Depression greatly reduces quality of life. It causes misery, contributes to addictions, and reduces our energy level. Beliefs about reality and hope for our life have more to do with why we are depressed than some may realize. God has the answer to help you get free of depression.
Consequences of Depression
Depression is characterized as a mood of sadness and irritability of greater intensity and duration than normal sadness and grief. A depressed person will have negative thoughts and behaviors such as crying spells and physical symptoms that include body aches, low energy, eating, weight, and sleeping problems.
Depression frequently coincides with other illnesses such as: heart disease, stroke, cancer, arthritis, chronic lung disease and diabetes.
Neuropsychiatric illnesses such as depression are known to be associated with chemical imbalances. Although drug therapy is prescribed to correct the chemical imbalances, it shouldn’t be assumed that such therapy is treating the cause. Current research is finding that chemical imbalance is just another symptom. Prolonged use of psychiatric drugs may cause permanent brain damage.
Current research is finding that stress contributes to all sorts of disease including depression. For example, it has been found that a mother’s stress during pregnancy can increase the chances of child having depression as an adult. The environment and belief structure also play into this. Research has found that the stressful incidents in a person’s life are cumulative. The ACE Study which deals with adverse childhood experiences has found that stress affects later outcomes of physical and mental health.
Feelings of hopelessness within depressed people are very common. They feel their situation will not change and they feel helpless and powerless in the ability to control their life. A child certainly would feel that way if they were growing up in an adverse life situation. Yet many adults feel hopeless and powerless.
Symptoms of Depression
- Persistent sadness, anxiety, anger, irritability or empty mood
- Feelings of hopelessness, pessimism, guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
- Loss of interest in hobbies, activities, including sex
- Insomnia, early morning awakening or over sleeping
- Decreased appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and/or weight gain
- Decreased energy
- Crying spells
- Thought of death or suicide, suicide attempts
- Restlessness
- Difficulty concentrating, remembering, and making decisions
- Poor school performance, persistent boredom, headaches and stomachaches
- Risk taking and less concern for safety
Causes of Depression
When we have been hurt in the past, we accumulate beliefs and feelings of anger about the people and situations that have hurt us. These beliefs will continue to affect our thinking and actions until they are renewed.
While fear, shame, guilt, frustration, and unworthiness may influence and support a state of depression, anger is probably the biggest contributor. Fear within our life will also make us feel hopeless, which contributes to depression.
These are causes which any sort of drug therapy cannot address.
God’s Answer to Depression
What we believe about our life will determine how we feel. In order to change how we feel, we must change what we believe.
The answer is to get rid of anger and frustration. This will change a person’s perspective about their feelings of hopelessness. The way to do this is to totally forgive all that you have anger toward—for all the things that have happened that have made you angry. My article Forgiveness: The Antidote for Anger and Pain provides specific detail on how to do this. As you go through this process, depression will begin to lift.
Anger is not the only contributor to depression even though getting free of anger will go a long way toward achieving freedom. Many people who are depressed also suffer from anxiety disorder which is fear and worry. Fear can lead to beliefs of hopelessness because it stops a person from accomplishing goals. As in anger, the solution to depression is getting free of fear, worry, and anxiety.
Low self image is another issue which affects depression. A person’s self image can be damaged from issues of abandonment, rejection, and failures of the past—all of which direct anger to someone, some thing, or one’s self. Low self image and other emotions such as shame and guilt need to be cleansed from our life.
The way to achieve freedom from depression, therefore, is to acknowledge your fears and other life-controlling beliefs to God and seek His renewing of your mind. You can utilize The Prayer to Get Free to accomplish this.
Truly, there are alternatives to psychiatric drugs which only treat the symptoms. God’s way is get to the root causes. When you invite God to deal with the heart of the issue, the symptoms of depression will go away.
http://www.mindfreedom.org/kb/psychiatric-drugs/antipsychotics/neuroleptic-brain-damage
http://www.antipsychiatry.org/drugs.htm
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/ace/index.htm
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Neil Elmer is author of the book PreScriptures for Life: A Believer's Guide to Praying Scripture. His ministry helps people achieve peace in life and be set free from the bondages of sin and oppression.
PreScriptures for Life
$15.95 Harvest Day Books
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