I’m anxious, depressed and I just can’t stop thinking about my problems.

How many people with emotional problems continue to feel overwhelmed by all that has happened and continue to chew over, dissect, and worry over it all. Other people are blamed and life is considered to be so unfair. The problems seem insoluble and take over every moment. They cannot stop thinking about them. Life becomes a wretched muddle. Nothing makes sense. Words are said that no right minded person would say, e-mails are sent that are extraordinary, tempers become frayed and anger so easily erupts.

The American Psychiatric Association has listed the features that characterise depression. These are:

Low self esteem

Reduced interests in life

Haunted by guilt feelings

Efficiency is impaired

Courage is less

Fearful

Performance is reduced

Sensitivity is increased

How can such people be helped? The secret must be to find a way to leave the problems behind. Sensitivity is often an issue as sufferers can easily focus on a minor issue and so miss the big picture and the solution to their problem.

Patient 1

A first year student at university went to see the university medical officer, and immediately started weeping. He was feeling very low indeed. He had recently got over an attack of ‘flu, he wasn’t sleeping well, he was well behind on his work and was stressed because of this. On top of this he was very lonely. The medical officer then drew a little picture of a spiral, at the bottom of which was a circle which he called the ‘slough of despond’.

The doctor explained how problems of either the body, the mind, social issues or the spirit can press a person down this spiral of depression. Indeed the word ‘depression’ comes from the Latin de-pressere which means ‘pressed down’. It was pointed out that some people are more liable to be pushed down by pressures because of their makeup. They discussed how pressures in each of these four areas might be involved and then resolved. To address the spiritual issues he was asked,

“Do you have a faith to help you in all this or aren’t you sure about these things?”

“No, I have no real direction or purpose,” he replied.

The student was given a short supply of sleeping pills to help overcome the sleepless fatigue. The student’s supervisor was contacted and it was arranged for him to do just one essay instead of the five outstanding. The student was later taken to a local Sunday tea party held every week some students to introduce him to some friends. They did befriend him, and soon he made friends and even joined as group of them at a local student church. After a few months this young man was not only coping with his studies, but he generally settled down. All three depressing factors were resolved. He found a purpose in life by becoming a Christian.

Patient 2

Another professional man had been seeing his doctor on innumerable occasions with depressive symptoms. He had lost his job, his friends, his marriage and his dignity. He could see no solution - he wanted to kill himself. His doctor rapidly diagnosed depression and treated him with anti-depressant pills. When he didn’t improve different pills were prescribed. But the problems still continued. He was referred to a psychiatrist who gave him yet different pills but the side effects were so bad he stopped taking them.

Then another doctor started to help him by looking at what factors might have contributed to the depression and he suggested that there may be a spiritual problem - but had no solution. Eventually a Christian friend suggested that he talk with a doctor in his church. Would this be a miracle cure? They met up but the help suggested was not magical or miraculous; he didn’t suggest that there was an overwhelming new power that would change everything instantly as a result of prayer. He had previously been disillusioned with what he considered to be superficial religion but this was somehow different. His new friend explained instead that the answer to life’s problems lies in a submission to God and to what he has taught. He stressed that the God of the Bible is a communicating God who cares about each of us he has created.

Mulling over the problems was the problem

A young boy was playing in the garden when he tripped up and fell into a muddy puddle. He just sat there, wailing. He looked at his dirty sodden clothes and cried again. He thought how stupid it was for someone to leave a puddle there for him to fall into. He sat and wailed again. What a mess. Then he screamed for his mother.

His mother stood him up on dry ground, took him in for a warm bath and dressed him in clean clothes. By this time the crying had stopped and he was back to normal.

The professional man’s problems were talked over and a warm relationship began. The problems were severe but Fred’s actions had clearly contributed to the mess. He needed to make a new start - somehow.

Step 1. Recognise that God wants to help

Our instincts tell us that feeling depressed is not what life is meant to be. There is a purpose in life - somewhere. Those instincts were instilled into our makeup by our creator, just as a love of beauty, honesty, integrity and justice are. The Bible clearly teaches that God wants to help us even more that the mother wants to help her child. How often God uses our problems to help us wake us up to our need of him.

One symptom of being depressed is that people turn inwards with a feeling of ‘poor me’. Freud called this ‘Introjection’. This self-pity is both a symptom and part of the reason for problems continuing. Have you noticed how depressed people talk about themselves a lot and use words such as ‘I’ and ‘me’ more than others? The question is how to change this situation when everything is wrong with the world and the person’s sensitivity is increased, another symptom of depression.

Step 2. Ask him to help you

The God who made us is not an impersonal force, he has become a human being and has experienced the sort of problems we face. He can help and longs to do so. We can ask him to help resolve the mess. He usually does this by teaching us and helping us to change ourselves.

Jesus said,

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28

How many people suffer from guilt. Marghanita Lasky was a famous broadcaster who was an atheist. In one broadcast she was talking with a Christian and said these profound words,

“There is one thing I envy about you Christians, you have someone to forgive you, I have no-one.”

The fact is that Marghanita Lasky does have a creator who longs to have a relationship with her if only she would recognise him.

Step 3. Don’t be overwhelmed

Perhaps the most significant feature of those who are depressed is that they continue to feel overwhelmed by both the problems of the past and ongoing issues and the limited prospects for the future. They just can’t seem to stop thinking about all that has happened.

There is nothing that can be done to change what has happened in the past so it is most unwise and damageing to keep mulling over it. Similarly anxiety is the effect on those who cannot stop mulling over what might happen in in the future. This mulling keeps people in the mess they are in and destroys them.

Our Lord wants us to leave the past with him and start again with a clean slate. That is the message Christ brought. We can leave the past and our guilt with him. He has dealt with this so we should not keep returning to the issues. When we turn to Christ we become new people,

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has come, the new has come!” 2 Corinthians 5:17

There was a West Indian preacher who made this very clear. In a sermon he enthusiastically proclaimed that God has thrown all our sins into the deepest sea. There was then a pause before he said meaningfully,

“Then he put up a notice - ‘No Fishing!”

How we all need to learn and relearn this lesson. We must not allow ourselves to keep mulling over what has happened to us or what might happen in the future but learn to leave the issues with the Lord. Every time the thoughts begin to came back learn to pray, ‘Lord, this is your problem now, I refuse to think any more about it.” It is persistent mulling that is so destructive.

Stop 4. Fill your mind with good things

It was a typo that caused me to write ‘Stop 4’ instead of ‘Step 4’ but I have deliberately left it in as this is where we must stop. The Bible teaches those who are committed to following Christ,

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is admirable or praiseworthy - think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received from me, or seen in me - put into practice. And the peace of God will be with you.” Philippians 4:8-9

Finally means we stop here. We refuse to fill our minds with worries and fears but think about beneficial issues. Have you noticed how sinful thoughts and temptations have a tendency to affect us. Watch a pornographic film and the effect will stay for days. Sin is addictive, just as constantly mulling over problems and fears is addictive.

We all know of the addictive power of drugs, alcohol and gambling. It is no coincidence that these addictions are often associated with depression and anxiety. Anger and hatred can also be addictive. The link is the addictive power of mulling over past problems and future fears.

Loneliness is a significant factor in depression and anxiety. We can keep mulling over our loneliness. One remedy is to get involved with activities we can enjoy and with people who are on the same path. We must fill our minds with new things. It is there that there are friends who will spend time with you. This is why it is vital for those who recognise what God has done for them to find a church that teaches God’s Word clearly. It is God’s word that teaches us how to find ‘life’ and where our future strength lies.

A person asked their friend,

“How can I forgive someone who has hurt me so badly?”

The answer came back,

“If we can see how much we have hurt the Lord by rejecting him and yet we have been forgiven, then it is easier to forgive those who have hurt us.”

Jesus told a parable to this end. A man owed his king millions of pounds, yet he was forgiven the debt. However he immediately went and demanded payment from someone who owed him a few pounds. The king was livid with the ‘wicked man’ and was accordingly penalised. It is only when we can see how much we have been forgiven that we can forgive others. Part of the healing process is to try to put right any wrongs that we have performed that may have contributed to the pressures.

A refusal to keep mulling over the past is vital. Such mulling over problems is addictive and needs be positively rejected. But alongside this must go the determination to keep doing what is right, come what may. This is where the help of the Lord’s Spirit in us changes every thing. His prompting encourages us to avoid giving in to temptation, doing what can destroy us, and to start doing what is right, what pleases the Lord. The effect of this will be to give a deep satisfaction, a peace will come, relationships are restored, and a purpose is found.

BVP