Anxiety and Depression are sinful behaviour choices not diseases.
|
|
Anxiety and depression are sinful behavior choices not diseases caused by chemical imbalances that are fixed through drugs and shocks. |
|
Introduction:
1. Anxiety and depression are sinful behaviours which the Bible specifically warns against. Jesus commanded us not to be anxious and to rejoice. Anxiety and depression are disobedient emotional choices in direct rebellion to Jesus Christ. We are to rely upon God for everything in all of life's situations, even if we are tortured for our faith and crucified upside down on a burning cross. The Christian is never to be anxious or depressed.
2. Depression is distinguished from natural mourning by four factors:
a. Depression is characterized by an unnatural length of time for sadness. While a person may mourn for months, depression may last years.
b. Depression is almost always characterized by some kind of self-disablement. A person may weep for 3 months over the death of a loved one, they return to full functionality in their life's duty and responsibility almost immediately. People can be sad, but not self-disabled. Depression is often an excuse for self-disablement.
c. Depression is often for some untraceable reason for sadness in the person's life. In other words, they are sad and when you ask them, they lie and tell you they do not know why. This is what they have been coached to do with drug company commercials on TV where depression is falsely portrayed as a disease or medical issue.
d. They mope around, like Eeyore broadcasting that they are unhappy to everyone for some unknown reason. This is part of the strategy to attain their benefits from the behaviour choice of depression. You ask: "Why are you sad?" They answer: "I don't know".
|
It is the opposite to what Jesus instructed when we experience hardship through fasting: “Whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance so that they will be noticed by men when they are fasting. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full. “But you, when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face so that your fasting will not be noticed by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matthew 6:16-18) Those who are depressed often choose to appear outwardly in such a way that others immediately recognize them as unhappy. If the sadness was because of divorce, death, disease, destitution, it would be obvious to all and there would be no need to put on the show because everyone already knows why they are unhappy |
|
3. Depression and anxiety are very real emotional states that a person chooses to allow themselves to experience.
4. When someone is depressed they are sad about something and there is always a rational reason.
5. When someone is anxious they are disquieted about something and there is always a rational reason.
6. The myth is that anxiety and depression are caused by biochemical imbalances in the brain which are corrected with drugs and shocks.
7. A lack of faith and trust in God, a lack of contentment and high self-esteem are the root causes of anxiety and depression.
8. The bad news is that non-Christians have no escape of anxiety and depression because they have no one that is looking out for their wellbeing.
9. See the Case of Eeyore: (The Eeyore Syndrome: High self-esteem depression disorder)
|
A. Anxiety and depression in the Bible |
|
- We call it the "high self-esteem anxiety disorder". It is when people lose sleep because they are not living a standard of living as high as they think deserved!
- Many people get depressed because they are poor with few material possessions. The reason they get depressed is because they feel they deserve more than what they presently have. They fell they are worth more than their present standard of living. This is totally sinful and contrary to scripture.
- "If we have food and covering, with these we shall be content." 1 Timothy 6:8
- "But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, "Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the serving alone? Then tell her to help me." But the Lord answered and said to her, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her."" Luke 10:40-42
- "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Matthew 6:25-34
- "So the king said to me, "Why is your face sad though you are not sick? This is nothing but sadness of heart." Then I was very much afraid." Nehemiah 2:2
- “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”” (Acts 14:22)
- “My tears have been my food day and night, While they say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”” (Psalm 42:3)
- “You have taken account of my wanderings; Put my tears in Your bottle. Are they not in Your book?” (Psalm 56:8)
|
|
||
|
|
Gentile/Atheist/Pagan |
Christianity |
|
Your primary need |
earnestly seek food, clothing, shelter and worry: Mt 6:32 |
Seek God and don't worry: Mt 6:33; Lk 10:40-42 |
|
minimum contentment |
housing, transportation, furniture, TV set, phone, electricity, heat, air conditioning. |
food, clothing: 1 Tim 6:8 |
|
food and clothing |
eagerly seek food and clothing |
Do not worry about food or clothing |
|
Priority: |
When my basic material needs are met, then I will love others and seek God |
I will seek God first, help my fellow man and ignore my material needs. Mt 6:33; Lk 10:40-42 |
|
Outlook in life |
let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die |
die daily |
|
Attitude towards wealth |
"'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry." Luke 12:19 |
Sell your possessions and give to charity |
|
Social Focus |
Focus on thinking highly about yourself, material success, social acceptance |
Focus on others, deny self. |
|
Self esteem |
High self esteem |
Low self esteem |
|
|
||
B. Elijah and Jonah: Bible examples of anxiety and depression:
1. Some suggest that Elijah (1 Kings 19) and Jonah (Jonah 4) are good examples of clinical anxiety and depression in the Bible.
a. If this is true, no one would ever suggest either of their depressions were caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain.
b. It is clear that both made behaviour choices based upon current life circumstances.
2. Both exhibited classic signs of anxiety and depression:
a. Giving up in general, misdirected anger and wishing they were dead.
b. Change of vocational status (both quit as prophets)
c. Becoming dependent (God sent angels to feed Elijah)
d. Feeling sorry for themselves and a sense of entitlement.
e. Disruption of their personal responsibility and life duty.
f. Complaining to God.
3. God didn't say any comforting "flowery words" to Elijah.
a. God never acknowledged that Elijah was justified in his behaviour choice of depression.
b. God never said, "You poor hard done by man"
c. God never said, "You sure have it hard"
d. God never said, "hugs… what can I do to make you feel better"
4. Instead God FIRED Elijah on the spot and ordered him to go anoint Elisha as his replacement.
a. While at Mt. Sinai, God gave Elijah 4 chances (wind, earthquake, fire, breeze) to change his behaviour choice AND GET BACK TO WORK AS A PROPHET.
b. Each time God waited for Elijah to see that with God's power on his side he had nothing to fear.
c. After the three power supernatural displays (wind, earthquake, fire) Elijah doesn't get the point on his own and volunteer to God these words: "God I have been stupid. I should not be here. With you on my side why would I fear Jezebel?" Elijah remains unmoved in his behaviour choices.
d. God then comes and asks a second time why Elijah has given up and 500 miles due south of Jerusalem on Mt. Lawz and Elijah repeats the same old thing as before.
e. Now at this point in the narrative, we would expect God to give some comforting words to Elijah, given the fact that he really is suffering from hardship and will be executed if Jezebel finds him.
f. Instead of flowery words, GOD FIRES HIM and sends him to anoint his replacement, Elisha.
g. This is because Elijah's behaviour choices of giving up and depression WERE A SIN.
5. In the case of Jonah, God was angrily rebuked Jonah's depression and anger.
6. The apostle Paul had much more to be anxious or depressed about, yet he:
a. Paul was a model example of joy in the midst of tribulation and personal suffering.
b. Paul and Silas sang after being beaten and thrown into prison: Acts 16:25
C. Anxiety and depression are not caused by body chemicals:
1. "The ideology of bioreductionist psychiatry is that depression, schizophrenia, and other illnesses are biomedically distinct and genetically driven. Decades of fishing for supporting data have yielded nothing of substance, however" (Pseudoscience in Biological Psychiatry, Colin A. Ross, M.D., & Alvin Pam, Ph.D., 1995, p. 140).
2. “The serotonin theory of depression is comparable to the Masturbatory Theory of Insanity.” (Ads for SSRI antidepressants are misleading, David Healy, PloS Medicine news release, November 2005)
3. "Ultimately, you may become convinced that there is something fundamentally wrong with you. But what if there is nothing "wrong" with you at all? What if, like virtually everybody else who suffers repeatedly from depression, you have become a victim of your own very sensible, even heroic, efforts to free yourself - like someone pulled even deeper into quicksand by the struggling intended to get you out? We wrote this book to help you understand how this happens and what you can do about it, by sharing recent scientific discoveries that have given us a radically new understanding of what feeds depression or chronic unhappiness: At the very earliest stages in which mood starts to spiral downward, it is not the mood that does the damage, but how we react to it. Our habitual efforts to extricate ourselves, far from freeing us, actually keep us locked in the pain we're trying to escape. ... As scientists and clinicians we came to a new understanding of what is and what is not effective in dealing with repeated depression by a somewhat circuitous route. Until the early 1970s, scientists had concentrated on finding effective treatments for acute depression—for that devastating first episode often triggered by a catastrophic event in one's life. They found them in the form of antidepressant medications, which remain enormously helpful in treating depression for many people. Then came the discovery that depression, once treated, often returns—and becomes more and more likely to recur the more often it is experienced. This changed our entire concept of depression and chronic unhappiness. It turned out that antidepressant medications "fixed" depression, but only as long as people kept taking them. When they stopped, depression came back, even if not until months later. Neither patients nor doctors liked the idea of anyone taking lifelong medicine to keep the specter of depression from the door. ... Through insightful lessons drawn from both Eastern [Buddhist] meditative traditions and cognitive therapy, they demonstrate how to sidestep the mental habits that lead to despair, including rumination and self-blame, so you can face life's challenges with greater resilience. (The Mindful Way through Depression: Freeing Yourself From Chronic Unhappiness, [Eastern Buddhist meditative], Mark Williams, John Teasdale, Zindel Segal, Jon Kabat-Zinn, 2007 AD, p 2, 4, cover)
4. "If these shocking presumptions were not an actual description of the current state of the Psychology industry, they might be laughable. But regrettably, these simplistic theories are widely applied and widely accepted in a society that naively trusts psychologists to be scientific and objective, optimistic and positive, and caring and other-oriented." (Manufacturing Victims, Dr. Tana Dineen, 2001, p 266)
5. "The fact that not a single textbook of pathology recognizes depression and schizophrenia as diseases has not in the least dampened popular and political enthusiasm for their diagnosis and treatment." (The Medicalization Of Everyday Life, Thomas Szasz, 2007 AD, p 24)
6. "Learn to recognize the symptoms of MENTAL ILLNESS. Schizophrenia, Manic Depression and Severe Depression are BRAIN DISEASES. (Hawaii State Alliance for the Mentally Ill, 1991 AD)
7. "I am constantly amazed by how many patients who come to see me believe or want to believe that their difficulties are biologic and can be relieved by a pill. This is despite the fact that modern psychiatry has yet to convincingly prove the genetic/biologic cause of any single mental illness. However, this does not stop psychiatry from making essentially unproven claims that depression, bipolar illness, anxiety disorders, alcoholism and a host of other disorders are in fact primarily biologic and probably genetic in origin, and that it is only a matter of time until all this is proven. This kind of faith in science and progress is staggering, not to mention naive and perhaps delusional. (Against Biologic Psychiatry, Dr. David Kaiser, Psychologist, Psychiatric Times, December, Dec. 1996, Vol. XIII, Issue 12)
8. "Yet conclusions such as "depression is a chemical imbalance" are created out of nothing more than semantics and the wishful thinking of scientist/psychiatrists and a public who will believe anything now that has the stamp of approval of medical science." (Against Biologic Psychiatry, Dr. David Kaiser, Psychologist, Psychiatric Times, December, Dec. 1996, Vol. XIII, Issue 12)"Can neuroscience help alleviate or prevent the suffering and loss by mapping what happens when people succeed in voluntarily suppressing sad thoughts without recourse to medication? The answer is important because the current generation of antidepressants often performs barely better than placebos, as we shall see. In other words, if a patient can effectively self-heal by learning, through focused therapy, how to recruit existing inner resources, antidepressants can be targeted to specific, focused needs." (The Spiritual Brain, Mario Beauregard Ph.D., Neuroscientist, 2007, p134)
9. "All subjects reported indifference to the neutral films and sadness about the sad films, but all found that they could detach themselves from the sad films when they tried. It appears that, in principle, normal humans are not feeling robots, but are quite capable of adjusting their emotional reactions. This is true even of children... The children reported that they were able to keep their emotions [of sadness] in check during the second series, just as the adults had." (The Spiritual Brain, Mario Beauregard Ph.D., Neuroscientist, 2007, p 134, 136)
D. Lies, deceptions and myths from biopsychiatrists, drug companies and governments:
Note: In the official statements below from government agencies, drug companies and biopsychiatrists, notice that often, they come right out and say, "no one knows what causes depression". However, they then go on to theorize the etiology to be brain chemicals, genetics via DNA etc. The truth is that when someone is depressed, they are always sad for a reason and when someone is anxious, there is a reason they cannot sleep at night. Depression and anxiety are sinful behaviour choices not diseases. They are treated with repentance and a change of heart, not drugs and shocks.
3. "What are the causes of Depression? The cause of depression is unknown. For some people an obvious stress seems to a precipitating factor, for others depression may occur without any apparent reason. There is evidence to suggest that depression is a biological disorder. Neurotransmitters in the brain may be thought of as chemical messengers that transmit information across various pathways. It is believed that depression is caused by a chemical imbalance involving a deficiency in one or more neurotransmitters. What about psychological factors? Certain stressful events such as the death of a loved one, end of a marriage or love affair, or financial loss may produce depression in predisposed individuals. ... What is the treatment for depression? There are two kinds of treatments for depression. The first of these is drug treatment which includes several classes of drugs, and the second is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) ot electro-shock treatment." (Depression: A Treatable Illness, Lilly Eli, drug company)
4. "IS DEPRESSION HEREDITARY? No one knows exactly what causes depression. Several factors may be at work, alone or combined. Neurotransmitters are the chemical "messengers" that transmit signals between brain cells. They start the complex chemical interactions that influence behaviour, feelings and thoughts. In some mood disorders there is evidence that some aspect of this neurotransmission goes wrong. Some drug treatments appear to fight this. We will discuss these drugs in more detail below. Depressive disorders may also be linked to money problems, physical ailments, hormones, mid-life crises, even personality and upbringing. Change, loss or stress can trigger depression. Losing a loved one through death or divorce, losing a job, giving birth or moving to a new home are common examples. Such mood shifts are usually temporary. But people may need treatment if symptoms continue. Genes may be the source of some depressions. Children, brothers and sisters of people with a depressive disorder seem to have a higher risk of similar problems. But it isn't yet clear how depression passes across generations. Some experts believe family environment may also play a role. Children growing up in a household with a depressed or manic person may not learn healthy ways of handling stress. ARE TREATMENTS AVAILABLE? New therapies relieve the symptoms and mood changes, letting sufferers lead normal lives. A variety of treatments are available, which may be used alone or together. The choice depends on the patient's condition, diagnosis and personality. IS DEPRESSION CAUSED BY CHEMICAL IMBALANCES? Some prescribed drugs change moods. One drug that controls blood pressure can bring on depression. One for tuberculosis can cause euphoria. Drug therapy Drugs to relieve depression have been available for more than 30 years. They are very effective for some forms of depression. But even when they work well, antidepressant drugs act slowly and produce some side effects. Such effects led researchers to wonder if mood disorders came from chemical disturbances in the body or brain. If so, could they be put right by drugs? Intensive study has produced major advances in treating mental disorders, including depression." (Understanding Depression, Ministry of Health, Government of Ontario, 2007)
5. "Depression is an illness that can begin gradually or suddenly. Its specific cause is unknown, it may be stress induced, or a biological disorder, a chemical imbalance involving a deficiency in one or more neurotransmitter, scientists just are not sure." (Depression, Eli Lilly inc. drug company, 2007)
6. "GAD: Biological Theories: Although the neurobiology of generalized anxiety is among the least investigated in the anxiety disorders, advances are now being made. Recent work has focused on brain circuits underlying the neurobiology of fear in animal models and in humans, and on how inherited and acquired vulnerabilities in these circuits might underlie a variety of anxiety disorders. It is speculated that alterations in the structure and function of the amygdala, which are central to fear-related behaviors, may be associated with generalized anxiety." (Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, Hales, Yudofsky, 2003 AD, p 566)
7. "GAD: Cognitive Theories Cognitive hypotheses regarding both the origins and the maintenance of GAD have been thoroughly summarized in recent work (Aikins and Craske 2001). With regard to the origins of generalized anxiety, it has been proposed that insecure attachment relationships, ambivalence toward caregivers, and parental overprotection and lack of emotional warmth may all contribute to later development of anxiety. Regarding mechanisms that may perpetuate GAD, three are summarized. First, worry is used as a strategy for avoiding intense negative affects. Second, worry about unlikely and future threat removes the need to deal with more proximal and realistic threats and limits the capacity to find solutions to more immediate conflicts. Finally, individuals with GAD engage in a certain degree of magical thinking and believe that their worry helps to prevent feared outcomes, thus leading to a negative reinforcement of the process of worrying. In terms of the etiology of GAD, cognitive theory speculates a relationship either to early cognitive schemas—derived from negative experiences—of the world as a dangerous place (Barlow 1988) or to insecure, anxious early attachments to important caregivers (Cassidy 1995)." (Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, Hales, Yudofsky, 2003 AD, p 567)
- "The brain consists of billions of neurons or cells that must communicate with each other. The communication between neurons maintains all body functions, informs us when a fly lands on our hand, or when we have pain. The communication between neurons is controlled by the brain's type and level of neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters are chemical substances that control and create signals in the brain both between and within neurons. Without neurotransmitters, there would be no communication between neurons. The heart wouldn't get a signal to beat, arms and legs wouldn't know to move, etc. As we discovered more about neurotransmitters, we began to identify which neurotransmitters controlled certain bodily functions or which were related to certain emotional/psychiatric difficulties. Serotonin, a neurotransmitter, was found to be related to body temperature and the onset of sleep. Research also identified Serotonin as related to depression and later to a variety of mental health conditions such as anorexia and obsessive-compulsive disorder. As research in neurotransmitters continued, studies between neurotransmitters and mental conditions revealed a strong connection between amounts of certain neurotransmitters in the brain and the presence of specific psychiatric conditions. Using an everyday example, our automobile operates by using a variety of fluids such as engine oil, transmission fluid, brake fluid, and coolant (anti-freeze). Every automobile has a way to measure the levels or amounts of each of these needed liquids such as the dipstick for oil and transmission fluid and marked indicators for anti-freeze and brake-fluid levels. Using our dipstick to measure engine oil, for an example, we can find our engine to be found one, two, or even three quarts low. After a recent oil change, the dipstick may also tell us that we have excessive oil in the engine. To work properly, all fluid levels must be in the "normal range" as indicated by the dipstick. When we receive a blood test, values of certain blood components are given with the "normal range" also provided, indicating if a blood chemical is below or above the average range. Neurological research has identified over fifty (50) neurotransmitters in the brain. Research also tells us that several neurotransmitters are related to mental health problems - Dopamine, Serotonin, Norepinephrine, and GABA (Gamma Aminobutyric Acid). Too much or too little of these neurotransmitters are now felt to produce psychiatric conditions such as schizophrenia, depression, bi-polar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and ADHD. Unfortunately, the body doesn't have a built-in dipstick for neurotransmitters, at least one that's inexpensive enough for community mental health practice. There are advanced imaging techniques such as Positron Emission Tomography (PET Scans) that are being utilized in research and in the development of medications that directly influence changes in specific neurotransmitters. Lacking a PET Scanner, most professionals evaluate neurotransmitter levels by looking for indicators in thought, behavior, mood, perception, and/or speech that are considered related to levels of certain neurotransmitters. ... The technical aspects of neurotransmitter levels, the psychiatric symptoms they produce, and how medications have been developed to raise or lower the brain levels of these neurotransmitters can be very complicated. ... For many years, mental health professionals have used the term "chemical imbalance" to explain the need for medications that are used to treat mental health conditions. This simple and commonly used explanation recognizes that the condition is a medical problem and that it can be treated with medication. The "chemical imbalance" explanation also reflects the overall theme of treatment - identifying what neurotransmitters are involved in the clinical symptom picture and with medication, attempting to return that neurotransmitter level back to the "normal range". ... We are all at-risk for changes in our brain's chemistry. Mostly commonly, we will experience depression, anxiety, or stress reactions. As our neurotransmitters change, they bring with them additional symptoms, behaviors, and sensations that add to our on-going difficulties. Recognizing these changes is an important part of treatment and returning your life to normal and reducing our stress." (The Chemical Imbalance in Mental Health Problems, Joseph M. Carver, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist)
|
|
Notice that this entire article sounds convincing, but the Ph.D. level Clinical Psychologist admits he cannot prove chemical imbalances exist. He says: "Unfortunately, the body doesn't have a built-in dipstick for neurotransmitters". He admits there is no way of testing. This is the kind of article that the public read, not realizing that there is no actual proof, only assumptions, guesses, associations and theory. He also misleads the public by using the analogy of fluid levels in a car and neurotransmitters like Serotonin in the brain. It is well known that mentally ill people have perfectly normal levels of neurotransmitters like Serotonin in their bodies. |
9. "What causes depression? Depression is a serious biologic disease that affects millions of people each year. The encouraging news is that it may be successfully treated. Learn how you can manage your depression by reaching out to others such as a health care professional or family and friends. Depression is a real medical condition that cannot be willed or wished away. But it may be successfully treated with a prescription medication such as PRISTIQ. Although no single cause of depression has been identified, it appears that interaction among genetic, biochemical, environmental, and psychosocial factors may play a role. The fact is, depression is not a personal weakness or a condition that can be willed or wished away, but it can be successfully treated. PRISTIQ belongs to a class of medications called serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs). How does PRISTIQ work? As an SNRI, PRISTIQ is thought to work by affecting the levels of two neurotransmitters believed to play a key role in depression, serotonin and norepinephrine. Serotonin and norepinephrine are chemicals that occur naturally in the brain. While no one knows for sure what causes depression, many experts believe that it may occur when neurotransmitters are out of balance." (PRISTIQ, website, 2010)
10. "CAUSES OF DEPRESSION: Some types of depression run in families, suggesting that a biological vulnerability can be inherited. ... Apparently additional factors, possibly stresses at home, work, or school, are involved in its onset. ... Whether inherited or not, major depressive disorder is often associated with changes in brain structures or brain function. ... Also, a serious loss, difficult relationship, financial problem, or any stressful (unwelcome or even desired) change in life patterns can trigger a depressive episode. Very often, a combination of genetic, psychological, and environmental factors is involved in the onset of a depressive disorder. Depression in Women: Women experience depression about twice as often as men. Many hormonal factors may contribute to the increased rate of depression in women particularly such factors as menstrual cycle changes, pregnancy, miscarriage, postpartum period, pre-menopause, and menopause. Many women also face additional stresses such as responsibilities both at work and home, single parenthood, and caring for children and for aging parents." (Depression, National Institute of Mental Health, NIMH, 2006)
11. "Theories about causes: There is no single cause of anxiety or depression. ... Some scientists believe that anxiety is a learned response, that people are taught to fear situations or objects. Some psychoanalytic theory suggests that anxiety stems from an unconscious conflict, an illness, fright, or emotionally laden event that happened to the victim as a child. ... Stress, like the loss of a loved one, a divorce or even a promotion at work, can all bring on depression or mania in susceptible individuals. Finally, in the cases of each of anxiety, depression and manic depression, scientists are learning the importance of brain biochemistry. Biochemical imbalances seem more and more to be a significant part of the problem. Treatments: Anxiety, depression and manic depression are illnesses that can be treated very successfully with a combination of psychotherapy and medication. Anti-anxiety medications, anti-depressants, mood stabilizers and other medications aimed at alleviating symptoms are widely available through physicians. In cases of depression where other treatments have failed or are not possible, electroconvulsive therapy has been used with success. Also self-help support groups help people feel less isolated in that sufferers can hear the words of others who have been through similar experiences." (Anxiety, Depression and Manic Depression, Canadian Psychiatric Association, APA, Brochure produced through a health education grant from: Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Pfizer Canada Inc., and SmithKline Beecham Inc., three drug companies, 2007)
12. "Mood disorders are psychological as well as physiological conditions. As with biological data, there is less disagreement about whether specific psychological dimensions of mood disorders exist than about whether they are etiological. And as is true of biological factors, proving that a particular psychological factor is causal would require prospectively following up people at risk for depression to determine whether those with the factor are more likely to develop a mood disorder." (Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, Hales, Yudofsky, 2003 AD, p 485)
13. "Mood disorders are not unitary illnesses but complex syndromes with distinct etiologies, courses, and treatment responses that ultimately may be better understood through the addition of a more thorough dimensional analysis (e.g., early vs. late onset, comorbidity, disordered thinking, degree of intrusion into the personality) to existing categorical diagnoses and the DSM multiaxial approach." (Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, Hales, Yudofsky, 2003 AD, p 519)
14. "Depression is an illness. Depression is caused by an imbalance in brain chemicals triggered by stress, life events, or a combination of biological, psychological and/or social factors. Depression is not a character weakness or personality flaw. It is a medical illness that can be treated." (Depression is just part of getting old, right? Wrong!, Mood Disorders Association of Ontario)"Abnormal Reactions to Loss: Loss is the life event that has been most reliably linked to depression. Sigmund Freud (1917[1915]/1 957) pointed out that both grief and depression are reactions to loss, but depressive symptoms include guilt and low self- esteem. On the basis of psychoanalytic experience with depressed patients, Freud believed that grieving turned into depression when the bereaved felt ambivalent about the lost object (i.e., person) and could not tolerate the negative side of the ambivalence." (Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, Hales, Yudofsky, 2003 AD, p 485)
15. "Although the association between depression and loss seems reliable, it is not as strong as was originally thought. Not only does loss account for only a relatively small portion of the variance in the risk of depression (Paykel 1982), but losses of one kind or another precede many other medical and psychiatric illnesses (MagPhil and Thomas 1981). Loss, an event that is stressful in itself and that removes an important external source of regulation of disrupted psychology and physiology, may be a more severe instance of a range of stresses that pre-dispose to mood disorders." (Textbook of Clinical Psychiatry, Hales, Yudofsky, 2003 AD, p 486)
16. "There is no one cause of depression, neither is it fully understood. The following factors may make some people more prone than others to react to a loss or failure with a clinical depression: 1. specific distressing life events. 2. a biochemical imbalance in the brain. 3. psychological factors, like a negative or pessimistic view of life. There may also be a genetic link since people with a family history of depression are more likely to experience it." (Depression and Manic Depression, Canadian Mental Health Association, National Office)
17. "There is no single cause of major depression. Psychological, biological, and environmental factors may all contribute to its development. Whatever the specific causes of depression, scientific research has firmly established that major depression is a biological, medical illness. Norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine are three neurotransmitters (chemical messengers that transmit electrical signals between brain cells) thought to be involved with major depression. Scientists believe that if there is a chemical imbalance in these neurotransmitters, then clinical states of depression result. Antidepressant medications work by increasing the availability of neurotransmitters or by changing the sensitivity of the receptors for these chemical messengers. Scientists have also found evidence of a genetic predisposition to major depression. ... Although major depression can be a devastating illness, it is highly treatable [through drugs]" (Depression, NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Ken Duckworth, MD, September 2006)
18. "What causes depression? Some depressions may be related to abnormal brain chemistry. Chemical and hormone changes in other parts of the body and some physical ailments can also lead to depression. Change, loss or stress can trigger depression. Losing a loved one, becoming unemployed, having money problems or moving to a new home are common stressors. ... Drug therapy includes antidepressant drugs and mood stabilizers. Antidepressant drugs seem to correct the chemical imbalances in the brain that produce some forms of depression. ... Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) is used to relieve severe depression. ... Psychotherapy or talk therapy." (Depression, Ministry of Health, Government of Ontario, 2007)
19. "All subjects reported indifference to the neutral films and sadness about the sad films, but all found that they could detach themselves from the sad films when they tried. It appears that, in principle, normal humans are not feeling robots, but are quite capable of adjusting their emotional reactions. This is true even of children... The children reported that they were able to keep their emotions [of sadness] in check during the second series, just as the adults had." (The Spiritual Brain, Mario Beauregard Ph.D., Neuroscientist, 2007, p 134, 136)
E. Cases of depression and anxiety:
|
Depression in the DSM-5 |
|
|
Candy, Muffin, Abba, Potato, Egg, Deferred, River, Amnon See the Case of Eeyore: (The Eeyore Syndrome: High self-esteem depression disorder) |
|
|
Panic Disorder (PD) |
|
|
Postpartum Depression (PPD) |
|
|
|
|
|
Social Phobia (SP) |
|
Conclusion:
- See the Case of Eeyore: (The Eeyore Syndrome: High self-esteem depression disorder)
- Depression and anxiety are sinful behaviour choices forbidden by Jesus Christ, not diseases. They are treated with repentance and a change of heart, not drugs and shocks.
- The truth is that when someone is depressed, they are always sad for a reason and when someone is anxious, there is a reason they cannot sleep at night.
- Official statements from government agencies, drug companies and biopsychiatrists admit "no one knows what causes depression or anxiety". However, they then go on to theorize the etiology to be brain chemicals, genetics via DNA etc.
- If we are persecuted and suffer at the hands of others, we are to rejoice and be at peace with God. If we suffer because of our own sinful choices in life, we need to accept responsibility for the contributions we have made to our own misery then rejoice and be at peace with God.
- "Janis Schonfeld was a poster patient for this new generation of antidepressants. The forty-six-year-old interior designer, married with a daughter, was contemplating suicide when she found just enough hope to enroll in a drug study at UCLA. She put up with the greasy gel through which the EEG recorded her brain activity for forty-five minutes. But she couldn't wait to get started on those promising new pills. And the pills worked brilliantly. Yes, nausea was a tiresome side effect, but her competent and caring nurse had warned her about that. Much more important, her life got back on track. As Mother Jones magazine put it, Schonfeld seemed "yet another person who owed a nearly miraculous recovery to the new generation of antidepressants." (Gary Greenberg, "Is It Prozac or Placebo?" Mother Jones, November/December 2003) On Schonfeld's last visit, one of the doctors took her and her nurse aside and told them both the truth: Schonfeld had been in the control group. She was taking a sugar pill-in the research lingo, a placebo. Her recovery, the doctor hastened to assure her, was entirely genuine. But the only drug she had received was an immaterial and immortal substance- hope. Schonfeld's main challenge, given that she lived in a materialist environment, was to accept the evidence of her own experience-that a recovery based on her inner resources is real-rather than the urgent cultural messages that only a brain-bending drug could really help her." (The Spiritual Brain, Mario Beauregard Ph.D., Neuroscientist, 2007)
By Steve Rudd: Contact the author for comments, input or corrections.
Send us your story about your experience with modern Psychiatry
