A post on religion and mental health. Enjoy.
-DMR
Monthly Archives: October 2008
A Sham
When I get depressed, I feel like a fake.
I get tired easy. I can’t write sermons. I don’t want to prepare for bible class. I don’t want to see or talk to people. I don’t want to do anything at all.
All of which raises the question for me, why am I a pastor?
I know it’s a phase. I know it will pass. But it just keeps happening. I want somebody to slap me and say SNAP OUT OF IT! Of course, it doesn’t work that way. I wish I knew the formula. X amount of sleep plus Y amount of quiet time plus Z amount of no stress equals slump gone.
So what is the formula? Will someone tell me the secret?
Thanks,
-DMR
A Sham
When I get depressed, I feel like a fake.
I get tired easy. I can’t write sermons. I don’t want to prepare for bible class. I don’t want to see or talk to people. I don’t want to do anything at all.
All of which raises the question for me, why am I a pastor?
I know it’s a phase. I know it will pass. But it just keeps happening. I want somebody to slap me and say SNAP OUT OF IT! Of course, it doesn’t work that way. I wish I knew the formula. X amount of sleep plus Y amount of quiet time plus Z amount of no stress equals slump gone.
So what is the formula? Will someone tell me the secret?
Thanks,
-DMR
Physician Assisted Suicide and Depression in Oregon
Kudos to First Things for bringing this article to my attention on the astonishing rate of physician assisted suicides that have an association with clinical depression. Here’s the pertinent portion:
In 2007, none of the 46 people in Oregon who used physician-assisted suicide were evaluated by a psychologist or psychiatrist, the news release said.
For the new study, researchers at Oregon Health and Sciences University checked for depression or anxiety in 58 terminally ill patients who’d requested physician-assisted suicide or had contacted an assisted death organization. Fifteen of the patients met the criteria for depression and 13 for anxiety.
By the end of the study, 42 patients had died. Of those, 18 received a prescription for a lethal medication, and nine died by lethal ingestion. Of those who received a prescription for a lethal medication, three met the criteria for depression. All three died by lethal ingestion within two months of being assessed by researchers.
Luther is credited with saying that those who commit suicide are akin to someone who has been overcome by robbers in the woods. In this case the robbers are the very doctors who should be healing them. It is despicable to the point of incredulity that it would actually be legal to help someone with clinical depression commit suicide. I’m not sure how that qualifies as Death with Dignity. I would say that is more like Death by Evil Design.
You can tell the level of civilization of a nation by how it treats the helpless in her midst. Between abortion and euthaniasia we are slipping into barbarism more every day.
Talk about depressing. Lord, have mercy on us.
Watching the Kids
I told my wife a few weeks ago that I thought watching and taking care of children was way harder than being a pastor. She then told me it was the nicest thing I had ever said to her.
I wasn’t actually trying to get points mit my frau. I really think that’s true. Certainly some of the time, maybe even most of the time.
When I was at the height (depth?) of my sickness, it was our children that I couldn’t handle more than anything else. I’ve blogged a few times about my travails with shut-ins, but really it is children that require a lot more emotional energy, I think.
I bring this up because today I watched our kids. All of them, for about 4 hours. I know, that doesn’t sound like much. Some of them were napping for part of the time, and they were all there and full bore for a little more than an hour. The thing is, I’m not certain I have watched all of our kids on my own since I came off of disability. Maybe I have. But I was glad to be able to do it and not have a complete meltdown in the process.
I love our children. That isn’t the issue. The issue is one of responsibility, stimulation, and the ability to process and do on-the-spot problem solving. None of these things really go well with sufferers of depression. So I counted today a great victory. Yes, it was just four hours. Yes, my saintly wife does it for about 20 hours a day every day. I don’t know how she does it. But today, I’ll rejoice in what healing God grants, and prays that it may continue.
Mothers of the world, I salute you.
-DMR
Watching the Kids
I told my wife a few weeks ago that I thought watching and taking care of children was way harder than being a pastor. She then told me it was the nicest thing I had ever said to her.
I wasn’t actually trying to get points mit my frau. I really think that’s true. Certainly some of the time, maybe even most of the time.
When I was at the height (depth?) of my sickness, it was our children that I couldn’t handle more than anything else. I’ve blogged a few times about my travails with shut-ins, but really it is children that require a lot more emotional energy, I think.
I bring this up because today I watched our kids. All of them, for about 4 hours. I know, that doesn’t sound like much. Some of them were napping for part of the time, and they were all there and full bore for a little more than an hour. The thing is, I’m not certain I have watched all of our kids on my own since I came off of disability. Maybe I have. But I was glad to be able to do it and not have a complete meltdown in the process.
I love our children. That isn’t the issue. The issue is one of responsibility, stimulation, and the ability to process and do on-the-spot problem solving. None of these things really go well with sufferers of depression. So I counted today a great victory. Yes, it was just four hours. Yes, my saintly wife does it for about 20 hours a day every day. I don’t know how she does it. But today, I’ll rejoice in what healing God grants, and prays that it may continue.
Mothers of the world, I salute you.
-DMR