Recent Events - Robin Williams (2)

We spoke briefly yesterday about depression. Today, let us consider some of the symptoms of depression. The Psalmist in Psalm 102 speaks of a virtual checklist of symptoms that David was experiencing in his life. The verses will be from the NKJV of the Bible. we see this put forth in verses 1 & 2 - "Hear my prayer, O Lord, And let my cry come to You. Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my trouble; Incline Your ear to me; In the day that I call, answer me speedily."

He wrote of his feelings of being stricken physically, losing meaning and purpose in life in verses 3 & 4 - "For my days are consumed like smoke, And my bones are burned like a hearth. My heart is stricken and withered like grass...." He lost his appetite in verse 4b - "So that I forget to eat my bread." He felt isolated and rejected - verse 6 - "I am like a pelican of the wilderness; I am like an owl of the desert." He couldn't sleep in verse 7 " I lie awake, And am like a sparrow alone on the housetop." He had frequent crying spells as shown in verse 9 - "For I have eaten ashes like bread, And mingled my drink with weeping...."

When depression exhibits itself in forms such as above for weeks or months at a time, it is called "major depression." Some people have depression that is exhibited in mood swings - from irritable to euphoric - this is called "bipolar disorder," or "manic-depressive illness."

A person needs to seek medical help when struggling with such disorders. To often in the church we give a glib - "Just give it to Jesus" response without any thought to what may be the underlying cause of the depression. Telling a person to snap out of it is also not going to help. Tomorrow we will conclude this look at depression by considering how to respond to depression and that one can recover hope in this struggle.

Muse over the feelings of David in Psalm 102. We know that he was suffering depression from guilt and unconfessed sin. Others suffer because of medical abnormalities. When someone is going through periods as described above, help them look to find what is the root cause. Eliminate medical conditions. Seek for doubt, unconfessed sin, or guilt - both real and imagined. Pray for the person who is struggling with these symptoms and seek to encourage them.