for the last 2 days when I get a comment.
Any other wordpress people having the same problem?
Kevin Bussey’s last blog post..I’ve had to change the way I pray…
Kevin,
No problem. It’s probably because I hit the 2-link limit in the post. It’s a very small price to pay for the great job WordPress (actually, the Akismet plugin that WordPress uses) does at filtering out the real spam!