Depression: Emerging from the Darkness (pt.3)

Today we are going to take a more more in depth look at twelve causes of depression.

III. Counseling Approaches
A. Dealing with the Reasons of Depression
1. Other People: Other people are the easiest cause to identify.
2. Adam and the Curse: Because of sin being brought into the world through Adam, our physical ill health, our hardships at our work and death will be factors in a depressive state.
3. Satan: Satan is an external cause for depression as he can have influence in a variety of ways in our lives. For the above causes, it is not encouraging to dwell on these but instead, remind the counselee that depression does come from somewhere.
4. Culture: Not only do we have to fight against our own sin, we also have to deal with aspects of our culture that “applaud our own sinful tendencies rather than rebuke them.”[1] Our culture has made life a “maelstrom” of decisions. People are pressured daily be decisions and making the wrong one can have catastrophic affects on a counselee, so they are told by our society. Furthermore, our society is a culture of the individual, self-indulgence, entertainment, boredom, and where each individual’s happiness equals the greatest good. As a result, these ideologies are anti-biblical. A source of depression will be a certain feature of the culture to which the counselee has absorbed into his life.
5. The Sinful Human Heart: This is the “heart” of depression. After discovering the external sources of our depression, we now consider the internal ones and the human heart is where it starts. Ed Welch states, “Your story, your interpretations, your motivations, and your beliefs come out of your heart.”[2] These factors then make up the center of one’s life. The natural inclinations of the heart are so that mankind is proud, selfish, indulgent, and greedy. The counselee should understand that this does not mean that his sin is causing his depression, but it will be evident. Second, the counselee should keep Christ close when dealing with this part of the journey out of the darkness. Have the counselee meditate on Psalm 130 as he grows in both the knowledge of God’s love and his own sin. Depression is an occasion and an opportunity for re-evaluating and changing one’s life through help of the Holy Spirit.
6. Fear: When depression is at its most severe, paranoia is one of its main features. Common fears that may contribute to a depressed state are a fear of death, a fear of the way you will die, a fear of the past recurring, and a fear from trusting in things that don’t last. Genesis 26:24, Deut. 31:6, Isaiah 41:10 all command us to not fear because the Lord will be with us. Furthermore, Isaiah 49:14-16 and John 14:16-18 also state that God will not forsake those whom he loves. There are two basic steps for the counselee to take in order to deal with his fears: the first is to confess his fears as unbelief. Much of our fears reflect our hearts as saying to the Lord, “I don’t believe your promises.” Second, examine Scripture and be confident in Jesus’ love and faithfulness.
7. Anger: Sadness + Anger = Depression.[3] Anger includes a broad spectrum of behaviors. Violent anger is just one expression of anger. Sadness can cover rage, as anger can be either “hot” or “cold.” Anger usually blames other people and not the counselee. The counselee must realize that he is angry because his rights and his glory, not God’s, have been violated. Grumbling or complaining fits within the larger category of anger because it is a kind of judgment and reflects our hearts stating something against God. The counselee needs to look at himself longer and harder then he does other people. He should learn to love others because if he does not love others, he does not love God. Secondly, the counselee is to trust and obey God’s Word. Since prayer is one of the places the heart is revealed, the counselee should allow it to test him and let the Spirit show him where his anger is in his life.
8. Hopelessness: Hope is risky.[4] The more one looks forward to something, the greater the chance there is of being let down. This sense of not wanting to be let down can contribute to depression. The counselee should try to understand that God is big and God is good. The counselee should realize that he chooses to be hopeless about things in his life. Like fear, the counselee is reluctant to trust God for the future, for fear of being let down. This states that he does not believe that God is big or good. Challenge the counselee to find new and emerging hopes.
9. Failure and Shame: Failure happens because the counselee determines that he does not measure up to someone’s standard. This standard is not God’s. Man chooses to trust in other people and their judgments, rather then God’s judgments. The counselee should try to realize that other people will never satisfy and that he becomes a servant to what he trusts in. There is a connection between failure and shame to anger. Anger is a judgment that we make about others and low self-worth seems to be a judgment we make about ourselves. The counselee can be encouraged that when he turns to Christ he can simply think less about himself. His successes and failures are noticeable but do not control him the way they did.
10. Guilt: Why do people feel guilty? People feel guilty because they should feel guilty. People feel guilty because they don’t confess their sin. People also feel guilty because sin has consequences. Finally, people also feel guilty because they think they must do something to be forgiven.
11. Legalism: Works righteousness is also called the “anti-gospel.”[5] Humans, however, prefer the old arrangement where they have to try to make it on their own. Doing this minimizes this glory of God.
12. Death: When life is examined apart from God, thoughts of death make perfect sense. When God is dead, there is no purpose, no future. A comfort to give the counselee is that he does not belong to himself, but is a child of God. God is the God of all comfort and that the father of compassion.

Tomorrow, we will look at what methods can help a counselee emerge from the darkness of depression.

[1] Ibid., 115.
[2] Ibid., 124.
[3] Ibid., 153.
[4] Ibid., 165.
[5] Ibid., 189.