THE MOST UNDERUTILIZED ANTIDEPRESSANT
MIKE CUNNINGHAM
APRIL 28, 2013

The following sermon was preached almost six years ago originally. I hope you enjoy it again!
– Mike

The September 6^th online edition of The Washington Post reported very disturbing results of the correlation between the decreased usage of antidepressants and a dramatic increase in suicides among young people. “Warnings from federal regulators four years ago that antidepressants were increasing the risk of suicidal behavior among young people led to a precipitous drop in the use of drugs. Now a study has found that the drop coincides with an unprecedented increase in the number of suicides among children.”

“From 2003 to 2004, the suicide rate among Americans younger than 19 rose 14 percent, the most dramatic one-year change since the government started collecting statistics in 1979, the study found. The rise followed a sharp decrease in the prescribing of antidepressants such as Prozac, Zolof and Praxil after parents and physicians were confronted by a barrage of warnings from the Food and Drug Administration and international agencies.” Referring to the same study, Fridays’ Burlington Free Press reported “The biggest jump (67 percent) was in the rate for 10 to 14 year-old girls.

The fact that some depressed young children come to the conclusion that they would be better off dead is appalling. I don’t even want to speculate what could have influenced those poor children to arrive at such a conclusion. Today there are millions of Americans in all age groups, including folks we hold near and dear who are suffering greatly from depression, and some of these poor people may seriously be considering committing suicide. In addition to the normal daily challenges everyone must face, coping with depressive feelings has got to be among the greatest.

“When you listen to people describe their depression, you will hear two extremes. People will report that the pain is so intense that they want to die. Others will describe an emotional numbness in which they are already dead. Sometimes you will hear one person describe living with both extremes simultaneously. “Pain” is the most concise description. Abraham Lincoln said, “I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth…to remain as I am is impossible. I must die or be better, it appears to me.”[i]

Uninformed Christians are bewildered upon learning that a Christian has taken his or her own life and jump to the erroneous conclusion that the person probably wasn’t really a Christian in the first place. After all, their distorted reasoning goes something like this, “if the person was a true follower of Jesus he or she would be so grateful and focused on Him and all He has accomplished for them on His cross that they would never even think of killing themselves. Regardless of circumstances the person ought to always be rejoicing in the Lord (Philippians 4:4).[ii]

Such a simplistic analysis precludes the possibility that there may be mitigating factors distorting the person’s ability to reason clearly; factors such as being afflicted with diseases like multiple sclerosis, hepatitis, diabetes, Parkinson’s, lupus, electrolyte abnormalities from anorexia etc. The negative side effects of certain prescription medication used in the treatment of hypertension, coronary artery disease and antibacterial drugs as well as antidepressants or lack of them are often major factors.

Now please don’t misunderstand what I’m about to say concerning some of the various symptoms of depression. I am not suggesting all of them are unique to every depressed person, but some of them certainly are. Nor am I going to suggest that sometimes there isn’t a need for medically prescribed antidepressants, because nothing could be further from the truth.

There are a myriad of physical symptoms which are all too familiar to folks who are weighed down by a spirit of gloom and doom and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. An inability to sleep or eat, or the desire not to stop eating or to get out of bed, accompanied by significant weight changes, certainly affect the sufferers energy level, and ability to concentrate and think clearly, as well as a loss of interest in proper hygiene being just some of them.

There are also a number of spiritual symptoms manifested by Christians who have been ensnared by depression and this is the reason sound biblical council is so crucial. Sinful anger with a bitter, resentful and unforgiving spirit is one major symptom. Another is an inclination to be overly critical and judgmental, because the depressed person has developed such a selfish preoccupation with themselves. He or she is apt to sit around sulking, refusing to speak unless it’s about them.

The tendency to almost always exaggerate or over generalize is another symptom, and blame shifting is also right up there. For instance, it’s always another person or another thing’s fault; IE: their spouse, their boss, their roommate, their neighbor, their siblings, their kids, their parents; their ex husband or wife, the government or society in general. An unappreciative thankfulness or acknowledgment of their many blessings is very common. A fear of the future accompanied by a spirit of hopelessness because of a lack of knowledge of, or unbelief of certain parts the Bible, and the feelings dread accompanying well deserved shame and guilt are probably the most prevalent spiritual symptoms which only the most underutilized antidepressant can cure. There are also cases where the symptoms are a combination of both physical and spiritual. A great case in point is found in the 32^nd Psalm.

Psalms 32:1-11 (AMP) ¹ [A Psalm of David.] A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem. BLESSED (HAPPY, fortunate, to be envied) is he who has forgiveness of his transgression continually exercised upon him, whose sin is covered. ² Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity and in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³ When I kept silence [before I confessed], my bones wasted away through my groaning all the day long. ⁴ For day and night Your hand [of displeasure] was heavy upon me; my moisture was turned into the drought of summer. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Many a depressed person can identify with the symptoms King David experienced. He’s moaning and groaning all day long. It’s even affecting his bones. Of course it isn’t only depressed people who sometimes feel like this as anyone who had been out all day long haying on a hot humid day will tell you. These folks have no vitality left. At day’s end they’re drained and worn out. The ESV renders David’s complaint in the latter part of verse four, “my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer,” or the alternate rendering, “my vitality was changed.” And I can assure you that Prozac, Zolof or Praxil will not alleviate any of these symptoms. Look at verse five and see what David did and what you and I must do.

⁵ I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord [continually unfolding the past till all is told]—then You [instantly] forgave me the guilt and iniquity of my sin. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁶ For this [forgiveness] let everyone who is godly pray—pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely when the great waters [of trial] overflow, they shall not reach [the spirit in] him. ⁷ You are a hiding place for me; You, Lord, preserve me from trouble, You surround me with songs and shouts of deliverance. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

⁸ I [the Lord] will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you. ⁹ Be not like the horse or the mule, which lack understanding, which must have their mouths held firm with bit and bridle, or else they will not come with you. ¹⁰ Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but he who trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on the Lord shall be compassed about with mercy and with loving-kindness. ¹¹ Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you [uncompromisingly] righteous [you who are upright and in right standing with Him]; shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

Do you have the ability to recognize a depressed person when you see one? How can you tell? What is the first clue” “The first place to look is the most obvious. The person’s face! His face literally oozes “a what’s the use” attitude. His eyelids tend to droop. The corners of his mouth turn down and seem to pull the entire facial expression with them. His face is long, grim and sad. He appears listless and generally expresses an air of helplessness and hopelessness. Written on his face is what’s going on inside of him. All other visual and auditory clues or data follow the same pattern.

His voice is quiet and his speech tends to be slow. His voice is a monotone with little or no expression. He may not look at the counselor but at the floor. (Sometimes when a person won’t look at you He is expressing guilt. Sometimes it’s a habit that developed at an early age evidencing insincerity or a judgment of inferiority. But sometimes it’s also because the person is depressed. A depressed person often doesn’t look at you).

His hands rest limply in his lap. He sits with a droop to his shoulders as though pushed down by the weight of the corners of his mouth. There’s very little motion of his body as he talks. He walks slowly and at times almost shuffles. There’s little life, spring or bounce that shows some expenditure of energy. He is interested in doing what he does with as little effort as possible.”[iii] Again I assure you that no amount of the commonly prescribed med’s will be able to help. For instance, let’s take another look at King David, a man who knew that difficult times aren’t a matter of “bad luck” nor do they “just happen”, but rather are from the hand of God.[iv]

Psalms 38:1-22 (AMP) ¹ A Psalm of David; to bring to remembrance and make memorial. O LORD, rebuke me not in Your wrath, neither chasten me in Your hot displeasure. ² For Your arrows have sunk into me and stick fast, and Your hand has come down upon me and pressed me sorely. ³ There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your indignation; neither is there any health or rest in my bones because of my sin. ⁴ For my iniquities have gone over my head [like waves of a flood]; as a heavy burden they weigh too much for me. ⁵ My wounds are loathsome and corrupt because of my foolishness. ⁶ I am bent and bowed down greatly; I go about mourning all the day long. ⁷ For my loins are filled with burning; and there is no soundness in my flesh. ⁸ I am faint and sorely bruised [deadly cold and quite worn out]; I groan by reason of the disquiet and moaning of my heart. ⁹ Lord, all my desire is before You; and my sighing is not hidden from You. ¹⁰ My heart throbs, my strength fails me; as for the light of my eyes, it also is gone from me. ¹¹ My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague; and my neighbors and my near ones stand afar off. ¹² They also that seek and demand my life lay snares for me, and they that seek and require my hurt speak crafty and mischievous things; they meditate treachery and deceit all the day long. ¹³ But I, like a deaf man, hear not; and I am like a dumb man who opens not his mouth. ¹⁴ Yes, I have become like a man who hears not, in whose mouth are no arguments or replies. ¹⁵ For in You, O Lord, do I hope; You will answer, O Lord my God. ¹⁶ For I pray, Let them not rejoice over me, who when my foot slips boast against me. ¹⁷ For I am ready to halt and fall; my pain and sorrow are continually before me. ¹⁸ For I do confess my guilt and iniquity; I am filled with sorrow for my sin. ¹⁹ But my enemies are vigorous and strong, and those who hate me wrongfully are multiplied. ²⁰ They also that render evil for good are adversaries to me, because I follow the thing that is good. ²¹ Forsake me not, O Lord; O my God, be not far from me. ²² Make haste to help me, O Lord, my Salvation.

Psalms 42:1-11 (AMP) ¹ To the Chief Musician. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of the sons of Korah. AS THE heart pants and longs for the water brooks, so I pant and long for You, O God. ² My inner self thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God? ³ My tears have been my food day and night, while men say to me all day long, Where is your God? ⁴ These things I [earnestly] remember and pour myself out within me: how I went slowly before the throng and led them in procession to the house of God [like a bandmaster before his band, timing the steps to the sound of music and the chant of song], with the voice of shouting and praise, a throng keeping festival. Now look at what David did.

⁵ Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, my Help and my God. ⁶ O my God, my life is cast down upon me [and I find the burden more than I can bear]; therefore will I [earnestly] remember You from the land of the Jordan [River] and the [summits of Mount] Hermon, from the little mountain Mizar. ⁷ [Roaring] deep calls to [roaring] deep at the thunder of Your waterspouts; all Your breakers and Your rolling waves have gone over me. ⁸ Yet the Lord will command His loving-kindness in the daytime, and in the night His song shall be with me, a prayer to the God of my life. ⁹

“I will say to God my Rock, Why have You forgotten me? Why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? ¹⁰ As with a sword [crushing] in my bones, my enemies taunt and reproach me, while they say continually to me, Where is your God? ¹¹ Why are you cast down, O my inner self? And why should you moan over me and be disquieted within me? Hope in God and wait expectantly for Him, for I shall yet praise Him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God.”

Commenting on this verse, Lloyd-Jones advises you and me to do exactly what David did to get rid of his spiritual depression. “…we must talk to ourselves instead of allowing ‘ourselves’ to talk to us! Do you realize what this means? I suggest that the main trouble in this whole matter of spiritual depression in a sense is this, that we allow our self to talk to us instead of talking to our self. Am I just trying to be paradoxical? Far from it. This is the very essence of wisdom in this matter. Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man’s treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself.

Psalms 42:5 (ESV) ⁵ Why are you cast down, O my soul? He asks. His soul has been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: ‘Self, listen for a moment, I will speak to you’.

The main art in the matter of spiritual living is to know how to handle yourself. You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself. You must say to your soul: ‘Why are you cast down’-what business have you to be disquieted? You must turn on yourself, upbraid yourself, condemn yourself, exhort yourself, and say to yourself: ‘Hope in God—instead of muttering in this depressed unhappy way. And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done, and what God has pledged Himself to do. Then having done that, end on this great note: defy yourself, and defy other people, and defy the devil and the whole world, and say with this man: “I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God.’

“The essence of this matter is to understand that this self of ours, this other man within us, has got to be handled. Do not listen to him; turn on him; speak to him, condemn him; upbraid him; exhort him; encourage him; remind him of what you know, instead of listening placidly to him and allowing him to drag you down and depress you. For that is what he will always do if you allow him to be in control. The devil takes a hold of self and uses it in order to depress us. We must stand up as this man did and say: ‘Why art thou cast down? Why art thou disquieted within me?’ Stop being so! ‘Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance,’ He, ‘who is the health of my countenance and my God.”[v]

Engaging in that kind of spiritual warfare my friends is what I consider to be taking advantage of, metaphorically speaking, the most underutilized antidepressant. Lord willing, in a couple of weeks….

Please view the comments from the last time the sermon was preached here

[i] Blame It on the Brain, © 1998, Edward T. Welch, Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, P. O. Box 817, Phillipsburg, New Jersey 08865-0817, page 116-117.

[ii] ⁴ Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice (Philippians 4:4).

[iii] The Journal of Pastoral Practice, Christian Counseling & Educational Foundation, Laverock, Pa., 19118.

[iv] 2 Kings 6:33 (NKJV) ³³ And while he was still talking with them, there was the messenger, coming down to him; and then the king said, “Surely this calamity is from the Lord; why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” Job 5:6 (NKJV) ⁶ For affliction does not come from the dust, Nor does trouble spring from the ground; Job 5:17 (NKJV) ¹⁷ “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. Psalms 66:11 (NKJV) ¹¹ You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs. Amos 3:6 (NKJV) ⁶ If a trumpet is blown in a city, will not the people be afraid? If there is calamity in a city, will not the Lord have done it? Micah 6:9 (NKJV) ⁹ The Lord’s voice cries to the city– Wisdom shall see Your name: “Hear the Rod! Who has appointed it?

[v] Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure, © D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, 1965, Eerdmans Printing Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, p. 20-21.