Faith and Depression

It has always seemed like such a contradiction: how could someone who firmly believes in Jesus as the Christ also be depressed and suicidal? They do not go together in the normal schema of faith.If you believe in the saving grace of Jesus then there ought to be no room for despair, hopelessness, depression and suicidal thoughts, right? Nope. It turns out that the same person who believes the former also suffers with the rest. It may seem like a contradiction but the reality is that they co-exist.

The problem lies with the failure to understand depression as the organic illness it really is. Many Christians see depression as a spiritual failure, somehow the fault  of the depressed person for not having enough faith. The truth is, depression is an organic, definable illness in the same way heart disease is. Not many of us would classify heart attacks as a failure of faith. Neither should we define depression that way. Depression is caused by real imbalances in brain chemicals and complicated by life events.One may or may not question the role of faith in the life events but to call an imbalance of seratonin, dopamine and other chemicals in the brain a lack of faith is a serious failure to even try to understand the true nature of depression.

The Church, as a whole, needs to do a better job educating parishioners about mental illness in general and depression in particular. Though MILLIONS of us suffer from depression every year in this country only 3 in 100 sufferers seek help. That has to change. There should be no more shame in seeking help for depression than in going to the doctor for cancer. Indeed there should be no shame in being depressed at all. It is not  a matter of fault or blame. It JUST IS.

I have a Masters Degree in Theology and my home church was quite proud when I was ordained Deacon in the United Methodist Church. They were less thrilled when I left the ministry but they were still my home church. They managed to get their investment back by using my gifts and graces as much as they possibly could. At some points, I felt like an unpaid pastor. But then I suffered a breakdown and was hospitalized several times. I will NEVER forget that first Sunday back to church. Not ONE person either looked at me or talked to me! I never went back. These were the people who raised me in the faith. And yet, they could not deal with someone who had been suicidal and depressed. It was extremely painful but I understood the stigma that still attaches to mental illness and depression.

My message to the Church is this: What would Jesus do? First of all, he would heal me. But he would NEVER judge me or anyone else suffering from depression. Blame the disease not the patient. Jesus loves us all unconditionally. We ALL have our weaknesses and we are ALL sinners. But mental illness, in and of itself, is not a sin. It is a disease. It is no more sinful than having cancer. If and when the Church and broader society GETS that fact, the stigma may begin to disappear and the mentally ill may be included in society in a fuller and broader way. I hope and pray not too many more of us are ostracized before that happens.

Todd Akin: Shut Up

Todd Akin 's comments that a woman's body can prevent pregnancy in a "legitimate rape".  This man sits on the Science Committee in the US House of Representatives. Really? I have so many responses on so many levels that I do not know where to start. 

On the most personal level, as a woman who was raped, I am shocked, offended, angry to the point that I'm shaking and afraid for my country. What the heck is a "legitimate rape?"  All rape is a CRIME and can therefore not be "legitimate".  I am sure he meant to say "real" but that is just as bad because who determines what a "real" rape is? The victim? The police? The rapist? To the woman who was assaulted, EVERY rape is as real as it can get and it stays real for the rest of her life. I suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 33 years after the fact. Just using the word "rape" brings it all back in a literal flash. There is nothing more REAL than that. 

Then there is the "scientific" statement that a woman's body can prevent pregnancy in a "legitimate" rape. Oh? Exactly what in the woman's body can distinguish between real rape and fake rape? I am sorry Rep. Akin but sperm is sperm and there is nothing to distinguish between a real rapists sperm and a fake rapists sperm. There is nothing in a woman's body that will prevent implantation. You need to not be on the Science Committee because you know NOTHING about science. Of course, that is the problem on the Right - the absolute disdain for science. People like you would take us back to the stone age if we allow it. I pray the people of your state have more sense than that. 

I was terrified after being raped that I would become pregnant. The terror itself prolonged my agony because I skipped a menstrual cycle due to stress. People like you must NOT be allowed to regulate women's bodies. And people like you need to shut the heck up. 

*All content herein is the opinion of the author.

Is The Democratic Party Inclusive Enough?

I find it interesting that since I have developed severe depression (currently seeking help), I have been uninvited from volunteering for democratic campaigns. Most notably,  Sander Levin for Congress. This hurts the most because the first political campaign I ever worked on was when Sandy Levin ran for Governor of Michigan in 1974. I was in high school and spent a lot of time stuffing and licking envelopes, licking stamps and making phone calls. He has been my congressman for most of the time since 1984 and I worked on campaigns for him off and on, especially in 1992 when I was precinct captain. The off years mostly had to do with work schedules. I have always been a supporter of the congressman. Now, to be uninvited from being a volunteer makes me a little sick to my stomach. Yes, I am suffering from depression. I would think it would be understandable given the fact that I have been unemployed for 3 1/2 years, have no income, no health insurance, no assets and my 78 year old mother has Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma but still has to work in order to keep a roof over our heads. I have creditors dogging me day and night and our condo is worth less than 1/4 of what it is mortgaged for. So yes, I AM depressed. I can't find a job and that makes me feel worthless in and of itself.  

A large part of the reason I got involved with the Obama Campaign in February as a Spring Fellow was to keep myself busy and work on a great cause. Not to mention having something I could put on my resume. I was feeling really good about myself during that period. But the Fellowship ended and the leadership changed in Oakland County and I ended up the odd one out. I needed to be hired on a Field Organizer in order to be able to afford to keep driving to Pontiac but that didn't happen. So, I started volunteering for Sandy Levin. I did mailings, phone calling, walked in parades and a lit drop. Then the depression  and generalized anxiety disorder really hit and suddenly I was no longer welcome. 

I find it fascinating that so many people in his district are either unemployed and suffering from mental illness or both. They/we are still voting constituents. The mentally ill still deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. Yes, it is uncomfortable sometimes. But if  someone with a mental illness (especially depression) wants to volunteer, why shouldn't they? Why shouldn't people with mental illness or 
developmental disabilities be active in the Democratic Party? This is another challenge to the Democratic Party to be as inclusive as they claim to be.  

*ALL content herein is the opinion of the author