Depression and Faith

[Scarletprayers]

Read this thread honey......... ..............lots of people are already praying for you!

[anitarose]

I have been diagnosed with not only severe clinical depression but PTSD as well because of things that have happened to me in the past. I've tried to leave things in the past but there are times when something will trigger a past experience and it will rear up and bite me. At this time last year I was recovering from a suicide attempt and my church did help me. This year I've been too busy to think about everything that has caused me to spiral (parents' deaths, Christmas, my mother's birthday (yesterday, no less!), the impending divorce) but there are times when I find myself in that dark area still.

Only in the Lord is there hope for people like me who are still going through it.

Anita

Hi Anita.. I have been diagnosed with severe clinical depression, PTSD, and DID NOS stemming from the horrid things I have experienced in my childhood and life..... You just never know when a "trigger" will spiral you. Unfortunately, I have been triggered and can't seem to unspiral..... please pray for me.

I've been there, hurting. The first step, and it's one you've already taken, is to allow the Lord into your life. I'm not saying it's going to be a bed of roses after that---you might find there's a lot more thorns---but it does get easier the more you allow the Lord to work in your life. Trust me---if it hadn't been for the Lord in my life, by this time this year I might have been dead a whole year.

I find the Psalms to be comforting reading when I get into the dark areas. David, like me, went through some serious trials and problems in his life....and he relied on the Lord to get him through them all. You and I can do the same thing, hurting. We just have to learn how to turn everything in our lives over to Him---not an easy step. I've been a Christian going on 37 years, and I'm still learning how to do that.

Anita

[the_interactionist]

I have been diagnosed with not only severe clinical depression but PTSD as well because of things that have happened to me in the past. I've tried to leave things in the past but there are times when something will trigger a past experience and it will rear up and bite me. At this time last year I was recovering from a suicide attempt and my church did help me. This year I've been too busy to think about everything that has caused me to spiral (parents' deaths, Christmas, my mother's birthday (yesterday, no less!), the impending divorce) but there are times when I find myself in that dark area still.

Only in the Lord is there hope for people like me who are still going through it.

Anita

Hi Anita.. I have been diagnosed with severe clinical depression, PTSD, and DID NOS stemming from the horrid things I have experienced in my childhood and life..... You just never know when a "trigger" will spiral you. Unfortunately, I have been triggered and can't seem to unspiral..... please pray for me.

I've been there, hurting. The first step, and it's one you've already taken, is to allow the Lord into your life. I'm not saying it's going to be a bed of roses after that---you might find there's a lot more thorns---but it does get easier the more you allow the Lord to work in your life. Trust me---if it hadn't been for the Lord in my life, by this time this year I might have been dead a whole year.

I find the Psalms to be comforting reading when I get into the dark areas. David, like me, went through some serious trials and problems in his life....and he relied on the Lord to get him through them all. You and I can do the same thing, hurting. We just have to learn how to turn everything in our lives over to Him---not an easy step. I've been a Christian going on 37 years, and I'm still learning how to do that.

Anita

Good advice, Anita. It's true that it can become difficult to accept God's grace into your life, especially God's will as well, when all we have to rely on is faith. Faith is a funny thing, because it is our greatest challenge as Christians. By that, I mean, we may be ridiculed by athiests, angostics, and a host of others who feel we are ignorant and superstitious because of our beliefs, but remaining steadfast in those very beliefs, despite so-called "hard" evidence against them is what having faith is all about. Faith is exemplified and will inevitably pervade our lives when we simply let go of everything and learn that worry, doubt, uncertainty, anxiety, and fear are all enemies of the mind and have no place in our lives as Christians. We were created by God to embrace a life of joy and happiness. Ask any of the moderators on here and they'll tell you the same.

All of the aforementioned "enemies of the mind" are simply needless and useless states of being. The perpetuation of uncertainty will not solve our problems. Anxiety, depression, and the like, are not meant for us. Stick to God and read the Bible. Follow the eternal advice of Jesus: "...Only believe." Jesus had it right all along. Healing takes time, but it is immanent so long as you persist. And as you persist, do so with unwavering faith.

I'll be keeping you ALL in my prayers.

Hurting, surely, you may one day change your screen name from "hurting" to "healed"

[The Lorax]

As someone who had suffered from depression, I completely agree with the OP on this.

I've always had the problem of thinking at a mile a minute, and when I was unhappy all I could think about was my own unhappiness. And that, of course, made me more unhappy. It was a sort of vicious cycle and I didn't think I could break out of it. The Lord helped me though. He helped me calm my mind and, most importantly, stop thinking about myself and my own problems for a minute or two. When you are depressed it sometimes helps to NOT think of your own problems and to think instead of other people. They have problems too. You aren't alone, you just convince yourself that you are. Sometimes the best way to become happy is to make someone else happy. Do something nice for someone and you will feel nice yourself. Another thing that helps is to stop viewing your life in terms of "shoulds." Depressed people tend to get hung up on this. I would imagine this fantasy life and then contrast it with my actual life. The disparity would make me unhappy. It didn't occur to me that my life was already pretty darn good. Forget shoulds. Stop dwelling in fantasies. Your life is great, you just don't realize it because you're constantly focusing on the worst of your real life and comparing it to the best of an imaginary life. That's counterproductive, irrational, and self-destructive. As soon as I abandoned that mindset I became a much happy person. I thank God for helping me appreciate everything He gave me.

[Rick-Parker]

There is a difference between depression and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a disease. A good proportion of those with bipolar disorder have attempted suicide. Usually bipolar disorder comes with PTSD, panic disorder and stress anxiety disorder. Have you ever been in front of people and been unable to function - covered in sweat - worked in a job where the majority of the people you work on die, or been in a situation where it is kill or be killed? I have. I have a strong faith, an enduring faith, yet I see a psychiatrist for counseling and medication. God gave us the knowledge that we use to make the medications and treatments for diseases. I have had people tell me that if I had more faith, I could come off my medications and be healed. I believe that God can and does heal. He has chosen not to heal me at this moment. So please, if you haven't been where I have been, than please don't assume that you have the answers. Besides, what you do when you play the faith "card" is to judge. Thanks for reading and understanding.

Rick

[aburgess]

There is a difference between depression and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a disease. A good proportion of those with bipolar disorder have attempted suicide. Usually bipolar disorder comes with PTSD, panic disorder and stress anxiety disorder. Have you ever been in front of people and been unable to function - covered in sweat - worked in a job where the majority of the people you work on die, or been in a situation where it is kill or be killed? I have. I have a strong faith, an enduring faith, yet I see a psychiatrist for counseling and medication. God gave us the knowledge that we use to make the medications and treatments for diseases. I have had people tell me that if I had more faith, I could come off my medications and be healed. I believe that God can and does heal. He has chosen not to heal me at this moment. So please, if you haven't been where I have been, than please don't assume that you have the answers. Besides, what you do when you play the faith "card" is to judge. Thanks for reading and understanding.

Rick

I totally agree with you and BELIEVE GOD HEALS IN MANY WAYS just because some need medication doesnt mean they have less faith only that God is using medication to help them . We wouldnt tell people with heart disease or diabetes not to take medicine and to me its the same thing. I also take medication and I thank God everyday for it!

[Guest]

Pray For Us

Pray For Them

Pray For The Lost

Pray For The Broke

Pray For The Hurting

Pray For The Hopeless

Pray For The Unlovable

Cry Hosanna! Hosanna! Hosanna! To The KING

Sing Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! To The LORD

Thank God For His Love

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Healing Forever

And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.

And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

Revelation 21:3-5

The Curse

And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him:

And they shall see his face; and his name shall be in their foreheads.

Revelation 22:3:4

Shortly

He which testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.

Revelation 22:20

Amen!

[the_interactionist]

There is a difference between depression and bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a disease. A good proportion of those with bipolar disorder have attempted suicide. Usually bipolar disorder comes with PTSD, panic disorder and stress anxiety disorder. Have you ever been in front of people and been unable to function - covered in sweat - worked in a job where the majority of the people you work on die, or been in a situation where it is kill or be killed? I have. I have a strong faith, an enduring faith, yet I see a psychiatrist for counseling and medication. God gave us the knowledge that we use to make the medications and treatments for diseases. I have had people tell me that if I had more faith, I could come off my medications and be healed. I believe that God can and does heal. He has chosen not to heal me at this moment. So please, if you haven't been where I have been, than please don't assume that you have the answers. Besides, what you do when you play the faith "card" is to judge. Thanks for reading and understanding.

Rick

So do you believe it's God's way of (or His will) to heal you via medication, even though the vast majority of anti-anxiety and bi-polar medications are potentially dangerous and have myriad side effects. One of my best friends is bi-polar and has OCD, has tried suicide a couple times, and still has terrible, ego-dystonic thoughts, but he is looking for God to heal him because he realizes the medication alone is insufficient and isn't working. He also realizes that the medicine he's taking is making him feel worse, even though his psychiatrist says to keep taking it because it will eventually work. He's been on several medications and none have ever worked.

I've experienced suicidal tendencies myself and tried to commit suicide by overdosing on Vicodin and Norco (both at the same time), but was spared because God had greater plans for me! So, yes, I can resoundingly say that I've personally experienced what some would consider "bi-polar symptoms" however my symptoms were linked to a narcotics addiction, which is ALSO considered a disease by mainstream science. I felt like I wanted to die quite a bit during that point in time and I know now that this is not God's will for any of His children. By faith alone is how we are healed. The potential reality exists that belief plays a more vital biological role in healing that medicine does as well. Faith trumps medicine.

Besides that, I never assumed I have the answers for everyone. My comments here are purely opinion, but they're backed by Scripture, science, and real-world experience. I don't believe I have all the answers, but I believe God does. He is the only "one size fits all" for healing.

By the way, I'm not saying medication can't help, I'm just saying it's not a guarantee and that God is a much more viable option. God's cures come with NO side effects.

[Rick-Parker]

So do you believe it's God's way of (or His will) to heal you via medication, even though the vast majority of anti-anxiety and bi-polar medications are potentially dangerous and have myriad side effects.

What I believe is that the Lord can and does heal. He has chosen not to heal me. Taking medication and physician interaction is not "healing." It's management. As for "the vast majority" comment, the side effects are most present with adolescences and then only in a small percentage. As for adults - as with any other drug, one must weigh the risks against the benefits.

One of my best friends is bi-polar and has OCD, has tried suicide a couple times, and still has terrible, ego-dystonic thoughts,

Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings

[the_interactionist]

Brandon's Popo said:

What I believe is that the Lord can and does heal. He has chosen not to heal me.

It's not God's choice as to whether you're healed or not. It's yours. He has already ordained healing through Jesus death and resurrection. He has already chose healing for us... "Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." - 1 Peter 2:23 & 24

Bipolar disorder causes dramatic mood swings