Depression

[Mel]

It always chapped me that pastors seem to look at anxiety and depression as spiritual weaknesses. I felt like crap for so long because I couldn't pray it away and I felt like a weak Christian...Finally (against my parents, pastor, and exhubbys advice) went on medication. Yea, after a month or so when I felt sooooooo much better I knew it was all a line of BS.

[Lizzy F.]

(09-07-2011 08:32 PM)Mel Wrote:  It always chapped me that pastors seem to look at anxiety and depression as spiritual weaknesses. I felt like crap for so long because I couldn't pray it away and I felt like a weak Christian...Finally (against my parents, pastor, and exhubbys advice) went on medication. Yea, after a month or so when I felt sooooooo much better I knew it was all a line of BS.

Yeah. I'm depressed because I'm ill. I haven't felt well in years and I found out why recently. I'm starting treatment for it and feel a little better.

So much for all those fundies that thought I had some secret sin in my life that caused me to be unhappy.

[bean]

I remember sitting through some Bible study led by our pastor--basically, it said that the vast majority of psychological problems were influences of satan, etc. As someone who has struggled with OCD..i can tell you, no amount of praying made it go away for me. This was one of the things that led me to believe that God loved me, but there were a lot of things people in my church believed that didn't make much sense. In fact, I think the guilt piled on with this philosophy made my OCD WORSE. Major flareup. Took medication for 2 years and did some self-therapy (thanks, cheap insurance..I know paying a counselor 150 bucks a month for two years would have broke you...so I bought a couple of 20 dollar workbooks)...well, between that and just coming to the conclusion my ocd had zero to do with God, or me not being perfect--and everything to do with how my brain was wired...it all worked.
I'm back. On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst..my ocd is at about a 2. No meds. We're good.

[Presbygirl]

(09-07-2011 08:45 PM)Lizzy F. Wrote:  

(09-07-2011 08:32 PM)Mel Wrote:  It always chapped me that pastors seem to look at anxiety and depression as spiritual weaknesses. I felt like crap for so long because I couldn't pray it away and I felt like a weak Christian...Finally (against my parents, pastor, and exhubbys advice) went on medication. Yea, after a month or so when I felt sooooooo much better I knew it was all a line of BS.

Yeah. I'm depressed because I'm ill. I haven't felt well in years and I found out why recently. I'm starting treatment for it and feel a little better.

So much for all those fundies that thought I had some secret sin in my life that caused me to be unhappy.

I am so sorry LizzyF. A chronic illness has got to be one of the hardest things in life. I hope this treatment really helps you!

[notdrinkingthekoolaid]

This was always reassuring to me...
Psalm 103:13-14
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.

I don't believe that depression/anxiety/whatever emotional distress you are in is simply a sin problem. Sometimes it can be a result of a pile of regrets and bad decisions, but sometimes...our bodies are just out of whack and life becomes more than we can handle. Even God knows this....why can't humans get a grasp on it?

[Persnickety Polecat]

(09-07-2011 08:32 PM)Mel Wrote:  It always chapped me that pastors seem to look at anxiety and depression as spiritual weaknesses. I felt like crap for so long because I couldn't pray it away and I felt like a weak Christian...Finally (against my parents, pastor, and exhubbys advice) went on medication. Yea, after a month or so when I felt sooooooo much better I knew it was all a line of BS.

I've made this my life's work: To remove the stigma associated with mental illness. Depression isn't generally considered along the same lines as the "biggies," but there's such a stigma, both in the IFBC and outside of it, that people are afraid to seek help. The fact is that mental illness is as real and as treatable as physical illness.

My mom suffered from bipolar disorder from the time she was about 20-21 until she died two years ago. Most of that time she was untreated. Our lives were pure, unadulterated hell because of the way her family (my father) shamed her into not seeking treatment.

There's no shame in seeking treatment for cancer, and there's no shame in seeking treatment for depression, schizophrenia, or anything else that ails you.

Big hugs to all of you.

[Jenn]

I avoided getting professional help for my depression for a long 10 years because I believed all this. I finally had to get treated when my life became completely non-functional. I was AMAZED to find out my psychologist was not "coddling" me with self-esteem talk and humanism like I'd been warned. Have these "biblical counseling" experts ever heard of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy? I never heard of it at BJU. There's nothing anti-Christian about it, and it actually helps people!

That and yes, medication. I broke down and got treated and finally started living my life. I only wish I had done it years earlier.

[NotUnderLaw]

Are you saying you like that video, or dislike it? Because I imagine that anyone who listens to Tim Conway for any length of time will develop some pretty severe depression.

[Jenn]

Dislike!

Thank God I am finally free from this teaching!

[Ataraxia]

Glad to hear your better Jenn. This type of teaching seems poisonous.