I believe the title of this article to be true, and feel qualified to talk on the subject of depression with some authority because I am guilty of the real cause of depression and inflicted it on myself and others for years. But I give myself a little forgiveness here as I was always told during my ‘black depression days’ as I call it, which went on for 30 or more years, it was a ‘mental illness’ and more fashionably a ‘chemical imbalance’ and I shouldn’t feel bad.
A chemical imbalance it may well end up, or a predisposition that makes us statistically more likely to be more negatively affected than some to the real root causes of mental illness (or to be more precise – our giftedness and temperament – or to be even more precise – our sensitivity which is God-given and good) but – 9 times out of ten it does not start that way or because of temperament or predisposition. These simply describe how more or less sensitive you will be to your and other’s sin – the thing that really causes depression. I was always sensitive – but I was not always depressed. I was a very very happy, sensitive, artistic kid. The dark clouds of depression only came later, when I was exposed to mine and others sins – lack of love and all the other things that happen to all of us as we grow up.
9 times out of 10 a pill is not what we really need
Like it or not, the truth about the real cause of depression is usually much much simpler than all the complex superficial ideas that come out of the best psychology departments and medical labs, and I wish someone had told me earlier in life, but I did not came from a Christian family so neither they or I were any wiser. The Bible however – like every other problem in life describes the cause and answer for depression and it was in there the whole time.
The real cause of most mental illness – and the cure!
The real mental illnesses that we all suffer from to more or less degree and I believe if left unchecked will eventually kill us either physically and/or spiritually as they will cause us to resist God’s offer of healing. The real illness that The Bible outlines and lists over and over and which are actually at the root of what they call and ends up as ‘depression‘, that always, without fail leads to depression, are the following;
- Pride – the inability to listen, be wrong or accept you needs others and God.
- Selfishnesh – more precisely – serving oneself – a big one that always leads to depression.
- Unforgiveness/bitterness/anger – this one is a real killer – literally!
First off sometimes the above will NOT appear to even be present and so many be dismissed but please wait – and look deeper and you will find them lurking somewhere – probably disguised as something else. These things (and a few others I have not listed) all rooted in, or hidden and masked as pride – will give ANY HUMAN BEING internal mental distress, and if this is prolonged for any time it will definitely – without fail (unless you are so hardened you have no feelings or soul left worth saving) cause or more precisely – spawn a whole host of mental neurosis and sometimes worse – while we are in our mortal bodies – a myriad of physical aliments including fatigue, pain, hyper stress and raised cortisol levels and the resulting ruined immune system this causes, literal sickness, endocrine problems causing sexual problems, heart problems, over-eating problems caused by plain loneliness and unhappiness, and all these will work together to cause more issues, just like multiple medications have many totally unknown side effects that are doubled and tripled in seriousness when taken in combination.
I watched an unforgiving bitter relative slowly lose her mind
I have seen people who don’t forgive go literally mad, and end up having pills and electrocution treatment as a last ditch effort to give their overactive and unforgiving God-resistant minds any kind of rest- very sad. As Christians especially we must get a grip on what is at the root of many (not all) of our illnesses (though God says in The Bible in the beginning it was man’s sin that caused the fall and the degeneration of Adam and Eve’s perfect bodies). I would put my money on the No.1 cause of mental illness starts with unforgiveness (bizarrely there is no spell-checker for this word as I write this article rather like it is not recognised as a cause of mental health issues).
Christian perspective on depression.
(DISCLAIMER FOR VIDEO BELOW; I added it because it sheds light on mental illnesses and the dreadful prescription of pills left right and centre without regard for the root causes. However it is not a Christian video and I disagree somewhat with the premise/title of this video, and believe that a chemical imbalance is often the RESULT of whatever is the real cause of the mental illness in the first place (I mention above) – these causes such as unforgiveness and the like that would never be acknowledged by the medical industry – unless of course they could invent a ‘forgiveness’ drug – watch this space – ideas like this are no joke when it comes to drug companies finding new ways to make $$$!:).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU35o5mAgEg
I love God, Christ, The Bible. art, painting, playing music, improvising music, guitar (first instrument), drumming (not very good at it:), and anything musical or art related. Quick note – my articles are usually spun off in minutes so forgive any errors – hopefully you get the essence of the article and I’ll pick up mistakes later. If you want to write of 101ChristianMagazine and inspire and edify Christians with articles on faith, general news, hobbies or anything that interests you email me at: epgb101@gmail.com:)
