Depression. A subject not many people want to discuss. Why? Because depression is the epitome of pain and most of society tends to avoid pain at all costs.
Depression can be caused by several factors. Whether it's a inherited disorder, chemical imbalance or depressed because of your circumstances, depression can be down-right debilitating and can shut one down in their tracks.
One of my very favorite writers is Charles Spurgeon.
Spurgeon was a popular preacher in the 1800's Victoria era. He was nicknamed "The Prince of Preachers" and was widely respected, but he was also one of the most burdened. It was written that Spurgeon owned more than thirty books on mental health. He read about depression, wrote about depression, and suffered from depression. He often called himself a “prisoner” and deeply wept without knowing why. His statement on depression that I'm sharing below is one of the most powerful illustrations of depression that I've ever seen. He wrote:
" The mind can descend far lower than the body, for in it there are bottomless pits. The flesh can only bear a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed in ten thousand ways, and die over and over again each hour." - Spurgeon
Depression is real. Our circumstances are real. Life can be very painful. Please realize that it is the joy of the Lord that can be our strength. There are so many things that can make your emotions fluctuate. Some can be circumstantial - relationship, grief, loss of job, mourning of a loved one, finances or addiction. For others, it's an inherited disorder. Both cause a chemical reaction though. Your thoughts take over and you overthink. When you believe only your own thoughts, you will have conflict with yourself, conflict with others and conflict with life. ALIGN WITH GOD!!! Don't fall into the trap that Satan sets before you. He places snares in your life and when our thoughts are wallowing in self pity, we get caught in his sneaky traps. The chemical poisons that negative emotions cause bring about anger, resentment, irrational behavior, fearfulness, and self-dimishment.
When the brain becomes depressed, neuropeptides are released into the bloodstream.
These can cause a negative reaction in the body. This negative reaction creates a stress surge in your brain. This leads to over-thinking everything.
This is where your negative emotions take over.
Emotions are created by thoughts and feelings. This leads to too much thinking!
Overthinking escalates the stressful reality. This will also effect your physical being. Your pulse rate will rise, as will your blood pressure. Focus on God during this time! This will redirect your thoughts off of yourself and onto your Creator. Even when it's hard to do. When you reset your brain and focus your thoughts on Jesus, your spirit will be lifted. Don't think in the past and don't try to predict the future. Focus on the reality of now, and don't take your eyes off Jesus. When we only identify with our own thoughts, we cause a destructive, emotional reality for ourselves. When you believe only your own thoughts, you will have conflict with yourself, conflict with others and conflict with life. ALIGN WITH GOD!!! Don't fall into the trap that Satan sets before you. He places snares in your life and when our thoughts are wallowing in self pity, we get caught in his sneaky traps. The chemical poisons that negative emotions cause bring about anger, resentment, irrational behavior, fearfulness, and self-dimishment. If you are stubborn about it, then your ego takes over, and a big ego just legitimizes emotions. This type of ego will not let you rest in any good feelings.
There are some that may be hurting from a long, long time ago that have unresolved issues in their life that they may need to deal with. Some stem from childhood trauma. This type of long-seeded hurting can and most likely will effect your relationships with others today. Some push away those closest to them and those that care for them the most, without knowing why. Without being able to explain their unhappiness or hurt. They just know that if they push everyone away, then they can't get hurt anymore by anyone.
Some people end up feeling depressed and sad because they're angry, they've been angry for a long time at someone or about something, and they need to work through the process of forgiveness. So, it's not just a one answer fits all when it comes to this, but God has provided a better way for us to live. There is hope for every situation.
Just from taking three common emotions below, you'll begin to see a pattern.
Let's start with the highest feelings (glee, happiness, love, laughter, peace, rejoicing).
Now the lowest feelings (sadness, grief, loss, heartache).
Last, the destructive emotions (anger, bitterness, resentment, rage, thoughts of self harm).
Learning to be open to the highest and lowest feelings will never harm you the way destructive emotions can.
So, one of the privileges that we have as believers is learning to not deny our emotions, but also not let them control us. To live beyond them.
The good news is that in Christ, there's always hope. This means that no matter how down you feel, if you have hope (which is an expectation that things can and will change), and believe that something good will happen, then you won't stay depressed.