Beating Depression: Part One

Healing The Crushed Spirit

“The human spirit can endure a sick body,

but who can bear a crushed spirit?”             Proverbs 18:14

Depression. Many of us have found ourselves in that gray void. The struggle is like wading upstream against a chest-deep current. It seems like the awful experience will never end and any ember of hope is extinguished.  Our feelings are real, but they don't reflect reality. Feelings can lie, and they are never more dishonest than when we are depressed. 

I have a friend whose daughter drove a small, white car. One day she was driving to a nearby town to go shopping. My friend got a call that a horrible wreck had happened and it looked like his daughter's little car was crushed. He was frantic. He called the highway patrol and local hospital trying to get information. Just as he was running out the door in a panic, his phone rang. It was his daughter. She was safe in the next town, shopping, and 'just checking in'. It was someone else's car in that wreck. 

Were my friends feelings real? Of course they were. His heart was racing. His blood pressure was elevated. He was anxious, frantic, and afraid. He truly felt all of those things. But did his feelings reflect reality? No. 

When we fight depression, we have very real, very deep feelings...that do not reflect reality. Our perspective gets torqued because we are trying to navigate life with what scripture calls a 'crushed spirit' (Proverbs 18:14).

What is a crushed spirit? 

Our spirit is crushed when we think about the future and have no desire for it. The word spirit in Hebrew is Ruach (Roo-akh). The literal translation of the word is wind. When someone is discouraged we may say, “The wind was knocked out of his sails.” This is very close to the biblical usage of the word in Proverbs 18:14. The ‘spirit’ refers to the power and perspective of the inner life. It is the drive and passion for experiencing life.

What causes a crushed spirit? 

There are five sources of depression spoken of in the Bible. We must be careful not to be one-dimensional in our approach to depression. It is possible to think, “It’s just a moral issue. If he would just read the Bible more, pray more, serve more, fellowship more, etc., he wouldn’t feel depressed."  It is important, if we are going to find healing and restoration (or help someone else) to know that a crushed spirit can happen five different ways and a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution is not adequate, nor is it biblical. The bible teaches that the origin of a crushed spirit can be physical, relational, moral, mental, or spiritual and is often some combination of these things.

“A sound heart is life to the body,
But envy is rottenness to the bones.”            Proverbs 14:30

This verse calls attention to the intricate association of our physical experience to our inner life. Physical illness or malfunction can lead to a crushed spirit. I know of a godly man who lost the desire to live. Doctors discovered cancer in his thyroid gland. After surgery and treatment, he regained a positive outlook and serves God vibrantly today. My friend's crushed spirit was caused by a physical malfunction in his body. Malnutrition can effect a person's mood. Chemical imbalances can skew a person's outlook. It is, however, too simplistic to say that every case of depression (crushed spirit) is somehow physiological and should be medically treated. This kind of thinking fuels the over 400% increase in prescribed anti-depressant medications our country has seen in the last ten years (see footnote). Sometimes medications are needed. Sometimes a person's diet and lifestyle need to be adjusted. Sometimes a depressed person needs medical treatment, but not always.

“…a broken heart crushes the spirit”        Proverbs 15:13b

Relational conflicts can crush a person’s spirit, especially if someone is relying too heavily on another person for meaning, affirmation, and fulfillment. Recently, I received the heartbreaking news that a young man in our community took his own life because his girlfriend broke up with him. His death was a tragic expression of one kind of crushed spirit. A person can lose hope and perspective because of unhealthy relationships. Recovery from this kind of depression requires consistently getting around some people who care about you, talking about your challenges, and gaining a wider perspective. The biblical word for this is 'koinonia' (pronounced coin-o-knee-ah) and it is translated 'fellowship'. It means that we were designed to share in one-another's celebrations and challenges (Romans 12:15). One person's perspective in not enough. We need each other. 

“The wicked flee when no one pursues,
but the righteous are bold as a lion.”              Proverbs 28:1

Immorality can be a fertile place for anxiety to grow and depression to take root. When a person consistently yields himself to a besetting sin, the power and peace in the person's inner life diminishes. Guilt becomes generalized. The inner perspective gets skewed so that a little failure feels like a complete failure. The remedy for depression caused by besetting sins is vastly different than physical depression, or relational depression, but often no distinction is made. When someone with a crushed spirit due to immorality confesses sin appropriately, has someone they are accountable to, and gets in a process of recovery footnote 3, complete healing can happen and fullness of joy can be restored.         
"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly." ----Jesus, John 10:10

"Laughter can conceal a heavy heart,
but when the laughter ends, the grief remains." Proverbs 14:13

A person's general thought patterns can crush his spirit. I call this 'stinking thinking'. New patterns of thought and basic viewpoints need to replace the old, damaging ones. Psychologists refer to this as cognitive therapy. It is reorienting a person's thought patterns and general outlook. The Bible refers to this as the 'renewing the mind' (Romans 12:2). The teachings of Jesus are filled with hope. The choice to believe what He says (not necessarily what we feel) is effective cognitive therapy. The truth of our earthbound existence is that all parties (celebrations) here have an ending. All good experiences and relationships in this life have a conclusion. But a mind renewed by faith in the teachings of Christ is not an earthbound perspective. This earthly life is never the end of the story or the last celebration. Ours is an eternal perspective, and one of full and complete joy. 

"You will show me the path of life;

In Your presence is fullness of joy;

At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11

“The heart knows its own bitterness,
and a stranger does not share its joy.” 
Proverbs 14:10

The human spirit is very complex. There are aspects of the inner life that are impossible for others to fully understand and some difficulties that only God understands. There are forces that bear down upon the human spirit at times that are malevolent and unearthly. Spiritual attack is a clear, biblical reality. Evil forces exist that want to destroy human beings simply because we bear the image of God. 
The Bible says, “…we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”

Sometimes a person’s spirit is crushed from spiritual oppression. This person needs believers to stand in the gap, praying earnestly for spiritual deliverance in Jesus’ name. 

Crushed spirits are a part of the human experience. We must minister the love of Christ to one another in these dark seasons of life. Christian compassion requires avoiding simplistic and judgmental assessments. A commitment to "rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep," (Romans 12:15) creates the kind of healing and restorative atmosphere that Christ intended. May God grant that hearts be encouraged and the sails of hope be unfurled by the wind of our inner life in Christ. Amen

1. 1. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/shift-mind/201203/is-our-society-manufacturing-depressed-people
2. 2. 2. http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/astounding-increase-in-antidepressant-use-by-americans-201110203624
3. I recommend a registered/certified Celebrate Recovery program. www.celebraterecovery.com. Programs near you can be found on the website.
4.