Being Clinically Depressed Doesn't Give You The Right to Sin

1 CORINTHIANS 10:13 

"No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it."

This verse is truly a double-edged sword.  It cuts both ways.  It gives us so much hope that we have the ability to have victory.   On the other hand, it let's us no there is no getting off the hook.  There is no excuse for our sin.  

"Temptation" by Nicholas L. Laning

As I read this verse to put in here, it really sank in to me that this is a constant truth.  God doesn't say sometimes I'll provide an escape, or occasionally you'll have the ability.  It is a simple statement.  You, I, have the ability to overcome temptation.  God will ALWAYS provide an escape. 

That includes the temptations met during depression. 

I spend most of my time on this blog trying to crack through the walls of ignorance and stigma that surround being clinically depressed.  It is not the same as normal depression.  It is not an emotional phase.  It is a physical unbalancing of the chemicals in the brain and the hormones of the body that greatly affect the emotions.  When emotions shift, if one is not very strong, so does the thinking.  I pound away at those on the outside, the loved ones, not out of anger but a loving desire to help, that they might have grace and understanding, to be sympathetic.

And yet, I don't want to come across saying something I'm not.  I am not one of those people that believes that depression is the only hurt.  It is simply the hurt I was given, and the one I am qualified to thus speak on.  I am also not in any way trying to encourage anyone to think that depressed people should be coddled to or given everything they want.  Hear me, people on the outside, depression is awful.  It is beyond awful.  Yet, it is not so awful that those who are fighting it have an excuse to sin.

Hear it, depressed people.  Hear it from the word of God above, not from me.  I am just reiterating.  Being depressed does not give you an excuse to treat people poorly, to be mean, to manipulate.  We all struggle extra hard when we hurt, and there should be grace and understanding.  When you lash out, when the pain causes you to do or say something mean or hurtful, to do something awful, those around you should not leave you.  They should have grace for you.  Then, if they really love you, they will calmly remind you what I am now, that your pain, while enormous, while we are proud of you for fighting so hard, does not give you an excuse to sin.  Period.  Yes, it is going to be extra extra hard.  

"Nicholas," you say, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.  That's what it says, but this is not common."

Everyone who struggles with depression thinks that.  I don't know what it is about depression.  I did it too.  I fought my mother tooth and nail for YEARS on this.  She would tell me I was depressed, that other people were too, but noooooo my pain was different.  It wasn't.  The pattern was there.  I just didn't want to believe it.  Even once I accepted that I was depressed I thought depression to be this super rare thing, and thus there was different standard.  Nope.  Depression is super common.  As a matter of fact, it is the third most common disease in the world, according to the World Health Organization, and as it is the fastest growing, will soon be THE most common disease on planet Earth.  That does not lessen the magnitude of its awfulness one iota.  That doesn't lessen your struggle, but it does mean you are not alone at all.  The temptation you feel when depressed, whatever that may be, to be angry, to lash out, to manipulate, to use others, say through sex, to try and feel better, they are all common to man.  This verse absolutely includes the clinically depressed.   

Obeying is hard enough when well, when whole.  You have been given an extra hard task.  We all take our turn bearing heavy loads.  You're not alone.  You are not unique in that.  We all do it in our own time.  We don't have excuse either.  Consider it pure joy that you have such an immense victory ahead of you.  Rejoice that you have a God that is with you every step of the way.  Keep fighting.  Keep obeying.  Don't quit.

As always, remember that God loves you deeply.  I am praying right now for the end to this dreaded disease, that it would be finished off like polio.  In the mean time, I pray that all of you, whether on the outside or in, would be given understanding, courage, hope, peace, and love.  May love abound between you.  May people be amazed at the love you show and share in the midst of such horror.  Amen.  Feel free to write me if you need to talk or have a question you want me to try to answer.

Nicholas L. Laning
    

Are You a Bloodletter?

There is still some dispute over the exact cause of George Washington’s death.  Some believe it was pneumonia.  Most now believe it was a severe throat infection of some kind.  

Washington's Death

There is no dispute, however, over the ignorance of the treatment given to Washington in an attempt to save his life.  Many of you are familiar with the fact that the main treatment given to Washington was to bleed him.  They drew out 3.75 liters of blood, a very large amount.  He may well have survived had they not bled him so.  As it stands, they may have inadvertently killed him. 

That’s what they did do.  Something they didn’t do was perform a tracheostomy, a simple surgery where the throat is cut open so that breathing would be restored, and so that any secretions might be removed.  Two of the younger doctors attempted to convince the elder, trusted physicians to try this (at the time) very new and controversial surgery.  The elder physicians went with what was trusted, and elected to forego the tracheostomy.

Had they not performed the bloodletting and/or performed the tracheostomy, Washington almost certainly would have survived. 

Thing is, the physicians were acting out of ignorance.  It is easy to judge them, but they were doing the best they could.  They were acting on what was at the time, cutting edge knowledge.  They were acting on what they thought they knew to be best.  Sadly, it doesn’t change the outcome of Washington’s fate, nor many others who suffered from a needless, harmful treatment.  Many suffered and died at the hands of ignorance.

Were it not for a desire to learn, a desire to discover the truth, we might still be using this treatment today.  People asked questions, challenged the status quo.  At every turn, the new is challenged and the accepted truth defended.  Fortunately, through the boldness of a few, the truth usually eventually wins out. 

It is such a change that is needed now with depression.  Depression is the third most common disease in the world, and as is the fastest growing.  It is predicted to become the most common disease by 2030.  Yet, unlike many less common illnesses, most people don’t even want to recognize the truth of it’s existence.

My challenge to you is to consider the fact that depression is going to touch your life whether you want it to or not.  There are depressed people all around you.  Yet, so harsh is the stigma, so ignorant are the reactions to depression, that they are not only probably going to hide it from you, and everyone else, but they are going to do everything they can to deny the truth themselves.  Because of ignorance, an inability to change and grow, millions of people are suffering needlessly, they are not getting the help they need.  Just like with George Washington, the problem is treatable.  Depression is a beatable disease.  Yet, again, just like with Washington, we are treating those with the disease poorly, and we are not giving them the help they actually need to overcome. 

You may think this is someone else’s problem.  It is not.  Your father, mother, friend, son, daughter, brother, someone is going to suffer through this.  Do you really want to be like those doctors who drew Washington’s blood?  Thirty years from now depression will be known for what it is.  Do you really want to be the person that allows their own prejudice, fear, and ignorance to hurt those around them?  Don’t you want to be the man or woman who actually helps those they love?  I know you do.  We all do.

Mental Illness is a very misunderstood concept.  People think it is vastly more mysterious than other illnesses.  Most see it as wholly different from being a real medical illness, something closer to voodoo, best to be treated with tricks of the mind or some other weird treatment, or better yet, to roll your eyes at, because it’s a all just weakness from weak people. 

Most mental illnesses don’t START in the mind.  They aren’t floating in the land of thoughts.  They are physical in nature and AFFECT the mind.  Take dementia.  Another illness once not understood.  We used to just think people’s minds got old.  We called it senility.  Now we know that the brain actually deteriorates, and there is a growth of compassion and treatment with that understanding.  Clinical Depression is physical in nature.  As of now, what we understand it to be is an unbalancing of the hormones of the body and chemicals in the brain.  Those shifting hormones and chemicals mess with our minds.  Everyone on Earth experiences this in some way.  We all experience puberty.  Women endure PMS and later menopause.  All of us are at the behest of these chemicals and hormones, and have a limited ability to control how we actually feel.  With depression, what little ability to control is stripped. 

So, telling someone to simply get over their clinical depression won’t help any more than telling someone with cancer to stop having cancer.  If you want to help, understand the truth of the problem and fight it.  You wouldn’t fight cancer by telling people to get over it, so stop doing so with depression.  You fight cancer with the means we have.  You do chemo, leaches, whatever.  Do the same with depression.  Go get help for you or your loved one.  Go to the doctor, see a psychiatrist, a counselor, a pastor.   Let go of the archaic knowledge that is prevalent about depression, and embrace the truth, lest you be like those doctors who let out Washington’s blood, and resisted giving him the surgery that would have saved his life.  Your loved one’s life is worth the difficult task of accepting a hard truth that can save it.

As always, remember that God is with you and loves you.  Depression is beatable.  It is going to be okay, as long as you don’t quit.  Keep fighting.  If you have any questions or thoughts, please write me.  I’d be happy to talk to you.