Depression in different cultures

Ed Welch has another interesting article on the CCEF blog, this time about depression. He notes that depression looks different in all parts of the world. He points out that the following are all different ways of describing depression:

A Nigerian who describes a peppery feeling in his head
A Chinese farmer who complains of shoulder and stomach aches
A Korean woman who speaks of burning in her stomach
An Iranian who identifies tightness in his chest
An American who feels interminably sad

He goes on to talk about how you interpret depression (or any pain) differently. Great perspective:

Here is one conclusion from this type of research: depression is not simply a universal pattern of neuronal firing caused by predetermined genetic combinations. At least, it consists of an experience that is shaped by a cultural narrative. Depression has a story overlaid on it. In some cultures the story suggests that the experience is normal and is part of the process of developing character and strength. In others, such as our own, it is a brain pathology that must be treated quickly or it will leave the victim incapacitated.

Your interpretation of pain affects the experience of your pain. If the pain in your chest is from a slightly pulled muscle, you are proud that you are working out. If you believe it is from a tumor or incipient heart failure, it will hurt much worse.

If you experience peculiar sadness, and you are persuaded that God is with you and, through his love, is making you increasingly fruitful, your emotional limp will be less noticeable. But if your hardships are merely neuronal, there is nothing you can do except hope for the right combination of medications.

(...)

We turn to what is universal. We turn to what goes deeper than culture—the God revealed to us by Scripture. One of the beauties of God’s revelation is that we know (1) in this world there will be trouble, and (2) we don’t have to know the cause of the trouble in order to help each other know the comfort of Christ, grow in our confidence in his promises, and fruitfully abide in him. This is for everyone, in every culture.

When Doubts Arise

When dealing with doubt, Ed Welch offers a practical solution:

Read the Bible. Here is one of the great “duhs” of all time. When doubts flare, read the Bible. That has become my number one response to doubts. Sounds pretty easy, but it isn’t. The ennui that accompanies doubt works against picking up a Bible. Reading the Bible is hard enough anyway. To read when faith is at a low ebb is counterintuitive and unnatural. That’s why I have appreciated the motto, “Force feed.” There are times when I don’t know what is good for me. A Blizzard from Dairy Queen seems preferable to . . . anything. Those are the times when I have to over-ride my physical cues and tell my body that it is time to eat something decent. So, when doubts come, force feed. The Word of God is what is best for us.

I stick with the Psalms or the New Testament. The Psalms expand our vision and remind us of God’s mighty acts. The Old Testament suggests that one of our prominent sins is that we forget. The Psalms help us remember. In the New Testament I can turn anywhere. Like the Psalms, it reminds me of what has happened, and that is usually enough. But sometimes I need to be surprised again.

One vacation my wife and I read the book of John aloud to each other, and we found ourselves laughing all the way through it, at least through most of it. What was funny was how Jesus always said and did the unexpected. Even though we knew the stories, they never failed to surprise. That, for me, is a profound answer to doubts.

When I was in college and reading about different world religions, I noticed that while all of them were interesting, they were all very predictable. Work hard to be good. Follow the rules. Don’t rock the implicit caste system – some were in, others were out. Men were entitled. Good men are promised good sex, or at least lots of sex. And keep working to be good. All this could be easily invented by a bunch of guys on a weekend getaway.

Then I read the Bible, and it was like nothing else. Jesus never acted like a mere man. No one could have ever invented him or his way of living, especially when we consider the historical situation. The story of the Samaritan woman in John 4 is enough to cure the spiritual jitters. Nothing is what you would expect. Throughout the New Testament, the disciples do what you would expect. They get ticked off at the little grommets who follow Jesus, they jockey for the highest position, they run and hide when things get a little risky. But Jesus never does what you expect. And, somehow, that makes him seem more human. Somehow, his unanticipated responses make perfect sense.

My ungrateful heart

I read this story in Luke 17 the other day. I don't believe I've ever noticed it before. It has really stuck with me the last couple of days.

Basically the story is this: Jesus meets ten lepers who beg for mercy. Jesus tells them to go to the priests. When they move in obedience toward the priests, they are all healed. Yet, only one of them (a Samaritan no less) turns back to praise God and to fall at Jesus' feet in thanksgiving. Jesus then asks, "Were not ten cleansed? Where are the nine? Was no one found to return and give praise to God except this foreigner?"

These verses struck me because I felt like one of the other nine. I have not felt grateful for God's grace in my life lately. Why is that? I know the wretchedness that God has saved me from. I know that I was dead in my sin and was rescued by God's grace and power. I know that He has rescued me from the power of sin, so that it is no longer my master. The problem is connecting that head knowledge to my heart.

The truth is, I know I can't be grateful without God in Christ working it into my cold heart. And that is the whole point...I need help and He provides help when I come to the end of myself.

Psalm 3:3 - "But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head."

The Reality of Depression in the lives of Christians

Relevant Magazine recently ran an interesting article on depression entitled Can "Real" Christians Be Depressed?, written by Mattie Germer. Having wrestled with depression some myself, I thought she had some good things to say about the topic. Here's her conclusion:

"Depression should be treated and can be put into remission through a course of psychoanalysis, cognitive therapy and/or antidepressant medication, supplemented by healthy doses of prayer within a loving Christian community. It is nonsensical to tell a depressed person that if he only read his Bible more or had better quiet times, his depression would surely be lifted. That would be like telling a diabetic that faith alone will regulate her insulin levels. Faith alone gives eternal salvation, but in the meantime, God has given us resources by which to make our temporal existences more palatable. Depression is certainly healed by the grace of God, sometimes directly and miraculously, but more often through the tools of His servants, like pharmacists, therapists, pastors and friends."

These are some thoughts I wish I would have understood in my early college days. Back then, I thought it was pretty abnormal to go through periods of depression. Thus, the guilt would pile on even more for not feeling what I thought I ought to feel. But there have been many in the Bible (as Mattie points out) and many great saints in history they have struggled with depression.

My favorite example of someone who has been used by God in a great way, but severely struggled with depression almost his entire life was William Cowper. He penned my favorite hymn of all time, God moves in a mysterious way. The reason I love this hymn (and most hymns redone by Red Mountain Music) is the deep-seated hope in God that is revealed so beautifully from those struggling with guilt and sorrow.

One final note on this subject. The biggest practical lesson I've learned regarding depression comes from the book (that I've mentioned before) called Spiritual Depression by Martyn Lloyd Jones. The idea is that we listen to ourselves for more that we speak truth to ourselves. We must constantly be reminding ourselves of who we are in Christ and that God loves us no matter how we might feel.

Doubt: making hope that much sweeter

If you're like me, and you sometimes wrestle with doubt, you probably feel isolated in those moments. Like you're the only one who has ever thought the things you are thinking, or that a "good Christian" wouldn't have these experiences. Of course, that is not the case.

Jon Bloom, over at the Desiring God blog, explains the story of how Jesus graciously deals with the doubt John the Baptist experienced. And he concludes this way:

"In this age, even the greatest, strongest saints experience deep darkness. None of us are spared sorrow or satanic oppression. Most of us suffer agonizing affliction at some point. Most of us will experience seasons when we feel as if we’ve been abandoned. Most of us will die hard deaths.

The Savior does not break the bruised reed. He hears our pleas for help and is patient with our doubts. He does not condemn us. He has paid completely for any sin that is exposed in our pain.

He does not always answer with the speed we desire, nor is his answer always the deliverance we hope for. But he will always send the help that is needed. His grace will always be sufficient for those who trust him. The hope we taste in the promises we trust will often be the sweetest thing we experience in this age. And his reward will be beyond our imagination.

In John’s darkness and pain Jesus sent a promise to sustain John’s faith. He will do the same for you."

Read the whole thing

How Important is Sleep?

This morning I read an article by Ginny Graves at MSNBC about sleep. I'll blog about that article specifically tomorrow. First I wanted to write a little about my own experience in learning and thinking about sleep.

I've often struggled with being tired throughout the day. In college I thought a lot about it in relation to the amount of sleep I was getting. I was getting 7-8 hours a night but still would be drained throughout the day. I wondered, "Do I need more sleep than other people?" or "Should I be eating differently or exercising more to get better sleep?"

I also wondered how sleep affected my spiritual and emotional state. Struggling with some mild forms of depression in college, I began wondering how much is related to the quantity and quality of my sleep. And I remember John Piper saying once that one of the first things that he asks a spiritually depressed person is "How much sleep are you getting?" Even the Psalmist talks about how sleep is a gift from God and is counter to spending time in anxious toil.

And on the other hand, like the Psalmist says elsewhere, I want to rise before dawn in anticipation to meditate on God's Word. And from experience I know that it's wonderful thing to forsake some sleep to meet with God early in the morning, and then be more dependant on Him throughout the day for strength.

Though I haven't fully reconciled these two ideas to come up with the perfect plan for my life, I have figured out that I should live somewhere in between them. And it also seems to be slightly different for everybody. And I can agree with something John Piper wrote about in 1982 about a theology of sleep. Here's his conclusion:

"Sleep is a daily reminder from God that we are not God. “He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (Psalm 121:4). But Israel will. For we are not God. Once a day God sends us to bed like patients with a sickness. The sickness is a chronic tendency to think we are in control and that our work is indispensable. To cure us of this disease God turns us into helpless sacks of sand once a day. How humiliating to the self-made corporate executive that he has to give up all control and become as limp as a suckling infant every day.

Sleep is a parable that God is God and we are mere men. God handles the world quite nicely while a hemisphere sleeps. Sleep is like a broken record that comes around with the same message every day: Man is not sovereign. Man is not sovereign. Man is not sovereign. Don’t let the lesson be lost on you. God wants to be trusted as the great worker who never tires and never sleeps. He is not nearly so impressed with our late nights and early mornings as he is with the peaceful trust that casts all anxieties on him and sleeps. "

Lloyd-Jones on Resolutions

David Mathis at the DG blog offers Martyn Lloyd-Jones' thoughts on resolutions:

"Would you like to be rid of this spiritual depression? The first thing you have to do is to say farewell now once and forever to your past. Realize that it has been covered and blotted out in Christ. Never look back at your sins again. Say: ‘It is finished, it is covered by the Blood of Christ’. That is your first step. Take that and finish with yourself and all this talk about goodness, and look to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is only then that true happiness and joy are possible for you. What you need is not to make resolutions to live a better life, to start fasting and sweating and praying. No! You just begin to say:

'I rest my faith on Him alone
Who died for my transgressions to atone.'"

Os Guiness and doubt

Tim Challies pointed me to a post where Os Guiness is being interviewed mainly on the subject of doubt in the Christian life. The following is an excerpt from his book , now called "God in the Dark." I find it very helpful to understand how doubt is normal to the Christian life.

“Christianity places a premium on the absolute truthfulness and trustworthiness of God, so understanding doubt is extremely important to a Christian. Of course, faith is much more than the absence of doubt, but to understand doubt is to have a key to a quiet heart and a quiet mind. Anyone who believes anything will automatically know something about doubt. But the person who knows why he believes is also in a position to discover why he doubts. The Christian should be such a person.

Not only does a Christian believe, he is a person who ‘thinks in believing and believes in thinking,’ as Augustine expressed it. The world of Christian faith is not a fairy-tale, make-believe world, question-free and problem-proof, but a world where doubt is never far from faith's shoulder.

Consequently, a healthy understanding of doubt should go hand in hand with a healthy understanding of faith. We ourselves are called in question if we have no answer to doubt. If we constantly doubt what we believe and always believe-yet-doubt, we will be in danger of undermining our personal integrity, if not our stability. But if ours is an examined faith, we should be unafraid to doubt. If doubt is eventually justified, we were believing what clearly was not worth believing. But if doubt is answered, our faith has grown stronger still. It knows God more certainly and it can enjoy God more deeply.” (pp. 15-16).

God will lift up your head

A few of my friends are wrestling with God right now. God often seems far from them. They lack joy in Him. I also deal with these emotions many times. But, I know the preaching to myself, instead of listening to myself, is the way to victory over these feelings. I find the following hymn to be an encouragement and great truth to preach to yourself when you find that the darkness is heavy in your life.

Give to the winds thy fears,
Hope and be undismayed.
God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears,
God shall lift up thy head.

Through waves and clouds and storms,
He gently clears thy way;
Wait thou His time; so shall this night
Soon end in joyous day.

Far, far above thy thought,
His counsel shall appear,
When fully He the work hath wrought,
That caused thy needless fear.

Leave to His sovereign sway
To choose and to command;
So shalt thou, wondering, own that way,
How wise, how strong this hand.

by Paul Gerhardt

Preaching to myself

One of the most valuable things I have been taught in the last couple of years comes from a book I read two years ago by D. Martyn Lloyd Jones called Spiritual Depression. The idea is that we should be preaching Truth to ourselves rather than passively listening to ourselves. After having conversations with people, it's so easy for me to run off in my head and continue a made up conversation. And often I can get upset at a situation or a person because of this made up conversation. This also happens in my spiritual life. I often forget the promises that God has given to me in the Word and merely rely on worldly insight.

One of my biggest struggles is in the area of seeking the approval of others. I want everyone to like me. I want everyone to think I'm cool. I want everyone to think I'm smart, handsome, funny, etc. So, when it comes to this struggle, I am constantly trying to remind myself of promises that I am "approved by God...[speaking] not to please men, but God" (1 Thess. 2:4) and that I am "loved with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3) through Christ, not needing any other approval. Also, when I feel the weight of this sin or any other I need Truth to keep me from being crushed. I love the line in the famous hymn that says "When Satan tempts me to despair, and tells me of the guilt within, upward I look and see Him there, who made an end to all my sin." That is preaching to yourself.

The psalmist does this in Psalm 42, which is where Lloyd Jones basically gets this idea. He asks the question "Why are you cast down, O my soul?" And then tells himself to "hope in God." Here's how Lloyd Jones talks about preaching to yourself:

"Have you ever realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking you you then bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking you you. Now the [psalmist in Psalm 42]'s treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. 'Why art thou cast down, O my soul?' he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: 'Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you.'...The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself...then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do."

Right on. By the way I was stirred by all of this a couple of days ago, when listening to a Piper sermon from a couple of weeks ago. Click here to read it, or choose to watch it or download it. It's really good.