The Bible and Depression
Depression affects a person's mood, thoughts, and behavior. It most often involves persistent sadness, a loss of interest in activities that were previously enjoyed, trouble sleeping, and changes in appetite. Many people of great faith in the Bible also experienced severe depression.
Few people dispute the presence of depression in the Bible because it appears in some of the largest figures. People who were used mightily by God, such as David, Jeremiah, Elijah, and Job also suffered through major episodes of depression. Elijah walked away from his calling to hide in a cave. Jeremiah said, "I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to restore my spirit" (Lam. 1:16). And Job lamented, “If only my anguish could be weighed...What strength do I have, that I should still hope” (6:1-3,11)?
What is depression?
Depression is a mental illness that oftentimes coexists with other illnesses (e.g. post-traumatic stress). There are several types of depression, but the common theme is a lingering sadness or emptiness that won't lift. Along with being sad, depressed people can be irritable and/or have physical and cognitive changes. The overall effect is that their ability to function is impaired. They might find it incredibly difficult to get out of bed in the morning or go to work.
Depression is identified by:
feeling sad, empty or hopeless most of the day
lack of interest in doing things that you previously engaged in
significant weight loss or weight gain
difficulty sleeping
anxiousness or restlessness
fatigue or loss of energy
diminished ability to think or concentrate
and possibly, recurring thoughts of death
Some of the most prominent people in the Bible demonstrated many of these symptoms. Let's look at a few.
David
As mentioned when we looked at anxiety in the Bible, David spent 5-7 years fleeing for his life. As King Saul was overturning every nook and cranny searching for him, he wrote some of his most poignant psalms.
"How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me" (Ps.13:1-2)?
In many of these psalms he described his mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual state. Now, he never used modern terms to explain it, but his personal experience matches perfectly what we would call depression today. He wrote. “Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning” (Ps.31:9-10).
David talks about the physical effects, including significant weight loss: “All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me” (Ps.22:17); difficulty sleeping: “All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears. My eyes grow weak with sorrow; they fail because of all my foes” (Ps.6:6-7); physical pain: “I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint. My heart has turned to wax; it has melted within me” (v.14).; and restlessness: “Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me” (Ps.55:5).
His struggle is defined in a simple sentence: “I am worn out from my groaning” (Ps.6:6)
Elijah
The prophet who stared down 850 false prophets on Mount Carmel, soon afterwards experienced severe depression. He became afraid and ran for a whole day into the Judean countryside. Finally, he "came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die" (1 Kings 19:4). This mighty prophet of God appeared hopeless when he said, "I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (v.10).
He no longer was interested in God's calling. He just wanted to be done with the whole thing, so "he went into a cave and spent the night” (19:9). Elijah experienced all the common symptoms of depression: a decrease in appetite: An angel had to force him to eat, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you” (19:7-8); sleeping too much, “he lay down under the bush and fell asleep…He ate and drank and then lay down again.” (19:5-6). And the thought or even desire for death was at the forefront of his mind, “I have had enough, Lord. Take my life” (19:4).
Job
Right out of the gate, we learn about Job's dedication to God. He was "blameless and upright; he feared God and shunned evil" (Job 1:1). He was "the greatest man among all the people of the East" (v.3). Yet incredible suffering sent him into a season of severe depression. He said, "What strength do I have, that I should still hope” (6:1-3,11)?
His desire to care for himself was gone, “I have no concern for myself; I despise my own life” (9:21). He experienced significant weight loss: “my whole frame is but a shadow” (17:7). “I am nothing but skin and bones” (19:20). Sleep was impossible: “nights of misery have been assigned to me. When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’ The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn” (7:3-4). ““When I think my bed will comfort me and my couch will ease my complaint, even then you frighten me with dreams and terrify me with visions” (7:13-14).
Anxiety and restlessness defined his days: “For sighing has become my daily food; my groans pour out like water…I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil” (3:24-26). “My face is red with weeping, dark shadows ring my eyes” (16:16). “Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest” (30:17).
Like Elijah, recurring thoughts of death flitted across his mind: “Why did I not perish at birth, and die as I came from the womb?...For now I would be lying down in peace” (3:11-13). “…I prefer strangling and death, rather than this body of mine. I despise my life; I would not live forever. Let me alone; my days have no meaning” (7:15-16). “ I wish I had died before any eye saw me” (10:18).
Others that could be mentioned are Jeremiah and King Saul, who agree with the psalmist who wrote, "darkness is my closest friend" (88:18). Depression is the term we use today to describe these experiences. They wouldn't have recognized the word, but these men who were close to God's heart certainly could identify with the experience.
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