In response to some of the response I received from the previous post (They’re invisible, but I read minds, so we’re covered.), I’m going to continue my rampage on therapy, depression, communication, medication, and whatever else comes about when my random overtakes.
I’ve really avoided (whether or not I’ve succeeded) expounding upon my meager experience in this area in order to dodge accusations of the Baby, Princess, and Spinster syndromes (whiney, selfish, woe-is-me respectively). If I didn’t try, I’d probably talk about it all the time, incessantly. But, not because I feel sorry for myself or think I have it so much worse than others.
Ecclesiastes (such a pretty word): There is nothing new under the sun. Not sorrow, not pain, or suffering, not happiness, love, complacency or any other feeling. Not a single idea or thought. You are not alone, have never been alone, and the only thing worth doing in life is knowing God.
That is one of the biggest and best lessons I’ve ever learned, and I never learned it in therapy. I was sitting in a pew (also known as therapy?).
Therapy was always a traumatizing experience for me. And I know my mother forced me (literally, I’ve been dragged) because she thought it was best, but all it ever really did for me was further my desire to never speak or share. I don’t know that my parents ever gleaned anything useful from any of my multiple therapists, either. I think the therapist was supposed to be some magical filter between us that words would trickle through to form the perfect solution to my problem.
Pay attention, because here is the (hor)crux of this post: Lay your burdens on one another, without doing so, you can neither help others nor receive help from Christ. (James, Galations, others – The Golden Rule?)
I didn’t want to confess my sins and troubles to a stranger. As Christians, we should be able to go to each other (our family) and unburden ourselves. Not only should we be able to, but we should want to. Frankly, only a rare few do that and it’s shameful. We should know each other well enough to live honest lives. (I lied a lot in therapy. A lot. You don’t tell strangers where you live.) We have a responsibility to and for each other. We feel shame and embarrassment at the thought of telling a member of our own body that we’ve had a bad week or we’ve been really down, or we need a break, or we need someone to come mow our lawn. (If one member suffers, we all suffer.) Think of Pentecost when Christians gave up land and property for the visiting new brethren in need. But, now if we’re sick, it’s too humiliating to ask for help. (I think that’s also probably part of our American spirit.)
Obviously, I’m a strong proponent of seeking Christian help. (I didn’t say that I do it very well or very often, but I should. Change is hard.) However, as referenced in the last post, I value medical training. I don’t advise going straight to medication, but I don’t think I’ll ever stand against someone seeking medication to kick start their recovery.
Why? Because you are what you eat, and I’ve talked about that before.
We are living in a country that loves to alter the genetics of nature. And I know that if you don’t get the nutrients nature would have provided you, things within your body start to deteriorate – things including your mind. I’m not a medical expert and I don’t claim to know every cause of depression, anxiety, anger, and illness – but this is a big one.
(As a side note, I know some Christians believe medicating depression or other mental illnesses is circumventing God’s healing. All I have to say is: God will not save you unless you take action to be a person who wants to be saved.)
Click here for a nice article on sharing burdens, written by someone I don’t know.
“It’s pretty funny to log into Facebook on my iPhone and in the newsfeed see ‘Meagan Selgas took the quiz and the result is Leave Me Alone’.”