God created a good world, where harmony reigned. Every created thing, every organ and system, functioned as it should. However, the fact that there is a perfect Designer, whom he perfectly created, does not negate the fact that there was also a fall.
Genesis 3 narrates that death entered God’s perfect world, and diseases that did not exist before began to appear. All the organs—the heart, the lungs, the liver, and even the brain—began to suffer from dysfunctions.
Including depression.
Depression is one of those diseases that arose from the fall. The way of thinking of human beings has become so upset that Paul warns us: “All things are pure for the pure, but for the corrupt and unbelieving nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are corrupt” (Tit. 1:15).
, depression is “a common mental disorder characterized by persistent sadness or loss of interest in activities you would normally enjoy, accompanied by an inability to perform daily activities for at least two weeks.” Depression is a complex disorder. showed that there are four different subtypes within persistent depression, depending on the symptoms. Depression affects approximately 300 million people in the world, mostly women. We know that if there is depression in a family member, the risk that others may suffer from it increases. In people who have already suffered from depression, it is not uncommon for it to recur during their lives. We can see that this dysfunction has a ; however, the relationship between the mind and the brain is complex; It’s not always easy to know where biology ends and sinful habits and behaviors begin.
Depressed Christians?
In many In Christian circles there is a belief that it is impossible for a true believer to become depressed unless he is in sin, lacks faith, or lacks biblical knowledge. However, a study of the Word shows that several prophets became depressed: some because of their own sin (like David), and others because of the sin of the people (like Moses). Jeremiah got depressed because the Lord revealed to him what would happen to the Jewish people… he got depressed because he knew the reality!
By saying that all depressed patients are depressed because of sin, we are doing a lot of damage to those who are depressed for medical reasons. These people end up feeling the typical symptoms of depression and also the guilt for “having sinned”, when many times they have not. Generalizing in this way turns the accusers into people like Job’s friends, who gave advice and explanations without fully understanding the situation.
We cannot see depression as all spiritual, or all biological, as it usually is a combination of both components. Body and soul are intertwined. Depression increases the typical darkness of the fallen mind, resulting in a harder, more self-centered heart. Our hearts deceive us (Jer. 17:9). We feel a kind of cloud of doubt and fear always above us, and a fog that doesn’t let us see things as they are. We start to think that this will never go away. Problems seem bigger than God’s promises, and wounds and pain defeat our faith. As a result, we lose sight of the fact that this world is not our home. Instead of looking for reasons to praise the Lord, we prefer to curse our crisis.
As believers, there are many reasons to be joyful; however, we continue to live in a fallen world. By knowing Christ, the Holy Spirit has opened our eyes and we can see evil in the world that we have never seen as unbelievers. God also sensitizes us to pain and evil, and we cannot ignore it, which can make us a target for Satan. As if this weren’t enough, the Holy Spirit is continually exposing the evil that we didn’t know existed in our own hearts. As in the case of Jeremiah, depression can be a response to reality when one realizes the depth of evil in the world and our inability to correct it. That is why we must learn to trust again and again in Jesus, who overcame (Jn. 16:33).
As a doctor and someone who has suffered from depression, I believe that this condition is often an instrument in God’s hands for sanctification. If nothing escapes God’s hand (Mt. 10:29-33) and He uses everything for our good (Rom. 8:28), then He can use depression to shape us into His image.
What to do in the midst of depression
And then what should we do? First, seek help. Christ left us a family, his Church, because He knows our weaknesses and the need we have.
When depression is due to sin, the solution is to repent. It is possible that depression is a call from God to return to the fold and heal ourselves, because sin enslaves us and separates us from God. Hosea 6:1 tells us: “Come, let us return to the Lord. For He has torn us apart, but he will heal us; he has wounded us, but he will bind us up. We know that Jesus, the good shepherd, will leave the 99 sheep to look for the one who came out of the fold (Lk. 15:4-7).
In most cases of depression not caused by a chemical imbalance, biblical counseling is enough to improve. However, particularly when the depression is severe and the person does not respond to counselling, medication may be necessary. If the depression is due to a chemical imbalance, the person needs to seek medical help. Although most depressions can be treated on an outpatient basis, severe ones may require admission to a hospital. Anyone who is psychotic (depression accompanied by hallucinations or delusions) or suicidal needs immediate psychiatric help. The psychotic patient will require antipsychotics combined with antidepressants, while non-psychotic depressions may require antidepressants and even, in some cases, antipsychotics. For the most severe cases, when drug treatment has not been successful, electroconvulsive therapy can be used.
For the believer, medical treatment must always be accompanied by biblical counseling; it is in the Word that we find the truth. Medication without biblical counseling does not get to the root of the problem, and every time you try to stop the medication, the depression will return. In all cases, the body of Christ must be involved in the life of the depressed person to bear the burden of each other, as Galatians 6:2 commands.
anxiously awaiting
We live in a fallen, sinful, dysfunctional, and pain-filled world. Romans 8:22-23 tells us: “For we know that the whole creation has groaned and travailed in travail until now. And not only her, but also we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan inside, anxiously awaiting the adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
The human body is an immensely complicated “machine”, created by an irrepressible God. Although our bodies have been broken by the fall and are afflicted with all manner of physical and mental illnesses, we can trust that—when He returns for His own—God will recreate what He created.
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