Beating Depression/Week 1c of 3

"...the journey is too much for you."
So said the angel of the Lord to Elijah after the prophet hit the wall, the limit of his ability to cope. (I Kings 19:7)

The angel was talking about a specific journey that Elijah was about to make. But the comment seems to have a bigger application in many of our lives. At times, life deals us a series of major stresses that sap our emotional, mental, physical and spiritual energies to the point we can no longer move forward.

Imagine a checking account with a good sum of money. But the owner makes a series of major withdrawals without making any corresponding deposits. As the trend continues, the account quickly moves to zero. Perhaps the owner has a stop-gap in the form of overdraft protection, which allows him to spend a little while longer. But, very soon, time and money run out. He finally has to pay the penalty for too many expenditures and not enough deposits.

The same is true in many of our lives when we are buffeted by problems and stressors on all sides and we either don't know enough or aren't disciplined enough to replenish our energies. At that point, the journey does become too much.

So what are the signs that warn us that our account is almost in arrears? Elijah displayed some classic signs in his behavior right after his triumph on Mount Carmel. Take a look:

• Mental signs--Agitation and retardation of thinking and memory. Simply put, your mind begins to dull. In particular, short-term memory is impacted. You can't find the facts that used to quickly roll off your tongue. You respond in agitation quicker and more often. It's no longer a given for you that two plus two equals four.
• Emotional signs--Elijah showed a mix of anger, depression, and excessive guilt, all indicators that a person is in trouble, especially if the feelings are unreasonable. Thoughts of suicide point to a severe depression. When a person starts to feel that they'd be better off dead--as Elijah expresses to God--they have entered the final stages of a deep depression.
• Physical signs--Fatigue and a general loss of energy. As a depression becomes more acute, you may not be able to sleep and/or you may not want to get out of bed in the morning. Sleep is an essential method for replenishing energy. If you lose it, the slippery slope becomes ever steeper.
• Spiritual signs--Giving up is a sign that your spirits are crushed. If you find yourself saying throughout the day, "I'm just tired," and it's not so much about physical tiredness, you are there.

Like signs on a highway, you need to pay attention to these markers if they start showing up in your life. If you see the signs, start surveying your life, talk with friends and family to confirm some of what you're seeing and feeling, and start making some positive moves toward health.

That's what we'll be talking about all next week--healthy moves when the journey becomes too much.

Beating Depression/Week 1b of 3

In our pride, we tend to think we're invincible.

Or, at least, that we can work our way out of any problem. We need to be real. We are only human and, as such, we have limitations in the physical as well as the mental, emotional, and spiritual dimensions of who we are.

When we fail to take care of these areas of life, we are in jeopardy of reaching a point of burnout.

The causes of depression can be both biological (a lack of neurotransmitters in the brain) and reactive (a reaction to the stresses of our life). When you look at the I Kings passage in chapters 18 and 19, it almost appears as if Elijah was suddenly depressed. Reality is that depression doesn't happen suddenly, but gradually with a build-up of issues over a period of time.

Let's explore some:

• Continuous, long-term stress. Stress can be either good or bad--the impact on the body is the same. In Elijah's case, life wasn't easy. A quick survey shows him enduring a severe drought, being hunted by authorities who wanted him jailed and killed, making due with meager nutrition, and dealing with an overwhelming sense responsibility for other people's difficulties. Even the highs of Elijah's life, the mighty miracles that God performed through him, involved considerable stress.


• A major stress event. On Mount Carmel, Elijah endured a monumental stressor. He faced down 850 false prophets, performed a miracle that opened the eyes of the Israelites, and led the people in seeking revenge on those false religious leaders. Sometimes, a major stress event like this can be the final straw. It can sap the final reserve of energy to a point that the person cannot be renewed under normal circumstances.


• Extreme physical exertion. Following the Carmel miracle of fire from heaven, Elijah prayed for another sign--rain to end a terrible drought. As the sky broke loose with much needed moisture, Elijah tightened his belt and ran in front of the king's chariot for six miles back to the nation's capital. (When was the last time you out-ran a team of horses for any length of time?) God was with Elijah, but physical exertion still takes its toll on a human body.


• Dashed expectations. Elijah expected that the miracle and great victory on Mount Carmel would have changed everything in the kingdom. Instead, his life was threatened by the evil queen Jezebel, who after all lost 850 employees in a single day. Elijah went from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.


• Isolation. Elijah voluntarily went into exile. He left his servant behind (9:3) and went into the wilderness alone. Part of what happens to you in depression is you lose perspective. And, without someone around to help you regain the right perspective, you're in deep trouble.

It's important to understand that each of these issues attack the various components of a person's being--physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Typically, a person is able to replenish after one or several of these stressors. But stack them up in large enough numbers or for a prolonged period of time to the point you can't regain what has been spent coping, then burnout or depression is a real threat.

Spend some time surveying your life. What are the major stresses that are draining your energy? How difficult and how many are they? Are you coping well? How do you replenish the energy you expend battling the issues?

Are you losing ground? If you sense that you are, you've begun to identify a major threat to your well-being. Pay attention.

Friday, we'll come at this from a different perspective. We'll take a look at some warning signs in a person's behavior that accompany a build-up of stress.

Beating Depression/Week 1 of 3

At times, the burdens of life become too great.

There comes a season in life when the stresses are too many, too severe and too prolonged. In dealing with the mounting pressures, all reserves are used up and the whole being is compromised--spiritual, mental, emotional and physical. A deep wound is created and, with energy supplies depleted, the ability to handle life's hardships is simply gone.

It's called depression, a word that unfairly carries the stigma of weakness. You see, real men don't suffer from depression (like real men don't cry). So therefore, many men hit the wall, but struggle alone because to seek help would be to admit weakness and defeat.

Just the opposite is true. It's strong men--capable, proactive, and successful--who run the greatest risk of falling into depression. Because abilities and commitment lead to successes and therefore to more activities, these men encounter life situations that require maximum effort in every aspect of their being. These are the men who tend to spend too much of themselves without replenishing appropriately.

The result can be burnout and depression. So important and personal is this topic to me that I want to spend three weeks unpacking it. Even so, I will have just touched the surface of a very complex issue.

Hopefully, you will receive some very practical insights and advice that will help you identify the signs of depression in yourself and others, will equip you to prevent burnout in your own life, and will prepare you to cope with the issue should it come knocking on your door.

During this Week One, I will cover some of the causes that can lead to depression and the symptoms that present themselves as the condition emerges in a life. In Week Two, I want to concentrate on prevention, which involves the discipline of choosing and living a healthier lifestyle. In Week Three, I will explore a spiritual dimension of depression--how it impacts our thinking towards God and our relationship with Him.

All three weeks, I will be using a biblical passage from I Kings 18:16 through 19:9. In this section of Old Testament Scripture, we see one of God's fiercest and most capable prophets go from the highest high to the lowest low. Elijah hit a wall. So severe was his depression, that he had thoughts of suicide.

I will pull from this text as well as some more contemporary resources to flesh out these lessons. If you want to prepare, read the passage (above) from I Kings. We'll pick it up on Wednesday.