Am I Alone In My Emotional Struggles?

[outdeep]

This is something that I have found personally in dealing with depression.  I would like to make this disclaimer:  I know there are various types and degrees of depression, so I am not suggesting that this is the solution in every case.  Nor am I suggesting it is the full solution in every case.

At one time, I used to think that if I would just get right thoughts about Christ into my head, everything would be OK.  While right thoughts about God are indeed important, it is not everything.

Example:  Last Friday I was at a particularly low point in my emotional cycle.  I was depressed, discouraged, angry, and irritable.  If provoked, I could have easily punched a hole in the wall, screamed at my kids, or gone out and committed sin because I really didn't care about anything.  I was overwhelmed at all the things I had to do this weekend.  All the world's problems felt like my personal problems.  This was not merely being bummed, it was genuine, fatalistic, depression.

My wife suggested (insisted) that I go to the gym and exercise which I didn't have time for "because of all the things I have to do but couldn't do because of my state of mind".  I listened to my wife and went.   After an hour of vigorous exercise (a good hour of running on the treadmill, weights, etc.) the transformation in my attitude was dramatic.  I was happy, no longer worried about the weekend, and felt I could lay any concern I had before the Lord.  The truth was that I got to this sorry state because I hadn't exercised in over two weeks.  When I start feeling overwhelmed, I turn to sugar to cheer me up - something that makes things worse.

This had nothing to do with doctrine, or what I thought about Christ or any theological question.  It is a simple principle:  if I don't take care of myself physically, I won't be able to effectively do anything else.

For me, this means:  Cardivascular exercise at least four times a week, cut back on the sugar, get good sleep every night, eat as healthy as reasonable (avoid excesses).

The truism, "take care of yourself first" almost sounds heritical from our years in the Assembly.  What?  I thought it is better to "burn out than rust out".  Frankly, I would rather not do either.   The truth is, unless you take care of yourself first, you are going to be unable to effectively help others.  It is amazing the health problems that consistant, vigorous exercise (jogging, swift walking, cycling, swimming, hiking, weights, gardening, etc.) can help with.

Again, I am not saying this addresses every aspect of depression  but I personally found it to be incredibly helpful to make personal "temple maintenance" a priority.

[al Hartman]

 ...It is a simple principle:  if I don't take care of myself physically, I won't be able to effectively do anything else.

For me, this means:  Cardivascular exercise at least four times a week, cut back on the sugar, get good sleep every night, eat as healthy as reasonable (avoid excesses).

The truism, "take care of yourself first" almost sounds heritical from our years in the Assembly.  What?  I thought it is better to "burn out than rust out".  Frankly, I would rather not do either.   The truth is, unless you take care of yourself first, you are going to be unable to effectively help others...
  ...I personally found it be incredibly helpful to make personal "temple maintenance" a priority.

     Amen, Brother!  This is a heavy-duty message, and "Temple Maintenance" is a term to remember.

     For those who may not know, here is a new word to add to your spiritual glossary:  Endorphins  are a God-given internal component of our bodies, activated by physical exercise, which act to improve our moods and overall emotional dispositions.  Endorphins:  smaller than hobbits; more powerful than Gandalf.  God installed them-- we need to use 'em.

     Thanks, Dave, for a good word in season.

al

P.S.--  If you are a stranger to exercise, as I once was, do not be intimidared by it (as I once was).  You don't have to become an allstar athlete overnight.  Start out with a ten-minute walk.  It need not even be strenuous-- just start!  If you have health problems, consult your physician.  (If a trip to your doctor's office is more exercise than you've been getting, make an appointment today).  
     This is serious business.  Your body IS the temple of God's Holy Spirit.  Don't allow it to become defiled with toxins that need to be sweated out.  If you don't like this idea, ask the Lord about it.  He won't hand you a scorpion or a rock.
     As Dave pointed out, exercise isn't the cure for all ills, but I'll add that unless your doctor forbids it, it can't do any harm & you may find yourself enjoying it!

[outdeep]

P.S.--  If you are a stranger to exercise, as I once was, do not be intimidared by it (as I once was).  You don't have to become an allstar athlete overnight.

Yeah.  It took at least two weeks for Al to become an allstar athlete.  

It need not even be strenuous-- just start!  If you have health problems, consult your physician.  (If a trip to your doctor's office is more exercise than you've been getting, make an appointment today).  
tor forbids it, it can't do any harm & you may find yourself enjoying it!

This is a good point.  One mistake I made was overexercising.  I then began to dread the workout and would drop off.  It took me a while to find balance - a routine that adequately challenged me but didn't overdo things.

[lenore]

So true, even walking helps. Although, SOmetime I have to walk about one hour, because I think when I walk, and can build up a pretty good head of steam.
By the time I am at the other end of the town. go into Tim's for  bathroom break and a coffee, by then I can walk home in a more calmer state of mind.

There is also another God give body releaser of depression:

It's called crying:

Crying releases the hormones from the body that can cause depression.

Laughter is also a God given emotion that can release stresses that add to the depressional state.

Remember depression is a physical state, a health issue, where there is a chemical imbalance within the brain.
I agree with Dave, no sleep, overeating, little exercise, and not enough positive venting, can cause even the most practicing faithful Christian  to throw all the teachings out the window.

I am trying to ingest in to my spirit the verse in Luke that Jesus was tempted in all area, that includes emotional areas, it has to include depressional emotions.  Jesus overcame within his physical earthly body. But even then when you are in the battle, sometimes that is not much comfort.

Call it human weakness, human stubborness, human rebelliousness, depression can be caused by human rejections that the pendulum swings to human rebelliousness when we try swing to the righteousness with God.

Rejection               the cross                  Rebelliousness
                            RIGHTEOUSNESS

Depression is something that needs to brought into the light and to the light.
Depression is an individual thing, but the battle cannot be alone battle. It is too hard to deal with alone.
Depression for me is like a long black tunnel, You may see a glimmer of light at the end. The hope .
But it is still a long tunnel that has to be navigated.
With out God carrying me part way, sometimes it becomes impossible to continue toward that light.
Or sometimes it is a bottomless pit, dark, alone, no where to go but up, but the slopes are edgy, steep and slippery, with many snares , thorns in the way to climb back out. An impossible task, for someone in the depressional state, to climb out alone.
It is when , the person in the depression needs someone to come along side, to help them on the journey back out.
God is there ready to carry us out. but God's earthyly representatives have to be ready to listen as well.
It could some one like your wife, or a church mentor, etc.  There is no such thing as will power, in depression , will power has to be God power, we must be able to totally throw ourselves into God's arms, because our mind is in such turmoil, that we think God frequently, has abandon and rejected us, Yes we can reason and know better than to believe that lie. But depression has a way of snaring you into that lie.
Am I making sense: I am just describing what I have felt.  Reason and depression are not compatible.
Only by the Grace of God's love that anchor's us.

[al Hartman]

     These are some wonderful posts, and I pray that many saints who experience depression will be led to read them, & perhaps print out excerpts from them for future reference.

     Exercise.          Crying.          Laughing.          All are effective stress-relievers, causing actual chemical changes within our physical bodies that can help us to escape the emotional clutches of depression and walk in the light as He is in the light.

     I am familiar with the seemingly endless tunnel & the bottomless pit, dark & so deep that I have to stand on tiptoe to try & reach bottom.  Depression can seem like the mines of Moria.  When one is in there, reason is handicapped, possibly even powerless.  Rationally, we can discuss the difference between reality and realization:  
     Reality is that God bears us up, just as in that overworked little depiction of "Footprints."  Even when we have no awareness, no sense, of the Lord's presence, He carries us through our trials, surrounding us with His love and protection.  But when our emotions are askew, the only realization we have is of the present trial we are in the midst of.  The joy of the Lord seems as a myth, if we can think of it at all.
     It is vitally important that when we are not weighed down, we pray for the Lord to teach us how to respond when we are weighed down-- for it will surely happen again if we live.

     I ask the Lord to teach me the meaning of prayer without ceasing and giving thanks in all things.  I think I have begun to grasp the principle, but the specifics can be elusive.  Take for example, physical pain:  I have experienced headaches all my life, and am familiar with numerous other physical symptoms varying from moderate discomfort to agony.  As my parents both suffered frequent physical pain, I grew up thinking of pain as a normal part of life, to be treated with whatever method is most effective.  It is not natural for me to think of praying concerning my pain.
     A few years ago I read a book by a former US Navy SEAL team commander who said, "Pain is your friend-- It reminds you that you're alive."  His point was that in the extreme situations in which his team members might find themselves, despair could set in easily, and to numb the pain of one's wound with a narcotic can mean losing the mental edge needed for survival.
     Only recently have I begun to ask the Lord to teach me to regard my pain as a friend that reminds me to pray about its cause and my response to it, instead of merely accepting and medicating it.  My physical pain often depresses me-- I now ask God to teach me how to not succumb to that process.

     There is a balance between our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual lives, but it is as complex as we are.  Only the Lord can teach us to recognize and employ that balance, and He instructs us to ask Him regarding it.

al

[lenore]

WEDNESDAY JUNE 2, 7:27 PM:

HELLO AGAIN AL: WE SEEMED TO BE PING PONGING OFF OF EACH OTHER.

I just want to let other know about another thread, called Depression, in the  Post Assembly Section, Second  Posting of Telling about Assembly Experience.


I discover that post first, and then just gravitated to this one.
The subject of depression, emotionals struggles are through out the B & B, as christian family, is dealing at various stages of dealing with what has transpired, with in the assembly, within their own home life, and within there own personal experiences.

So this is just a short note, of information.

talk to you later
Lenore