How Can I Be Depressed When I Am a Christian?

When I read that query, I felt the desperation that comes together with the inquiry. I hear my very own struggle that led to questioning my God as I personally lived under the load of unrelenting anxiety and depression for the higher a part of the last decade. So lots of us usually are not only burdened by the physical turmoil that these imbalances bring but additionally are weighted down with a way of shame and uncertainty that attaches to us when our faith communities fail to decide on empathy and understanding when they carry up faith and mental health. 

In my experience, generally, Christ-following individuals who have never suffered from true clinical-level anxiety and depression have a tough time empathizing with what it’s to walk this road. They haven’t felt the physical dread, the deafening despondence, and due to this fact, haven’t been in need of a miraculous intervention required for those diagnosed with depression for his or her minds and bodies to live free and healthy. For most of us, experience is the way in which we’re forced to push past easy answers and dig deeper into how God loves us through our physical battles that impact our minds, bodies, and souls. 

I’ve needed to do a variety of forgiving of people that passed me books that were designed to Christian self-help me out of needing medication, who’ve expressed their frustration when people they love couldn’t snap out of their depressive episodes, and who’ve said that if I had a deeper faith, I might not be on this battle. I forgive them and do not forget that they only can’t know what they’ve never experienced. 

They don’t understand how often I’ve poured over the scriptures about peace and asked God to take my burden away, how I’ve tried every home cure, self-help tip, and technique to manage my symptoms with no relief. They haven’t felt how thankful I’m and so very comfortable for my life, yet all of the while, my body wouldn’t match what my considering brain was trying so hard to inform it to do. You could be depressed and still be so very thankful and content with God’s gifts in your life. That’s a truth I only found as I finally accepted my medical diagnosis. For so long, I felt that this could not be depression because I really like my life a lot. I lived and still battle shame that shouts the lie that my depression meant I used to be not in God’s will for my life. 

All of this kept me trapped for thus long because moderately than accepting medical interventions, I just kept striving to in some way Bible truth my technique to health.   The easy answers gave the impression to be working for everybody else I knew, so I used to be determined to make them work for me. Honestly, it took seven years into this struggle to satisfy one other Christian who shared how medication helped bring their body into health after coping with depression. Their openness concerning the joy they felt after accepting this intervention opened a door in my soul. I knew they loved Jesus, and if this Jesus-loving person found freedom with the assistance of medical support, it was finally okay for me to simply accept my very own needs, too. 

How to Respond When Depression Becomes Part of Our Story 

Medication shouldn’t be the reply for everybody, but I share my story because, at the center of it, pride and shame kept me from exploring all the choices for me to be healthy after I experienced postpartum anxiety and depression that never resolved until I took medication. This was seven years of suffering and struggling. I could have lived more fully if I had known other Christ followers who really were willing to listen to me, see me, and affirm that I used to be not a failure. The reality was that I used to be a Mom whose body was not producing enough serotonin, I needed medicine to assist bring my body into balance. This is just similar to if my body stopped making insulin, everyone would immediately instruct me to start taking life saving medication. But for some reason, I used to be taught to imagine that mental health was at all times a spiritual problem and never a physical one. 

Depression may be a physical response to an actual loss, traumatic experience, or other difficult life event. The Bible tells us to ‘mourn with people who mourn’ (Romans 12:15-18), and in these cases, depression is someone caught up in a deep physical kind of mourning. The answer, then, is people. It’s counseling, therapy, recent habits, and an infusion of hope right into a life that has felt greater than its justifiable share of loss. The Christian answer to this case shouldn’t be merely an I’m praying for you, and it’s an I’m going to be here with you. It’s a commitment to be present and help as someone you’re keen on pushes back the darkness that has settled over their life. 

In every case during which we go from just being right down to being depressed as Christ followers, it’s vital that we understand this doesn’t separate us from God. There is not any shame in deep, difficult feelings, and as we read the Bible, we see them expressed in almost every story. Jesus himself wept out tears of blood as he prepared for his own death. I believe it’s secure to say he was battling some pretty dark and difficult emotions (Luke 22:44), and interestingly, the one thing he asked his disciples to do for him at the moment was to be awake with him. Spoiler alert: they failed him, and all fell asleep while he wrestled all he was feeling about what was to return. 

Yet, a lot of our current Christian culture focuses on the peppy, super blessed, and at all times comfortable brand of Christianity. Those people aren’t real. No one only ever feels comfortable, and we’re made to experience a wide selection of emotions. Nonetheless, we’ve been trained to cover our real needs in fear we won’t be adequate for Jesus, but we will never be adequate for him. We are only purported to be with him. That’s the one requirement to be a Christian: you should be with Jesus. 

For Those Christians Struggling with Depression

So, in case you are within the depths of depression, first, I would like to say I’m so sorry. It’s just truly the worst feeling on the earth, and getting out of that dark, complex place is admittedly difficult. God is with you on this. He made us feel deeply, and our world is chaotic. We wouldn’t be responding appropriately to this fallen world if we were only ever comfortable. We know on this life, there will likely be trouble, and we’re promised never to undergo it without God once we’re in his family. 

Next, as believers, we’re called to encourage each other in love (1 Thessalonians 5:11). Find someone who loves Jesus who could be real with you and encourage you even on this dark moment. This could be a pastor, friend, mentor, counselor, therapist, and the list goes on. We usually are not meant to remain at the hours of darkness alone. 

Finally, our minds, bodies, and souls are connected. Our minds struggle with our bodies usually are not well. If you end up stuck in a longstanding struggle with depression and more, gather all of the interventions that may bring your body into proper alignment just as you’d for every other ailment. I do know God wanted me to trust him enough to simply accept my need for medication, and it truly was the primary time in years that I felt free from my battle. Thankfully, I even have been in a position to end my medication and am doing well. Through all of this I’m learning to trust God to bring freedom in his way in his timing. My job is simply to be humble and obedient to His Spirit’s leadership in health, even when my body fails. I pray you discover the liberty to trust him even with this. 

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/Paolo Cordoni

Amanda Idleman is a author whose passion is to encourage others to live joyfully. She writes devotions for My Daily Bible Verse Devotional and Podcast, Crosswalk Couples Devotional, the Daily Devotional App, she has work published with Her View from Home, on the MOPS Blog, and is a daily contributor for Crosswalk.com. She has most recently published a devotional, Comfort: A 30 Day Devotional Exploring God’s Heart of Love for Mommas. You can discover more about Amanda on her Facebook Page or follow her on Instagram.