About six months ago, my older brother passed away. After that happened, I got depressed and very bitter at God. I got counseling for a few months afterwards, and I saw a lot of improvement. I'm ok with God now, and I was doing very well for a while....but lately, the depression has crept up on me again and is worse than ever. I feel so tired all the time...I never want to do anything anymore. It's even starting to affect my relationships with people. Whenever I'm around other people, I just want to run away and be alone. I hate feeling this way, and I would give anything to have my life back the way it was before. I'm getting desperate and was wondering if maybe antidepressant medication is right for me. From a Christian perspective, is it wrong to take medication for depression?
2007-05-23 16:28:30 · 22 answers · asked by mmmmk 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I've heard someone argue, "What if God wants me to go through this- that He's teaching me something." Here's the deal. God created you to be yourself and He delights in that. It's ok to be lonely or sad, but you're still being yourself. The issue is that with depression you are not being yourself. You are not doing the things that make you you- that make you special. You are not able to be the person who God made you to be. That's why depression is different. God's not cool with us being like that if we don't have to be.
So, we can get counseling or try medication.
I'm a Christian. I have a masters degree in Divinity and in counseling. I love Psychology. I've been depressed before and I took medication for a few months. It really helped! Once I got back on track I was fine and didn't need it anymore. I just needed something to jump start my brain.
The issue is that with thoughts we create new grooves in our brain. So when we become depressed, we created grooves in our brain that we go over and over. Kind of like a car stuck in a ditch. What depression medication does is kick us out of the ditch and back into normal thinking. That's all. It helps us not fall back in the ditch of depression. Then we can be ourself again- the person God created us to be.
It is wrong to take anti-depressents the same way it would be wrong to take tylenol for a headache or put a band-aid on a bleeding cut. We're dealing with the physiology of our body. It is a fact that if we continue to think negative thoughts, we will create negative grooves in our brain that we can get stuck in. Now, Counseling, close friends, prayer, the Bible, etc. can help us make sure we are creating posiitive grooves in our brain and being ourself, but medicine is often the best way to jump start the process.
Lastly, if you've had any type of traumatic event in your past you're more likely to have depression so that means it will be more important you take medicine asap to get this back right. The longer you allow yourself to be depressed without medecine, the harder it could be to come out of it.
Good luck.
2007-05-23 17:00:21 · answer #1 · answered by DrThorne 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Each type of antidepressants and a period of it getting into your system to be working at full capacity. Many are 2 months - you should ask your doctor. I felt many of those things and changed frequently until I found what works best for me. The last one I took made me extremely irritable and almost violent even after the 2 month part. Ask your doctor - those are very important questions. I have taken more than 6 different kinds over 18 years. Good luck, keep your calendar and big changes on the down low during your transitions, if you choose this method of treatment.
2016-04-01 05:14:03 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
As a Christian, my take is 150mg of Effexor XR, 1.5mg Xanax, 900mg Lithium, 50mg Lamictal a day. If need be, 12.5mg of Ambien CR to help me sleep.
I am bipolar 2. I went through hell trying to get help from psychologists, cognitive therapy, spiritual counseling, and several misdiagnoses. A year ago a psychiatrist from Cornell finally diagnosed me correctly, but I resisted pharmaceuticals. Six months of torture later, I let another psychiatrist put me on the cocktail of meds I am on now. And my life is really starting to look livable. I am very grateful.
I think you if you need medical help, take it. If you were hurting on the outside, you would go to a doctor. Why avoid a doctor when you are hurting on the inside? I cannot change my brain chemistry, but I deal with it medically. Give it a shot and see what happens. You seem to have serious depression. All the signs are there.
Email me if you like.
2007-05-23 16:53:21 · answer #3 · answered by Aspurtaime Dog Sneeze 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am a christian and have gone through clinical depression and three nervous breakdowns in the past 10-15 years. Anti-depressants are a wonderful thing if you require them, however they aren't the answer, just a way of helping those with depression function more normally until they have 'dealt' with whatever is at the root of that depression.
I recommend really talking with family and friends and if possible find a good psychologist (my local G.P. recommended a great one for me). But above all don't ever let anyone make you feel ashamed for any of it, and especially don't let people tell you to stop anything you are doing to help yourself just because they don't agree with it.
2007-05-23 16:36:38 · answer #4 · answered by Taliesin Pen Beirdd 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
From a Christian's perspective; antidepressants should be viewed in the same manner as insulin. Depression is a chemical unbalance; medication is there to assist; and never to take the place of God.
Sometimes (Mostly); God wont fly from the sky to protect you from a raging flood. Perhaps, its gonna be someone in a boat, just saying get in.....? That person could be a doctor and a very good christian at that!
2007-05-23 16:36:12 · answer #5 · answered by Swordfish 6 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Go see a qualified, board-certified psychiatrist. He or she will ask you questions and complete a diagnostic evaluation, in which you will be properly diagnosed, and will be recommended either psychotherapy alone or a combination of psychotherapy and medication. It sounds to me like you have depression, but don't hesitate to see a qualified professional. They can really be helfpul. I've struggled with moderate depression for the past couple of years, and I found that going to therapy was extremely helpful. I'm a Christian, but I don't have any problem with seeking help for my distress, whether it is in the form of prescribed medication, or another kind of therapeutic approach. From my personal experiences, I find that being depressed can be so crippling, and can have such a negative impact on your life and relationships that it often prevents you from living to your true potential. Wouldn't God want you to fulfill your potential?
2007-05-23 16:51:44 · answer #6 · answered by LeilaK 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I am not a Christian but long term depression is a matter of a change in brain chemistry. Anti-depressants can help improve this dramatically. You will want to do it under the care of a doctor, of course. Moreover many people can take a course of anti-depressant therapy for a period of time and then stop using them and no long have depression issues.
But talk to your doctor. Get good solid medical advice.
2007-05-23 16:38:33 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 4⤊ 0⤋
Is it wrong to eat fibre for energy or is it wrong to eat vegetables for better health? As a Christian that has sufffered mental illness and who has taken anti dppressnsts before I can say that there is noting wrong with it.
A person that has the flue has no trouble taking medication as do other people with other illnesses, so don't worry get a good medication prescribed and come out of the dastardly deppresion that you are in.
God made doctors and chemists to and they make medication available for people just like you.
Take care and get some medication
2007-05-23 16:40:03 · answer #8 · answered by Matthew Payne 3 · 4⤊ 0⤋
mmmmk: As a Christian, I can tell you to please keep on taking your medication. Allow yourself to fulfill the grieving process. God gave these emotions and it's alright to use them. The dark cloud which hangs over you, is a real tough row to hoe - I know - I've been there. God wants the best for you ultimately. God loves you - you are very - very special to Him. Your dead brother counts to God too and God has a great future in store for him, as well as, YOU. You will be with and see your brother again. Eternity is a very long time - so long that time it self dies and therefore, there is no more death. We all will share in this eternity some day in the not so distant future. God wants you there with Him for eternity. For us humans to enable ourselves to be in eternity, death is a temporary prerequisite. Eternity is permanent !!! So; take your medication to help you get back on your feet, to make this world we live in now, a better place to be. See you and your brother in Eternity !
2007-05-23 16:53:35 · answer #9 · answered by guraqt2me 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As a Christian and someone who has had a family member who suffered from depression, I would encourage you to take anti-depressants if that is what your doctor has recommended. Think of depression just like any other aliment. If you broke your leg would you want a cast? Of course because it gives the bones time to heal. It's the same with depression. Anti-depressants can give you time to heal and continue on with the normal life you seek.
2007-05-23 16:40:27 · answer #10 · answered by Mr. E 7 · 4⤊ 0⤋