Depression, The Dark Fog of the Soul

Today is time to talk day,  in regards to Mental Health, because of the importance of Mental Health and people's misunderstanding and misconceptions about this issue/

 I was reading in today's edition of the Daily Mail about the high levels of anti-depressant medication such as Prozac prescribed to residents of some sea-side resorts such as Blackpool.

I was reading recently in Daily Express newspaper here in the UK,  when Prince William,  The Duke of Cambridge spoke of his high regard for those charities that help those facing mental health challenges and suicide.  

Habakkuk 3:17-18New American Standard Bible (NASB)

17

Though the fig tree should not blossom

And there be no [a]fruit on the vines,

Though the yield of the olive should fail

And the fields produce no food,

Though the flock should be cut off from the fold

And there be no cattle in the stalls,

18

Yet I will exult in the Lord,

I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

 

Many both in the Church and outside the Church suffer from various forms of depression and other mental health issues,  more often or not we have not dealt in the best way with Christians and non-Christians who cope with various degrees of success and failure with these issues, some have self-medicated through alcohol, drugs and food,   it’s easy for us who either say we have never or never will have depression and or we successfully or unsuccessfully try to hide or camouflage our own battles with mental health issues such as depression, and to not realise the effects that depression and mental health issues that effect our friends, neighbours and family members and ourselves.   for many living with depression know its's a battle and don't see the full victory in some people's eyes of complete healing. Despite their and other people's prayers.  We walk by faith and not by sight.

It is not my place to say what we can do to deal with our own mental health battles or the battles the people we love and care about,  we can give glib and easy answers,  but it’s time that we tackled mental health issues with honesty, integrity and commitment.   There are many excellent books and resources available for those who want to enter this ministry and avenues for personal study,  please feel to look these up.  I have included one link that has helped me to consider the effects of depression. If you or someone you love is going  through a battle with depression I would advise you to consider counselling .  In my personal journey, I will prayerfully look through books and other resources in order to fully equip myself  to help those with depression.

The Depression Epidemic

“What is depression?

First we need to clarify what we are talking about. In order to distinguish severe or "major depression" from everyday blues, the American Psychiatric Association offers the following diagnostic criteria:

Major depression is diagnosed when an adult exhibits one or both of two core symptoms (depressed mood and lack of interest), along with four or more of the following symptoms, for at least two weeks: feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt; diminished ability to concentrate or make decisions; fatigue; psychomotor agitation (cannot sit still) or retardation (just sitting around); insomnia or hypersomnia (sleeping too much); significant decrease or increase in weight or appetite; and recurrent thoughts of death or suicidal ideation.

This clinical definition is sterile, however, and fails to capture the unique quality of the severely depressed person's suffering.

Deep depression is embodied emotional suffering. It is not simply a state of mind or a negative view of life but something that affects our physical being as well. Signs of a severe episode of depression include unfounded negative evaluations of friends, family, and oneself, emotional "pain," physical problems such as lethargy, difficulty getting one's thoughts together, and virtually no interest in one's surroundings. Though most of us know at least an acquaintance who has committed suicide, this tragic act baffles us perhaps as much as it pains us. "I just don't understand," we say. The irony is that survivors of serious suicide attempts frequently reflect on those attempts with a similar attitude: "I have no idea what came over me." The pain and mental dysfunction of major depression are that deep.”

WHAT IS DEPRESSION?

Depression is one of the most common mental disorders in the UK, according to the mental health foundation.

But despite how common the illness is, many people do not understand exactly what it means to have depression, and often think of it as being the same as sadness - however the two are completely different.

Sadness is something we all experience; it’s a normal, human emotion we feel when something unpleasant happens to us. It can occur at regular intervals in our everyday lives, but it is not constant.

Depression on the other hand is more than simply feeling unhappy or fed up for a few days.

When you're depressed you feel persistently sad for weeks, months or even years and it is not due to 'bad' things happening.

It is a genuine health condition with real symptoms, and it's not a sign of weakness or something you can snap out of by pulling yourself together.

It is a constant feeling of sadness and hopelessness every moment of every day.

DEPRESSION SYMPTOMS?

The symptoms can range from lasting feelings of sadness, to losing interest in the things you used to enjoy and feeling very tearful.

Many people with depression also have symptoms of anxiety.

There can be physical symptoms too, such as feeling constantly tired, sleeping badly, having no appetite or sex drive, and complaining of various aches and pains.

The severity of the symptoms can vary. At its mildest, you may simply feel persistently low in spirit, while at its most severe depression can make you feel suicidal and that life is no longer worth living.

DEPRESSION IN MEN AND WOMEN

One in four women in the UK will suffer from depression at some point in their lives compared to one in 10 men, according to the mental health foundation.

However because depression symptoms in men can go longer without being diagnosed or treated, the condition might develop into a more devastating mental health problem.

And statistics show that men are more likely to have an alcohol or drug problem relating to depression and are more likely to commit suicide.

In fact, around 75 per cent of suicides in the UK are men and it still remains the most common cause of death in men under the age of 35, according to the mental health foundation.

SUICIDE AND HOW TO SPOT PEOPLE AT RISK

Around 4,400 people end their own lives in the UK each year - that's one death every two hours - and at least 10 times that number attempt suicide.

The International Association for Suicide Prevention says: "Suicidal behaviour is a complex phenomenon that usually occurs along a continuum, progressing from suicidal thoughts, to planning, to attempting suicide, and finally dying by suicide."

A suicidal person may not ask for help, but that doesn't mean that help isn't wanted.

Most people who commit suicide don't want to die - they just want to stop hurting.

Suicide prevention starts with recognising the warning signs and taking them seriously.

If you think a friend or family member is considering suicide, you might be afraid to bring up the subject. But talking openly about suicidal thoughts and feelings can save a life.

SPOTTING THE SIGNS:

Talking about suicide

Any talk about suicide, dying, or self-harm, such as "I wish I hadn't been born", "If I see you again..." and "I'd be better off dead".

Seeking out lethal means

Seeking access to guns, pills, knives or other objects that could be used in a suicide attempt.

Preoccupation with death

Unusual focus on death, dying, or violence. Writing poems or stories about death.

No hope for the future

Feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and being trapped ("There's no way out"). Belief that things will never get better or change.

Self-loathing, self-hatred

Feelings of worthlessness, guilt, shame, and self-hatred. Feeling like a burden ("Everyone would be better off without me").

Getting affairs in order

Making out a will. Giving away prized possessions. Making arrangements for family members.

Saying goodbye

Unusual or unexpected visits or calls to family and friends. Saying goodbye to people as if they won't be seen again.

Withdrawing from others

Withdrawing from friends and family. Increasing social isolation. Desire to be left alone.

Self-destructive behaviour

Increased alcohol or drug use, reckless driving, unsafe sex. Taking unnecessary risks as if they have a "death wish."

Sudden sense of calm

A sudden sense of calm and happiness after being extremely depressed can mean that the person has made a decision to commit suicide.

For more information on what to do if you think someone is suicidal go to helpguide.org.

For confidential support call the Samaritans in the UK on 08457 90 90 90 or visit a local Samaritans branch.

“If you know someone who’s depressed, please resolve never to ask them why. Depression isn’t a straightforward response to a bad situation; depression just is, like the weather.

Try to understand the blackness, lethargy, hopelessness, and loneliness they’re going through. Be there for them when they come through the other side. It’s hard to be a friend to someone who’s depressed, but it is one of the kindest, noblest, and best things you will ever do.”

 Stephen Fry

What the Church & Christians Need to Know About Suicide & Mental Health

Yours in His Grace

Blair Humphreys

  

 Southport, Merseyside

Using the S word, Premier

The world reacted in shock when actor and comedian Robin Williams took his own life in 2014. In reality, suicide kills one person every 40 seconds, yet it is rarely addressed in church. It’s time we broke the silence, says Will van der Hart.

I collected all the medications I was on, including others in the bathroom cabinet, and overdosed on a large quantity of medication and alcohol. I told nobody. I just wanted to be away from the world.’

In 2010, Christian health care worker Tim James nearly became the 5,609th person to commit suicide in the UK that year. Thankfully, he was resuscitated after his wife found him unconscious at their family home.

Statistical suicide trends place Tim in a high-risk category, not just because he has struggled with depressive illness, but simply because he is male. While the number of annual suicides among the UK’s female population halved to 1,391 between 1981 and 2012, the number of men committing suicide each year increased during that period. In 2012, almost 4,600 men took their own lives.

The Department of Health’s 2014 Statistical Update on Suicide stated: ‘The majority of suicides continue to occur in adult males, accounting for approximately three-quarters of all suicides (77%).’ Recent high-profile suicides among gifted and successful men such as Welsh footballer and coach Gary Speed in 2011, and actor Robin Williams in 2014, serve to highlight this tragic trend.

AN UNSPOKEN KILLER

Not cancer, not heart disease, not motor accidents: suicide is the greatest cause of death among men aged 20-49 in England and Wales. Yet how often do we hear about suicide in church? How often do we discuss suicide in our home groups? Church leaders: when did you last preach a sermon that addressed suicide?

Read more here from Premier.

More on depression

Depression, The Dark Fog of the Soul

Is Suicide a Ticket to Hell? Charisma Magazine, Tom Brown

The Bible describes two believers who committed suicide: King Saul and Judas. For sure Judas went to hell. Peter said about him in Acts 1:16-18: "'Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled which the Holy Spirit spoke long ago through the mouth of David concerning Judas, who served as guide for those who arrested Jesus--he was one of our number and shared in this ministry. With the reward he got for his wickedness, Judas bought a field; there he fell headlong, his body burst open, and all his intestines spilled out."

This Scripture implies that Judas was not saved.

The other story is about King Saul. He was mortally wounded in battle, so to avoid torture he killed himself. From David's words about Saul, it appears that Saul went to heaven. He says in 2 Sam. 1:23, "Saul and Jonathan—in life they were loved and gracious, and in death they were not parted."

We know that Jonathan was godly, so if Saul and Jonathan were not parted in death, this would mean Saul is with Jonathan in heaven. I should also note that this passage may simply mean that they died together in battle, not necessarily that they are still with each other in death. At any rate, Saul killed himself only because he was trying to avoid torture, and he was going to die soon anyway

Read the full article here:

Can a Christian commit Suicide?

This controversial topic has unfortunately often been addressed in emotional ways, not through biblical analysis. Those of us who grew up Roman Catholic have always heard suicide is a mortal sin that irretrievably sends people to hell. Influenced by the arguments of Augustine and Aquinas, this belief dominated through the Reformation. However, for Luther, the Devil is capable of oppressing (not possessing) a believer to the point of pushing him to commit the sin of suicide (Table Talk, Vol 54:29). As the salvation became better understood, many Reformation thinkers and theologians distanced their views from the Church of Rome.

TGC Nunez

Besides this traditional position of the Catholic Church, we encounter three others:

a) A true Christian would never commit suicide, since God wouldn't allow it.

b) A Christian may commit suicide, but would lose his salvation.

c) A Christian may commit suicide without losing his salvation.

So what does the Bible say? Let's begin by talking about those truths we know as revealed in God's Word:

Humanity is totally depraved (Isa. 64:6; Rom. 3:10-18). This doesn't mean we're as evil as we could be, but that every human capacity—intellect, heart, emotions, will—is tainted by sin.

Even after regeneration, a Christian is capable of committing any sin except the unforgivable one (Rom. 7).

The unforgivable sin is mentioned in Mark 3:25-32 and Matthew 12:32-32, and from these passages we can conclude it refers to the continual rejection of the Holy Spirit in the work of conversion. Others believe this passage speaks of attributing to Satan the work of the Spirit. It's clear that in any case it's referring to an unbeliever.

It's important to remember a believer is capable of taking the life of someone else, as David did in the case of Uriah, without this action invalidating his salvation.

Christ's sacrifice at the cross has forgiven all of our sin—past, present, and future (Col. 2:13-14; Heb. 10:11-18).

The sin a Christian will commit tomorrow was forgiven at Calvary—where Jesus justified us, declaring us positionally righteous. He accomplished this work through one single offering that didn't need to be repeated again. On the cross Jesus didn't make us justifiable; he made us justified (Rom. 3:23-26; 8:29-30).

'She wasn't prepared to give someone else a chance': Brother of woman who killed herself 'over bedroom tax' says other families needed house more than she did . Daily Mail

  Stephanie Bottrill, 52, walked in front of a lorry on a motorway 

  The grandmother lived alone in a three-bedroom house in Solihull 

  She blamed the Government's housing policy in her suicide note  

  Her brother Kevin Owens said she wouldn't 'give somebody else a chance' 

  Believes it wasn't 'bedroom tax' that drove her to kill herself
  Also disputed claims she was given half an hour to decide about her house

The brother of a woman who walked out in front of a lorry and killed herself because of 'bedroom tax' has said she wasn't willing to 'give somebody else a chance' in a housing system that requires people to 'take turns'. 

Grandmother Stephanie Bottrill, 52, walked across a motorway on May 4 last year after her local council allegedly told her she had to move out of her three-bedroom terrace house in Solihull, West Midlands, because of the spare room subsidy.

A coroner has today recorded a verdict of suicide saying the Government's housing policy had caused her 'considerable anxiety and stress'.

But after the inquest, her brother, Kevin Owens - joined by Ms Bottrill’s sister, Josephine Trueman - told reporters she 'wasn’t prepared to give somebody else a chance' of a larger home.

He said: 'For social housing to work it needs for everybody to take a turn.'

'When you’re adequately housed by successive governments, and your needs are met, you must give somebody else a turn.

'It’s terrible that people in this country are cramped into one and two-bedroom flats with children while other people sit on three-bedroom houses.

'Our thoughts go out to the lorry driver whose life has been blighted by this, and we just wanted to pass on our thoughts to him.'

Mr Owens also disputed the claim his sister had made about being given half an hour to 'make a decision' on a house.  

He added: 'Much has been written about "bedroom tax" pushing her - it wasn’t, because prior to that she’d attempted suicide before and that hadn’t been reported before.

'It might have been the catalyst to push her but was it just an excuse she was looking for? - That’s all I’ve got to say.' 

During a hearing at Birmingham Coroners Court today, the Black County coroner, Zafar Siddique, said: 'Given the evidence of notes left of her intention,

Read more here:

Depression, The Dark Fog of the Soul

Comment:

Whether or not you feel the so called “ Bedroom Tax” is unfair or fair, the tragic death of this lady, who suffered for a number of years from anxiety and depression felt no alternative but to take our own life,  however the so called “ Bedroom Tax” isn’t responsible for the tragic death of this person.

'He made us laugh, he made us cry': Obama leads tributes to Robin Williams as the beloved comic is found dead in apparent suicide at his California home following a long battle against depression , Daily Mail

The legendary comic actor was found dead at his home in Tiburon, California

The Marin County Coroner said the cause of death was believed to be suicide due to asphyxia

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday on the comedian

His third wife Susan Schneider said: 'I lost my husband and my best friend, the world lost one of its most beloved artists and beautiful human beings'

President Obama said: 'He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most'

Williams had battled depression for years

He won an Oscar for the 1997 film Good Will Hunting

President Obama has led the tributes to Robin Williams after the comic genius was found dead aged 63 from an apparent suicide in his home, police in California said on Monday night.

Praising the Oscar winning actor's versatility, the president issued a touching statement, speaking volumes for the comedian and his huge impact on American culture throughout the past 35-years.

'Robin Williams was an airman, a doctor, a genie, a nanny, a president, a professor, a bangarang Peter Pan and everything in between. But he was one of a kind. He arrived in our lives as an alien - but he ended up touching every element of the human spirit.

'He made us laugh. He made us cry. He gave his immeasurable talent freely and generously to those who needed it most - from our troops stationed abroad to the marginalized on our own streets. The Obama family offers our condolences to Robin's family, his friends, and everyone who found their voice and their verse thanks to Robin Williams.'

And in the wake of the Oscar-winning actor's tragic death on Monday, Zelda Williams has tweeted a poignant quote about her loss.

She posted a exerpt from Antoine De Saint-Exupery's novella The Little Prince which read: 'You - you alone will have the stars as no one else has them... In one of the stars I shall be living. In one of them I shall be laughing. And so it will be as if all the stars were laughing, when you look at the sky at night... You - only you will have stars that can laugh.'

She finished the post with the words: 'I love you. I miss you. I'll try to keep looking up, Z.'

Comment:

I was saddened this morning,  to hear of the tragic alleged suicide of the Comic genuius and talented actor Robin Williams,  to me and many people Robin Williams will always be known as Mork from Mork and Mindy,  his many films and tv apperances from comedy roles to more serious and sometimes darker acting roles from one hour photo to Law and Order Svu,  were thought provoking  and challenging, he made us laugh, he made us cry,  he challenged us with his acting skills, like many he faced challenges and suffered from depression, unfortunately  despite his fame, he took his own life at the relevant young age of 63,  He touched my life though I never  knew him personally, because of his film and tv performances like many I felt I knew up,   he was a great man who tragically took his own life after a battle with depression,  Robin Williams we will miss you.