3. Stop Believing Depression Isn’t Physical.
Just as we would never shame a cancer patient or a diabetic for their hurting bodies, we need to shift our perspective to see depression as a struggle of the brain. Only then will we be able to treat it in a proper way. Depression is a disease of the body, that in turn impacts our emotions, our thoughts and even our spirit. There are many causes to depression, and whether it’s rooted in trauma, hormones or stress—it almost always effects our body. Our perspective of depression needs to change so that we can learn to embrace and support those in it, instead of pushing them away.
4. Stop Believing Depression Shouldn’t Be Talked About.
Though I still see hints of this myth among Christians, I am grateful to see this myth slowly dying in the church. There is no shame in feeling depressed, and we should learn to talk about it, to preach about it and to sing about it when it’s all said and done. Scripture is filled with passages of men and women who have struggled through the pit of depression, and their response was to cry out! And crying out is always the first step to healing—because depression is a disease that THRIVES in isolation. It wants to pull us into the prison of loneliness, where it can break us down in weakness. By talking about depression, we slowly begin loosening its grip—allowing us to move in the direction of treatment, of support and of healing.
My deepest prayer is that as a body of believers, our attitudes would shift and our hearts would change as we work through this important issue. May we create an environment where we embrace those who are struggling and in pain—rather than push them away because of believing these myths about depression. May we learn to be transparent—but more so, to accept the transparency of those around us. Because at the end of the day, our weakness will always, always, always point us to the one who can make us strong. And isn’t that what Christianity is really about?
*About this time last year, I wrote about the Darkness of Depression and The Christian Response after the heart-breaking suicide of Pastor Rick and Kay Warren’s son. This tragic event caused a ripple effect of awareness in the body of Christ, and has opened the doors to some really meaningful conversations. May God continue to change our hearts and open our minds so that we stop believing these myths.Â
