Two or Three (.net)

For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. - Jesus

2.22.2005

Christianity and Healing Depression - Part 1

by danielg [+/-] show/hide

by Seeker

The first approach one should take to treating depression is that of treating physical causes. By addressing these, you can elminate them as causes and move on to emotional and spiritual issues.

How are your diet and your sleep?
You need to improve these first to make sure these are not the problem.

Exercise and Stress Management
You may be tired and depressed because you are out of shape, and run down because you process stress poorly. Part or all of your depression may be cured through regular exercise. Even better, you can try exercise that also calms the mind, like yoga or quiet meditation. Many Christians are not comfortable with yoga’s Hindu origins, but mindful stretching or meditation do wonders for the body and mind.

Chemical Origins of Depression - Medication
Additionally, you may want to visit your regular doctor and see if a blood test is in order. I’m not sure what they measure, but sometimes, chemical imbalances cause depression. However, this area is tricky. Does the chemical imbalance cause the depression, or does the depression cause the chemical imbalance? In addition, many doctors are too quick to prescribe medications, often treating the symptom and not the problem.

However, sometimes medication is needed to help stabilize a person’s emotions so that they can then deal with the roots of their depression. Medication should be part of a larger therapeutic plan, and should be used similar to pain killers – you don’t want to end up addicted to pain killer, you just want to kill the pain long enough to get the healing underway.

Some people, however, have been depressed or otherwise chemically imbalanced for so long that they may need to stay on medication for the rest of their lives because they have suffered a permanent change to their physiology.

Part 2 - Healing the Emotional and Spiritual Causes of Depression

posted by danielg at 10:07 PM 1 comments

1 Comments:

  • I enjoyed you blog about metabolic enzymes. I also have a site about metabolic enzymes which makes me appreciate this one even more! Keep up the good work!

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 11/02/2005 12:32 AM  

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