Is this simply a spiritual battle?
At times.
Psychologist and author Larry Crabb writes that some efforts to treat this as a psychological disorder might, in reality, “cheapen the mysterious battle raging deep” within a soul. Crabb adds, “Suppose that many of the struggles we assume are symptoms of a psychological disorder are in fact evidence of a disconnected soul… a soul starving for life, then connecting with [the] source of life, not professional treatment, is [what is] called for.”
Agreed. But it’s not always simply a spiritual battle. It can be a physical battle.
Clinical depression is one of four diseases that physicians call mood disorders. Just as diabetes has to do with a body’s failure to regulate blood sugar, mood disorders result from the brain’s failure to regulate the chemicals that control mood.
Specifically, nerve cells in the brain communicate with each other by releasing chemicals called neurotransmitters. Norepinephrine and serotonin are the two neurotransmitters involved in depression. When there is an ample supply of these neurotransmitters available to stimulate other nerve cells, one typically feels “normal.” You can still have your regular ups and downs, but you aren’t fighting the illness of depression.
But in clinical depression, fewer of these neurotransmitters are released because the first nerve cell reabsorbs them before they’ve adequately stimulated other nerve cells. Antidepressant medicines work because they increase the amounts of norepinephrine or serotonin in the body.
The need for antidepressants to address this physical need can be caused by any number of factors, including life circumstances and genetic makeup. Any combination of genetic predisposition or emotional trauma can initiate the chemical changes in the brain that cause depression, including long, sustained seasons of stress.
So end of medical story, and also “end” of nothing to be ashamed of or spiritually self-conscious about. It’s a physical deficiency that can and should be addressed. If someone is dealing with clinical depression, they need to be on antidepressants just like a diabetic needs to be on insulin.
So whether spiritual or clinical, they need help. And asking for it should be without shame or incrimination.
The problem? Pastors aren’t saying this to their people.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
