Page 21 - CCAA-2020- Journal_Neat

Counselling Connections Across Australia

Among the oldest books known to man, was close to the gates of death and hell. I Lewis (1940) who observed that: ‘[God]
viz. the book of Job, Job clearly outlines trembled in all my members. Christ was began to rule the organism in a more
the problem of depression. Job lost wholly lost. I was shaken by desperation external way, not by the law of the spirit,
everything. On the eighth day Job gave and blasphemy of God.’ He went on to say but by those of nature. Thus, the organs, no
vent to all of his pain and said in Job 3v3 that he found himself ‘subject to recurrent longer governed by man’s will, fell under
(NIV 1973): ‘May the day of my birth perish, periods of exaltation and depression of the control of ordinary biochemical laws
and the night it was said, “a boy is born!”’ spirit.’ This oscillation of mood plagued and suffered whatever the inter-workings
him ‘throughout his life.’ (Bainton, 1950) of those laws might bring about in the way
The first writer to record and describe of pain, senility and death.’
depression was Hippocrates, a The Victorian Preacher - Mr Charles
Greek Physician, and labelled it as H. Spurgeon whose despondency Dr A W Tozer (1961) put it this way: ‘The
“Melancholia”. forced him to be absent from his pulpit moral shock suffered by us through our
2-3 months of every year. In 1866, he mighty break with the high will of heaven
In the second, century a physician named disclosed his struggle with depression has left us all with a permanent trauma
Aretaeus wrote about depression and to his congregation and said: ‘I am the affecting every part of our nature. There
said its victims were “sad and dismayed”. subject of depressions of spirit so fearful is a disease in both ourselves and in our
that I hope none of you ever get to such environment.’
Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1965) made the extremes of wretchedness as I go through.’
following observation: ‘It is interesting (Wiersbe, 1974) However, that does not mean that we
to notice the frequency with which this can blame all of people’s problems
particular theme is dealt with in the The Pastor and Educator – Rev. J B on personal sin any more than on a
Scriptures and the only conclusion to be Phillips, whose contribution through child who, at 18 months of age, has an
drawn from that is that it is a very common his books and translation of the New asthma attack so severe that his parents
condition. It seems to be a condition which Testament, ranks him as a spiritual giant. fear they are going to lose him and the
has afflicted God’s people right from the Yet he also wrote: ‘It’s truly a devasting coughing gave the child a double hernia.
beginning, for you find it described and thing to be ill in your innermost spirit.’ Few, if any, would suggest that God was
dealt with in the Old Testament and in the (Carlson, 1994) punishing that child for his infantile sins.
New.’
Third, we may meander in the meadows The aetiology in depression
Accordingly, clients who struggle with of Scripture and discover great saints,
depression may be encouraged by the whose spiritual prowess is legendary, Broadly speaking, there are four
fact that they are not alone in their pain yet who struggled with deep depression, causational factors in depression: (Biebel
because depression is not only universal wishing for death and suicidal ideation. & Koenig, 2004)
but it is also no respecter of persons.
As and when appropriate, a counsellor Consider such people as: Moses Endogenous (or biological) depression:
might give examples from human as well (Numbers 11v14-15) when the people where the emphasis is placed on
as Biblical history to show their clients were dissatisfied with manna; or Elijah (I hereditary factors or neurochemical
that they are not alone in their suffering Kings 19v3-5) following Jezebel’s threat malfunction, which means that the
as well as to assuage any feelings of to kill him; or Jeremiah (Lamentations depression comes from within is
stigma. The range of examples is vast of 1v12) when he was rejected by the biochemical in nature and genetically
which the following are but a few: people he came to teach. induced.

First, we may contemplate eminent To simply write these people off as Developmental (or characterological)
figures in history such as: sinners does not suffice. Nor will they depression: where the emphasis is
get better merely by buckling down into placed upon the experience of major
The Politician - Sir Winston Churchill, deeper faith, more Bible reading and losses during childhood or early
after making difficult decisions. Churchill longer times of prayer. Such “inadequate deprivation of emotional needs.
called it “the black dog” and, based on and cheap advice” fails to understand
historical data, he may have suffered the aetiology or the root causes of Exogenous (or situational) depression:
with cyclothymia. depression. where the emphasis is placed on
a precipitating stress and is called
The Poet - Edgar Allen Poe, after each “reactive depression” which means
master piece, especially The Pit and The 4. ThE AETIOLOGY OF that it is caused by an overwhelming
Pendulum. DEPRESSION situational problem.

The Painter - Vincent van Gogh, who cut Simple explanations as to the cause of Spiritual depression: where the
off his ear when badly depressed and emotional illness and depression just do emphasis is placed upon spiritual
took his own life at age 37. N.B. It may be not exist! Notwithstanding, in a general reasons for the depression; however,
unwise to mention van Gogh’s suicide for sense and from a Christian perspective, they are seldom the result of specific sin
fear of therapist induced suggestions. we can say that all of humanity’s in the sufferer’s life. More often than not
problems are due to the fall; that is, people feel abandoned by God, judged
Second, counsellors may pitch their when man rebelled against God, creation by their spiritual community or have
mental tents around well-known revolted against man and our suffering, feelings of insecurity about their faith.
Christian leaders such as: in that sense, is the consequence of
man’s innate rebellion. Now, and this is the important point
The Reformer - Dr Martin Luther who, to grasp, endogenous depression
in 1527, wrote: ‘For more than a week I This was well understood by Dr C S originates from a neurochemical

21
Edition 12 November 2020