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Melo · 08-06-2019, 05:17 PM

@Jo S I'm happy to hear that you found happiness through God in such a dynamic way! I hear this wonderful story countless times in many hymns and spiritual songs, and I think it encapsulates many people's salvation.

However, the human psyche, much like the human spirit is a complex system. I noticed that you said you did try medicine and therapy to no avail. Some people with clinical depression do find success with variations of medicine, CBT, and strong support systems.

Part of being a Christian, I believe, is finding the balance between practical steps to help ourselves and spiritual guidance that we won't always understand. For instance, it would be foolish for someone to say to someone with a broken leg to simply pray to God for it to heal. God works through men, and to forsake medical care would be foolish.

I think the problem lies in Christians who focus only on doctrine rather than what a person may need in the moment. Humans are after all, emotional beings (no matter how much I like to think of myself as perfectly rational lol).

For a Christian going through a depressive stage, they may not receive much life from being simply told that they need to turn to God, pray, etc.. It may be 100% true, but it may not reach them in the way that you'd hope like to. Often times this can actually have a reverse effect, causing them to associate spirituality with this feeling of helplessness and isolation (this is more based on my own experience and LC members I've talked to on this topic so I'm not trying to apply this to EVERY case of this kind). Sometimes you have to take care of someone humanly, whether that be through medical intervention or just being there to support.

08-06-2019, 05:17 PM	#9
Melo Member Join Date: Dec 2018 Posts: 27	Re: Mental Health in the LC @Jo S I'm happy to hear that you found happiness through God in such a dynamic way! I hear this wonderful story countless times in many hymns and spiritual songs, and I think it encapsulates many people's salvation. However, the human psyche, much like the human spirit is a complex system. I noticed that you said you did try medicine and therapy to no avail. Some people with clinical depression do find success with variations of medicine, CBT, and strong support systems. Part of being a Christian, I believe, is finding the balance between practical steps to help ourselves and spiritual guidance that we won't always understand. For instance, it would be foolish for someone to say to someone with a broken leg to simply pray to God for it to heal. God works through men, and to forsake medical care would be foolish. I think the problem lies in Christians who focus only on doctrine rather than what a person may need in the moment. Humans are after all, emotional beings (no matter how much I like to think of myself as perfectly rational lol). For a Christian going through a depressive stage, they may not receive much life from being simply told that they need to turn to God, pray, etc.. It may be 100% true, but it may not reach them in the way that you'd hope like to. Often times this can actually have a reverse effect, causing them to associate spirituality with this feeling of helplessness and isolation (this is more based on my own experience and LC members I've talked to on this topic so I'm not trying to apply this to EVERY case of this kind). Sometimes you have to take care of someone humanly, whether that be through medical intervention or just being there to support.