How to Handle Your Emotions (Counseling Through the Bible Series) (18 page)

Question:
“Does any objective, medical proof exist to substantiate the need for medication in some cases of depression?”

Answer:
Yes. With the aid of PET scans (positron emission tomography), physicians can see the difference between the function of a normal brain and a depressed brain. Because PET scans map how the brain functions, they also display changes in the brain after antidepressant medication has been taken. Antidepressant medication helps produce normal chemical absorption, thus increasing normal brain function and decreasing depression. How wonderful that the God of creation made the brain with the capacity to respond to appropriate medication in order to alleviate debilitating depression.
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As the Bible says, we are “fearfully and wonderfully made”

(P
SALM
139:14).

In the Yates home, Rusty left for work every morning at 9:00. Then his mother came at 10:00 to help Andrea with the children, their homeschooling, and the housework. This meant Andrea was left alone at home with the children for only one hour each day. And during that one hour on June 20, 2001, Andrea drowned each child.

Could this tragedy have been avoided? Are there steps loved ones could have taken to help Andrea move from the darkness of despair into the light of hope? If they had been more keenly aware of the danger, they could have learned much more about Andrea’s malady and been discerning about what to do.

“Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance”

(P
ROVERBS
1:5).

Sometimes depression is
anger turned inward.
That is not always true, but it is true when anger is
repressed.
Repression occurs when unacceptable desires and emotions are blocked from a person’s awareness and left to operate in the unconscious mind.
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This stuffed or swallowed anger causes masked depression and keeps underlying bitterness from being exposed. Bitterness is a major cause of depression because we feel totally alone in our bitterness.

“Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy”

(P
ROVERBS
14:10).

Do you have repressed anger over…?

If so, the Bible says,

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice”

(E
PHESIANS
4:31).

Do you have suppressed fear of…?

If so, the Bible says,

“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand”

(I
SAIAH
41:10).

Do you have internalized stress over…?

If so, the Bible says,

“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you”

(1 P
ETER
5:7).

Even our deep disappointments must be resolved or else our bitterness will cause trouble, and unresolved anger and bitterness will hurt those close to us.

“See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many”

(H
EBREWS
12:15).

Due to postpartum psychosis, Andrea Yates became spiritually unbalanced as a result of having a greater focus on Satan and her sin than on God
and His grace. Ultimately, she heard voices claiming that she was evil and that Satan was inside her—and the only way to be rid of him was her own execution! A
Time
magazine writer concluded, “She had to kill the children, as Satan demanded, in order to get the death penalty.”
⁴⁶

Andrea said about her children, “They stumbled because I was evil. The way I was raising them they could never be saved…They were doomed to perish in the fires of hell.”
⁴⁷
Ultimately, after all five deaths, she hoped that her children would be in heaven. No Scripture could represent her skewed thinking more accurately than this proverb:

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death”

(P
ROVERBS
14:12).

Just as there are physical, emotional, and mental causes for depression, there are also spiritual causes for a despairing heart. Disobedience and guilt provide enough fertile seed to turn any white cloud into a dark storm. You can’t harbor the guilt of displeasing God and still experience the full joy of His salvation. Disobedience and guilt are inseparable. And unless you apply the remedy of confession and repentance (a change of mind and a change of direction), you may find depression sweeping over your soul and spirit, and

“you will find no repose, no resting place for the sole of your foot. There the L
ORD
will give you an anxious mind, eyes weary with longing, and a despairing heart”

(D
EUTERONOMY
28:65).

Had there been clues to the seriousness of Andrea Yates’s mental state? After she drowned her five young children, the media quickly learned that this rigidly religious family had been dealing with Andrea’s severe depression for several years. Twice in 1999 she had attempted suicide.

The Yates tragedy is certainly not the norm, and although many people become seriously despondent, the majority of those who experience major depression will never commit acts that result in death. Unfortunately, Andrea continued to spiral downward to even lower depths with frequent thoughts of self-destruction. In the midst of paralyzing depression, she could not accept the truth that “anyone who is among the living has hope!” (Ecclesiastes 9:4).

“I am depressed over the deep disappointments in my life. They have robbed me of all joy. There’s no hope for my future, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“I admit I am depressed over the circumstances in my life. But Christ lives in me, and He is my hope. I will rely on Him to renew my mind with His truth and renew my heart with His hope.”

“In our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead…On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us”

(2 C
ORINTHIANS
1:9-10).

When you are weary…when life isn’t worth living…when hope seems elusive…what do you need to know? You need to know your
Burden-Bearer
—you need to know Jesus. He wants to be the Shepherd of your soul. His compassionate comfort extends to all those who have lost all hope. He says,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest”

(M
ATTHEW
11:28).

When you are weary, how do you receive this rest within your soul? Allow these four truths to set you free.

When you don’t know how to solve a problem, you will probably feel helpless because you have no direction. For example, if your wristwatch stops, you may feel helpless because you don’t know how to fix it. But a skilled watchmaker can. The One who created the universe with all its intricate parts—the One who created you with all your intricate parts— knows how to fix whatever is not working, even when you don’t. He will direct you in the way you should go.

“Trust in the L
ORD
with all your heart and lean not on
your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”

(P
ROVERBS
3:5-6).

God loves you with
agape
love. The Bible uses the Greek word
agape
to speak of God’s commitment to seek your highest good no matter what you do or don’t do. The Lord says,

“I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness”

(J
EREMIAH
31:3).

The Bible says sin separates us from God. But God doesn’t want you to be separated from Him. He desires to have a meaningful relationship with you. That’s why He sent Jesus to take on human form, come to earth, live a sinless life, and pay the penalty for your sins by dying on the cross. When He was crucified, His blood was the purchase price to pay for the full forgiveness of your sins. Today, you can receive forgiveness when you humble your heart, confess your sins, and trust in Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior.

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness”

(1 J
OHN
1:9).

The word
Lord
means “master, ruler, owner.”
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Are you willing to entrust your life to the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing that He is trustworthy to always do whatever is best for you? Jesus demonstrated unconditional love toward you. He died on the cross, paying the penalty that you should have paid. That’s real love…sacrificial love!

You can trust and rely on Jesus to make sense of your life, to teach you truth, and to show you the way. Jesus said,