Getting Help for Depression: You Don’t Have to Struggle Alone

The sun shines through the curtains, implying that the world is awakening, and it is time to arise again, but she barely notices. Her entire being is pulled down in weight, and her mind is trapped in a graveyard of sadness. The only relief from the sorrow seems to be sleep.

His smile quirks at the corners but never reaches his eyes. He cannot let his family know he is a failure in his mind.

I should feel something…right? But I don’t. I am numb. Empty. All I see is my life gutted into despair. I don’t really care.

Living in the world that we do, I know you have heard of depression and most likely have experienced it yourself or know someone who has struggled with it. If you are reading this and are currently struggling with depression, I am sorry you are experiencing this.

The Lie of Depression

The lie of depression will tell you that it will not get better, but I want you to know that, with the right steps, it can and does. I have seen it many times over and have walked through this myself at the turn of adulthood.

Yale Medicine and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th edition (DSM-5) shares that depression is a mental health condition that includes symptoms of feeling extreme sadness, worthlessness, helplessness, guilt, lack of interest and/or pleasure in activities, difficulty with sleep, frustration, irritability and/or anger, difficulty concentrating, low energy, thoughts of death or self-harm, and/or suicide attempts for a period of two or more weeks.

The National Institute of Mental Health reports that “Major depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the United States,” and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shares that suicide is one of the leading causes of death in the US.

My heart breaks over this. Depression is at its worst in death by suicide. It whispers lies that are taken as truth, and it steals life itself. You do not have to do it alone. In fact, hear me kindly when I say, you cannot do it alone. As humans, as Christians, we were hardwired to live in community.

Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. – Galatians 6:2, ESV

This may mean seeking out a mental health professional, confiding in a trusted friend, sharing with your pastor, and/or reaching out to the suicide hotline (988). Whatever your chosen mode of allowing another into your soul, depression can be healed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

The causes of depression are still currently being researched, but the current hypothesis regarding the neurobiology of the disease is called the monoamine deficiency hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that depression is caused by a deficit in monoamine neurotransmitters in the brain.

Neurotransmitters are physical entities that transmit chemical signals as a form of communication. This hypothesis speculates that about one in three of these specific neurotransmitters is underactive. You may have read or heard about serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine. These are the monoamine neurotransmitters pegged to play a key role in regulating mood and emotions (Yale Medicine, 2021).

This hypothesis influenced the development of antidepressants.

Dr. Katz of Yale Medicine shares that another hypothesis includes attributing depression to neurotransmitters glutamate and GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid). The neurobiology of depression continues to be researched, but we do know that there are various effective treatments.

No matter the brain science hypothesis, a dear friend of mine shared the thought that spiritually, “demons nest in unhealed wounds.” I found this thought-provoking and ask that you pray about this with me.

Take a moment before we move on.

Vulnerability

Let’s talk about this for a moment. If you are like me, vulnerability has been something that I have needed to be intentional about and has initially been extremely uncomfortable, so much so that it would often silence me.

Maybe you are currently in the stage of safeguarding yourself from being vulnerable, or you have just dipped your toes into sharing your authentic self with a trusted person in your life; wherever you are at, I want to encourage you that being vulnerable with safe people is worth it. The keyword is “safe people.”

This statement evokes the question of how you know whether someone is safe. I was listening to a podcast with Brené Brown (one of the leading qualitative researchers on vulnerability) and Steven Bartlett, and Brené spoke about being vulnerable in small increments over time to slowly build trust with another person and therefore a sense of safety.

Naturally, trust takes time to build. I often use the imagery that trust is built in drops and spilled in buckets. To me, characteristics of a safe person include, but are not limited to, an honest, dependable, empathetic person who speaks scriptural truth in love. What are the characteristics you see in the safe people around you?

Many times, in Scripture, we will see the call to live in community with one another; to be the body of Christ living as one. God himself lives in relationship (He is triune after all), and we were created to be His image bearers. There is something transcendent about being fully known and fully loved, but to be truly known in community, we must step into vulnerability.

One of my absolute favorite TED Talks that I often recommend is Brené Brown’s talk on vulnerability. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iCvmsMzlF7o

Brené’s research has shown that vulnerability is the “birthplace of joy, creativity, of belonging, and of love.” She states that “In order for connection to happen, we have to allow ourselves to be seen, really seen.” The struggle is that shame and fear get in the way. Shame and fear hold us back from being vulnerable and from sharing our genuine selves with others, thus causing a lack of connection. A lack of love and belonging.

Continuing to pull from Brené’s TED talk above, she notes that people who have a sense of love and belonging simply believe they are worthy of it. They believe that “what made them vulnerable, made them beautiful” and they were “willing to let go of who they think they should be in order to be who they are.” This brought forth a deep connection with others.

I think one of the keys here that Brené unveils is that the people believed they were worthy of love and belonging. As a Christian, how does one come to operate out of this belief? At its simplest answer, you draw near to your Creator, God Almighty. As you learn who God is, you learn who you are and for what you are created. God is a relational God, and you were created to be in relationship with him and with the body of Christ.

When we are not living as God created us to live, we will see signs of unhealth start to grow. Shame loves to hide. It grows and grows and grows and operates out of the belief that I am the problem, I am bad. It condemns. I want you to know that that is not from God. You are worthy of love and belonging. By the blood of Jesus, freedom is here.

If you suspect you are struggling with depression, you are not alone in this. I encourage you to take a step of faith in who God has created you to be and start by embracing the vulnerability of making an appointment. I know how harrowing it can be to let someone in. I also know you are worthy of being fully known, fully seen, and fully loved. God formed you to walk in wholeness and healing with Him.

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in Spirit. – Psalm 34:18