How to Handle Your Emotions (Counseling Through the Bible Series) (17 page)

Question:
“Does taking medicine for depression show a lack of faith in God?”

Answer:
No. Various physical conditions can contribute to depression. For example, in bipolar and postpartum depression, a biochemical imbalance exists within the body that can be treated successfully with medication. Unfortunately, many Christians fear being labeled unspiritual if they seek
medical help for their depression, yet by doing nothing, they end up suffering needlessly.

Sometimes medication is needed for a period of time to help level out mountainous swings so that those in the throes of depression can see truth and walk on level ground. Ezekiel 47:12 explains that God made “leaves for healing.” Therefore, medicine is biblical.

Medicine, however, should be used not to numb pain or escape it, but to help a person process the pain. Also, medication should be the last avenue, tried only after all other steps have been taken, and always in conjunction with counseling.

On June 20, 2001, the nation—and the world—were stunned by a steady stream of horrific TV and radio reports about a woman named Andrea Yates, who had systematically drowned her children in a bathtub. She had done this to all five children, ranging from six months to seven years of age.
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In heart-wrenching disbelief, shocked people asked, “How could a mother kill her own children? How unthinkable! What could drive a mother to commit such a heinous crime…five times in a row?” In a word, the answer is depression—not just normal depression, but psychotic depression—a major depression that caused Andrea to break with reality.
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Couldn’t someone have rescued this mother and her innocent children from this horrible tragedy? The simple answer is yes. That is why attaining an in-depth understanding of depression is vital. The Lord admonishes us all to…

“rescue those being led away to death; hold back those staggering toward slaughter. If you say, ‘But we knew nothing about this,’ does not he who weighs the heart perceive it? Does not he who guards your life know it? Will he not repay each person according to what he has done?”

(P
ROVERBS
24:11-12).

Andrea Yates suffered from depression following the birth of her third baby, and even more severely after the birth of her fourth child. Her doctor
advised Andrea and her husband to have no more children because of the extreme hormonal changes in her body after her last delivery. When Andrea’s fifth was born, the deficit of her hormones caused her to plunge headfirst into postpartum psychosis (a break with reality).
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Tragically, many mothers with postpartum psychosis are consumed with thoughts of death to their babies and destruction of themselves. They could have written these words:

“The cords of death entangled me; the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me. The cords of the grave coiled around me; the snares of death confronted me”

(P
SALM
18:4-5).

Six Physical Contributors to Depression
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Can depression be caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain? This frequently asked question is answered with a definite yes! For example, hormonal changes during puberty, postpartum (after childbirth), and perimenopause (around menopause) can lead to depression.

Certain legal and illegal drugs can cause depression, such as analgesics, antidepressants, steroids, contraceptives, and cardiac medications.

Medical problems such as a thyroid deficiency and even a bout with the flu can cause chemical imbalances in the brain, which, in turn, can cause depression.

Orderly, gifted, and creative, the person with a melancholy temperament can, at the same time, be moody, overly sensitive, and self-denegrating. Because those with this temperament are analytical, critical, and hard to please, they can take everything too seriously or too personally, quickly becoming depressed over circumstances or the slightest imperfection in themselves or others.

A deficiency in the physical basics of life can contribute to a chronic sense of fatigue, lack of energy, and social withdrawal.

Based on statistical data, those with depressed family members are twice as vulnerable to depression as those with no family history of depression. Likewise, up to 50 percent of those suffering with bipolar disorder have at least one parent suffering from the same disorder.

If you are concerned about depression, then learn what you can about your family history and your treatment options. Learning as much as possible about your health issues is essential.

“A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps”

(P
ROVERBS
14:15).

Question:
“Why do twice as many women have depression as men?”
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Answer:
A hormone deficiency can cause severe depression, and women produce only one-half the amount of the hormone serotonin in their brains as men. However, estrogen in women multiplies the amount of serotonin to equal the level in men. For women, the greater challenge of depression occurs at three specific times—prior to a menstrual cycle, after childbirth, and around menopause—when estrogen levels drop, sometimes dramatically. If a woman’s estrogen level is not sufficient to multiply serotonin, she experiences a depletion of serotonin, which can cause depression. This is one reason many women receive estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) and why other women consult their physicians for medication in order to feel healthy again.

When we see someone who feels down, we try to find logical, temporary reasons: “You’re just tired…you need more sleep…you work too hard…you aren’t eating right…you need alone time.” While some of those observations may be true, we can also miss the real diagnosis because of a lack of awareness.

To illustrate, every mother of a newborn baby expects to feel joy and excitement over the new birth. But when she doesn’t, she initially feels immense guilt and confusion. Family and friends can assume she’s just tired and exhausted. Yet loved ones may not realize there are very real causes for her changes in mood and behavior. For example…

From three to five days up to two weeks after birth, approximately 70 percent of new mothers experience the following:

—Sudden mood changes

—Frequent unexplained crying

—Guilt over not bonding with her baby

—Changes in sleeping and eating

—Lack of concentration

—Irritability, anger

—A sense of loss

—Lethargy

Experienced by up to 20 percent of birth mothers, postpartum depression is distinguished from the baby blues both by its longer duration and the debilitating indifference of the mother toward herself and her children.
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—Excessive concern for the baby because she senses something is wrong with her own feelings about being a mother

—Little or no feeling of love for the baby or for the rest of her family

—A lack of interest in her baby; a feeling of being trapped

—Emotional numbness, sadness, fatigue

—Withdrawal from family and friends

—Significant weight loss or gain

—Anxiety or panic attacks

—Change in appetite

A life-threatening depression affecting one or two of every 1,000 birth mothers and characterized by:
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—Strange thoughts/making strange statements

—Feeling agitated or angry toward her baby and family

—Overly critical of her ability to be a good mother

—Thoughts of harming herself or the baby

—Paranoia, confusion, disorientation

—Delusions that the baby is demon-possessed

—Voices or visions of demons attacking her ability to be a good mother

—Hallucinations commanding her to kill the baby and her other children (infanticide)

The mother struggling with postpartum psychosis can identify with these words:

“The cords of death entangled me, the anguish of the grave came upon me; I was overcome by trouble and sorrow”

(P
SALM
116:3).

Were the family and friends of Andrea Yates aware of the seriousness of her depression?
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The court trial revealed that Andrea had been hospitalized for severe depression several times, and twice she was released prematurely. Rusty, her husband, appealed to her last doctor, stating that Andrea needed an earlier medication that had proved successful—but his plea was to no avail.

“The troubles of my heart have multiplied; free me from my anguish”

(P
SALM
25:17).

Every person on earth has billions of brain cells, among them nerve cells. These nerve cells, or neurons, both send and receive “chemical messengers” called
neurotransmitters,
and without them we could neither think nor feel. These neurotransmitters are powerful chemicals that have a major impact on our happiness, sadness, anger, logic, sleep, memory, anxiety, thinking,
and even facial expressions. In depression, often a deficiency of vital neurotransmitters exists—specifically low levels of serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, or GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid).
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When an electrical impulse reaches the part of a neuron where neurotransmitters are stored (called the
pre-receptor site
), these chemicals are released from the nerve cell and enter the gap between neurons (called the
synapse
). These neurotransmitters then travel across the synapse and attach to a
post-receptor site
in another neuron.

Antidepressants
are nonaddicting drugs that block the reuptake (returning to the same neuron from which it left) and lessen (
degradation
) the depression-related neurotransmitters between synapses. Thus they increase the numbers of neurotransmitters and ultimately alter other chemicals within the nerve cell and nervous system. The result is a cascade of chemical reactions in the brain, which, in turn, lifts the depressed mood and alters behavior.
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