Thank you for weighing in. I was hoping you would share some of your expertise.

Mrs. V,

I would tend to agree. Oftentimes for “mild” depressions, people go too quickly to see a family doctor and not someone with expertise in this area. The family doctors my family has had are very quick to not listen to depressed patients and dismiss them even more quickly with a prescription for Paxil or Wellbutrin. I am certainly not saying that is the case all the time, but from my experiences, it has been that way in several cases.

The point is it isn’t simple–you are spot on there. In many cases meds are prescribed when they aren’t needed and in many cases meds are not prescribed when they should be; but then again, my evidence is from personal experiences with the folks in the church I serve, not from a medical journal or manual.

Gordon,

I am not sure if this is the first time you have commented here; I don’t recall if I have seen you here before. I so, though, I don’t think you will mind a double welcome.

Welcome!

Thanks for the encouraging words. I hope you will weigh in on some of our posts here more often.

SelahV, I don’t find that doctors have a hard time prescribing medications for mood disorders. I know more people who are taking them or have taken them than who are not or have not. The use of antidepressants doubled between 1975 and 1995. Double digit percentage increases in the prescription of mood disorder drugs has continued every year since. There has been an even sharper rise in the frequency of prescribing them for children.

I agree with you and Bowden that there must also be a change internally in the person facilitated by counseling, support and discipleship. Faulty thinking and believing are always a part of depression, contributing to the onset of depression and chronicity of it, as well as to its recurrence.

I’m not aware of any medication that cures any mental illness or mood disorder. They often help, but they don’t cure.

BDW…so that explains it! Just kidding.

Tony: outstanding jumping off post to discuss and incredibly misunderstood problem in America. I would say the main reasons folks don’t get better when they see a doctor for depression, is mis-prescribed, no follow-up, no monitoring, no support system, and folks who just don’t understand. They can understand a need for medication when a person has diabetis, heart failure, or anything of that nature…but they can’t understand why folks just can’t get a hold of themselves and let go and let God.

It’s simply not that simple.

Bernard, you are such a great hall-monitor. I’m gonna call on you when I post something controversial and have to be away from my computer. selahV

1) I find it more helpful to think in “and/or” terms rather than “either/or”. There is a spiritual component, a cognitive component, and a neuro-biological component to depression. Differential diagnosis is very important in deciding on a course of treatment.

2) I don’t know if meds are over-prescribed, but my experience is they are often mis-prescribed. The National Institutes for Mental Health (NIMH – sort of the mental health version of the CDC) recommends a combination of counseling and medication for treating a Major Depressive episode; many of my clients come to me having been prescribed anti-depressants for months on end with no referral to a therapist.

3) The cognitive component I spoke of above involves global thoughts of hopelessness and helplessness; there are huge spiritual implications when dealing with thoughts of hopelessness and helplessness.

4) “Depression” covers a lot of ground. Major Depression, Dysthmia, Seasonal Affective Disorder, Bipolar types I and II, Cyclothymia, Schizoaffective Disorder are all different types of depression, each with it’s own etiology and recommended course of treatment.

Major Depression has been called the “common cold” of mental illness and is often reactive (“I got depressed when…”), especially if it is a “single episode” of a major depressive disorder. Cyle’s claim of spiritual discomfort being a source of depression often fits (in my opinion) this particular scenario quite well.

OK–I responded a bit harshly. I apologize for my snippiness, as Bernard correctly pointed out. However, I think context is important here. I did make the claim but the assertion you have ascribed is not there–honest.

Again, I am talking about general, run-of-the-mill depression, which is often the case with many people. They experience depression as a result of a loss, a life change, a change of seasons, sin, a failure to pray, or any number of factors (the broken spirit Solomon wrote about). I am sure there are many more.

I have not discounted legitimate, diagnosable chemical imbalances nor the use of medications. I will stand by my original claim that many depressions (many, not all) are caused by heart issues.

So, your mom is a professional counselor? That must be pretty irksome.

Rarely do I get truly snippy or angry.

I suspect its the meds that keep me that way.

If I were witnessing to you on the street, or if I WANTED you to come to my church, I would try to present myself much differently than I would if I didn’t care about you.

That’s all

Smilies, seriously, can go a long way. Even frownies :{ and oopsies. 8P Sure, they’re a little silly, but anyway. I won’t belabor this point either.

Peace.