Do antidepressants betray faithlessness?

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teme said:
They didn’t have antidepressants in the 1500s. But let’s not assume that those in the middle ages didn’t look for, and find, chemicals to “take away their pain”, or that depression and its affects are a new phenomenon. I imagine several who were considered witches or “idiots” could have done quite well if they had the benefit of modern pharmacology and psychology.
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I’m pretty sure they had beer. Still used as a remedy for depression today.
 
There are different kinds of depression. Some are actual chemical imbalances, some are situational i.e death of a loved one and some just seem to be how people react to life as in a negative attitude. For many years of my life I fell into the third catagory was even suicidal but I was healed by Gods grace. It takes lots of hard work and effort to stop being negative and pessimistic but with Gods help on a daily basis i can get better. I only slip back when i stop my spiritual focus. I actually am grateful for my struggles becuase they bought me closer to God… and my weakness has made me stronger becuas I need Him so much it has made me a stronger person (might not make sense) This is my expierence. I have friends on meds who were able to wean off in time as the progressed spiritually. They of course did it under a doctors supervision. This is only my expierence.
 
petitfleur said:
There are different kinds of depression. Some are actual chemical imbalances, some are situational i.e death of a loved one and some just seem to be how people react to life as in a negative attitude. For many years of my life I fell into the third catagory was even suicidal but I was healed by Gods grace. It takes lots of hard work and effort to stop being negative and pessimistic but with Gods help on a daily basis i can get better. I only slip back when i stop my spiritual focus. I actually am grateful for my struggles becuase they bought me closer to God… and my weakness has made me stronger becuas I need Him so much it has made me a stronger person (might not make sense) This is my expierence. I have friends on meds who were able to wean off in time as the progressed spiritually. They of course did it under a doctors supervision. This is only my expierence.
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Thank you for sharing. I read this and think I am very unspiritual and my fatih is small. I think it is. It makes a person dislike thesmselves . I know that wasn’t your intent however.

I’m having one of those days where I really want to stick my head in the oven but all my appliances are electric.
 
ErikaA said:
Thank you for sharing. I read this and think I am very unspiritual and my fatih is small. I think it is. It makes a person dislike thesmselves . I know that wasn’t your intent however.

I’m having one of those days where I really want to stick my head in the oven but all my appliances are electric.
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Get yourself to a medical professional and discuss your feelings as soon as possible. This may not be the result of weak faith at all. Don’t let yourself think you have weak faith until you’ve had an experienced professional walk you through this!
 
I had a nervous breakdown four years ago and it was so bad I was diagnosed with PTSD with reactive psychosis. I had to go to a psychiatric ward to get stabilized. The psychotic episodes were the WORST…the feelings of negativity and depression were indescribable.
Thank God for modern medicine. I began faithfully taking my meds and still take them every night to this day (although the dosage is now much smaller). I wouldn’t dream of putting myself or my family through that kind of pain again.
Erika, see a doctor and know that you CAN get through this, but you may have to be stabilized with meds.
My faith in God throughout this chapter of my life was unshaken but I still had a very serious mental illness that needed to be treated medically, and so may the OP.
 
Erika…

It is good to be careful with medicine… you know all that…

However I also think that exactly accepting to use antidepressants can for some people be a sign of humility… accepting help can be a source of spiritual growth… you tell your EGO good bye when you admit to your self, God, and others that you are a human being in need of help and healing.
If medicine can cure you then just remember to give God praise for that gift as well…

Peace be with you. 👍
 
ErikaA said:
Thank you for sharing. I read this and think I am very unspiritual and my fatih is small. I think it is. It makes a person dislike thesmselves . I know that wasn’t your intent however.

I’m having one of those days where I really want to stick my head in the oven but all my appliances are electric.
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Depression changes your outlook on life in a huge way, and yet you don’t even realize it till you are better and look back. Sounds to me like the above is probably depression talking. You sound like I did when I was first depressed. I took Zoloft, got better, quit taking it and moved on with life. And what a better life it was! Now, when I see that depression coming (I always get PPD after a baby), I take that Zoloft right away and nip it in the bud. Do not feel guilty for taking medicine. God cares about you and wants what’s best for you, including being well! And remember, too, that even though you feel like your faith is small right now, God is right there suffering with you.
 
GregoryPalamas said:
Often depression is due to resistant to the conviction from the Holy Spirit. It has everything to do with the topic.

CDL
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What qualifies you to say that this happens “often,” and how is one to tell the difference?

It’s awfully difficult to discern the difference between real, clinical depression and the type of despair that results from resisting the Holy Spirit. And people with responsibilities that include parenting children are well-advised to seek the advice of competent professionals as quickly as possible, and strongly consider the risks and benefits of the treatment plans they offer, even if they include the use of prescription drugs.

Unless you’re intimately familiar with the situation in which the OP finds herself, your comments are a bit out of place.
 
Admitting that I did have a problem and needed help from a psychiatrist was the BEST thing I ever did. I have come to accept that without the antidepressants I do not function. I don’t enjoy taking the medication daily or some of the side effects that come with it but I see those as my cross to bear.

Get some counseling. A good therapist will know the questions to ask to see if your condition is the result of a chemical imbalance or something else.
 
ErikaA, I also struggle with depression and have on and off for many years. Never suicidal, not that severe, but painful nonetheless. In the last year or so with going through menopause changes, I also now have anxiety.

I don’t think there is anything wrong with going on medication. I have been on it in the past and some helped, some didn’t. When it helps, life is so much better. I was able to wean off 3 years ago and did fine until all the menopause craziness started. Now I am struggling with the decision of whether to go on meds again. If I knew they would for sure help(without unwanted side effects), I’d be right on them. I’m scared of the side effects though and am having a hard time deciding what to do. I am not always depressed so when I’m feeling good I think I can get by without meds. When I’m feeling bad it is almost unbearable and that’s when I want meds.

I have seen my dr. about this and she sent me to a counselor. The counseling helps a lot. I told her I want to try to go without meds. But now she thinks maybe they would help. I am afraid of the meds but she said that if I try one and don’t like it, I can go off of it. Just try until I find what works best. And I wouldn’t have to stay on it forever.

Kind of long winded but I just wanted to share my story with you. And please don’t struggle alone. It helps a lot to talk it over with your dr. and maybe a counselor. They can help you sort through what your best options may be. My counselor made me realize that trying meds is not the end of the world and not a decision I’m stuck with if it isn’t working. Please, please get help with this. I know how painful it can be and I don’t believe it is reflective in any way of your faith or spirituality.
 
djrakowski said:
What qualifies you to say that this happens “often,” and how is one to tell the difference?

It’s awfully difficult to discern the difference between real, clinical depression and the type of despair that results from resisting the Holy Spirit. And people with responsibilities that include parenting children are well-advised to seek the advice of competent professionals as quickly as possible, and strongly consider the risks and benefits of the treatment plans they offer, even if they include the use of prescription drugs.

Unless you’re intimately familiar with the situation in which the OP finds herself, your comments are a bit out of place.
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Just to clarify. Are you trying to start an argument? I don’t see the point of your post otherwise. Either their are spiritual roots to everything or there is not. If you don’t believe that, and I suspect that you don’t, then you might wish to study the subject more deeply.

CDL
 
GregoryPalamas said:
Just to clarify. Are you trying to start an argument? I don’t see the point of your post otherwise. Either their are spiritual roots to everything or there is not. If you don’t believe that, and I suspect that you don’t, then you might wish to study the subject more deeply.

CDL
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You needn’t be condescending, and I would contend that you’re interested in starting an argument rather than helping the OP.

To steer this somewhat back on-topic: do you believe that Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who suffered for decades, wishing to feel some consolation from Our Lord, was fighting the Holy Spirit?

And, do you think there’s ever a legitimate reason for someone to take antidepressant medication - that is to say, that there’s ever a reason for depression that doesn’t involve fighting against the Holy Spirit, and would thus be legitimate to medicate?

My wife suffered from depression even after we were joyfully received into the Catholic Church. How would you answer her - was she still fighting the Holy Spirit, or was she really depressed?

I just don’t see your posts as particularly helpful to the OP, whom I would guess doesn’t need anyone questioning her spirituality, especially without knowing her from more than a few posts on an internet forum.
 
I think there is a mix of things. I genuinely think some people can alter their brain chemistry. I used to marvel at how my grandfather could totally change his mood just by an act of will. He seemed, late in his life, to have developed it so well, he could do it with almost no effort. I have seen others that I thought were doing it.

I have seen people deliberately generate endorphins for pain. I can do it to some degree myself.

But that all assumes a person has the setup for it. I suspect some of the people long ago who took St. John’s Wort to good effect had normal serotonin uptake, but poor serotonin production, since SJW generates serotonin production but does nothing for uptake. I think that could be a partial explation of some things. My grandfather could generate brain chemicals, but also had good uptake. It wouldn’t have helped him if he couldn’t do the uptake part.

By my observation, lots of people with depression have an uptake problem, so no matter what they do, they can’t “will away” depression. It’s like having insulin resistance. Your pancreas might be doing just fine, but you still have diabetic effects. To me, anything a person can do to improve uptake to be more normal, is just fine, just as is taking meds that overcome insulin resistance.
I don’t think it’s right to expect people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps if they don’t have bootstraps.

I read once that an enormous number of 18th century Englishmen were characteristically alcoholic, with ferocious tempers and bad livers. Might have been the case for all of human history. Could be a little Prozac or something would have helped a lot.
 
Ridgerunner, that was the best post in this thread so far. Well done!

As Catholics, we’re not afraid of science, and should make use of the tools we’ve been given. Our Lord granted us with the intellects that were involved in creating these drugs, and we ought to acknowledge that and move forward, using them when appropriate.
 
NoxSineStellae said:
He almost ALMOST went on medication once. And then his mother stepped in with the line, “They didn’t used to have these drugs, you’re weak, have faith, pull yourself up by your bootstraps and stop wallowing.”
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:mad: Grrrrrrrrrr…! People who haven’t experienced real clinical depression sometime don’t understand that part of the problem is that the bootstraps have stopped working. If depression was just unhappiness, we’d call it unhappiness.

That attitude makes me so mad!
 
ErikaA said:
I hear you, but here’s the other thing I’m wondering. Aren’t we called to take up our cross and therefore to suffer, participating in Christ’s suffering to some extent? Am I supposed to stay depressed and suffer as a testament/part and parcel of my faith? I feel confused and screwed up.
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yes but we are not required to go out looking for our cross, there is plenty of burden in dealing with depression or any mental affliction, even when it is being treated, without adding the unnecessary burden of failing to treat what can be treated.

by this logic, the person who can’t walk should not use a wheelchair or crutches, the person with diabetes should not take his insulin, and the person with a raging infection should not take antibiotics. taking up one’s cross does not mean inflicting more punishment and risking death and further disability.
 
ErikaA said:
I hear you, but here’s the other thing I’m wondering. Aren’t we called to take up our cross and therefore to suffer, participating in Christ’s suffering to some extent? Am I supposed to stay depressed and suffer as a testament/part and parcel of my faith? I feel confused and screwed up.
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Honey, as someone who has been clinically depressed for a long time and takes daily medication, I can tell you that you will certainly STILL suffer even after you treat your depression. The medications are not a magic wand. They help you respond like you have normal brain chemistry. Life still happens. You will still have all the little (and big) dailt trials that God sees fit to send your way.

In my case, the difference the medication has made is that I’m no longer tempted to drive my car into the freeway barricade at 75 mph so I could go into the hospital and “get a break from it all”.
 
Clinical depression is not in itself sinful, but what you do, or don’t do, about it may be a sin, especially if remedies are available.

Clinical depression is NOT a moral/spiritual defect, but is a CHEMICAL IMBALACE. It is a physical diseae.

If you had diabetes, would you think you were “betraying faithless” to take insulin or other medicine as directed by the doctor?

Clinical depression is as much of a chemical imbalance as is diabetes.

And yes, depression DOES hurt. Studies have shown that the same centers in the brain are active during a depressive episode as when suffering physical pain.

If there if medicine that will correct your condition, take it with thanksgiving to God for the provision He has made for you!

Trust me, I have for years.
 
djrakowski said:
You needn’t be condescending, and I would contend that you’re interested in starting an argument rather than helping the OP.

To steer this somewhat back on-topic: do you believe that Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, who suffered for decades, wishing to feel some consolation from Our Lord, was fighting the Holy Spirit?

And, do you think there’s ever a legitimate reason for someone to take antidepressant medication - that is to say, that there’s ever a reason for depression that doesn’t involve fighting against the Holy Spirit, and would thus be legitimate to medicate?

My wife suffered from depression even after we were joyfully received into the Catholic Church. How would you answer her - was she still fighting the Holy Spirit, or was she really depressed?

I just don’t see your posts as particularly helpful to the OP, whom I would guess doesn’t need anyone questioning her spirituality, especially without knowing her from more than a few posts on an internet forum.
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I think I shall ignore your posts.

BTW I’m sorry for your wife’s depression. I understand all sorts of causes for depression.

CDL
 
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