Greg,

Thank you for your well thought out response. I really appreciate the Scriptures that you cited.

I am not talking about the everyday ordinary depression that people suffer from due to everyday life. I'm talking about CHRONIC depression...depression that plagues one every day for no reason at all. Some depressions that cause one to want to die at times. I "die" each day by sleeping day and night to escape these feelings.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder is CHRONIC and VERY painful. Panic attacks come from out of the blue and are considered unbearable, also. In the case of GAD, consider wanting to bang your head against a wall to overcome these feelings. Panic attacks make you feel scared and like you are dying.

Bipolar (manic depression): a disease where you have mood swings between being manic/hypomanic and depressed. This is the disease where many people such as the church and other religious people consider being sinful. When a person is manic, they do things that ordinarily they wouldn't do; e.g., spend considerable amounts of money not considering the consequences, act inappropriately in certain situations, etc. During this period of time, a person feels "high" and don't want to come down because it feels so much better than the depressed feeling. When the feeling is over, the person plunges into a deep depression.

There are many other mental illnesses, such as schizophrena, each being caused by chemical imbalances in the brain, genetics, and environmental situations. That is why MI people must take medications and have psychotherapy to help alieviate these symptoms. Of course, I am not leaving out the Bible for it can be a source of comfort, particularly the Psalms, but not because it is a sin to be MI.

We need more Christian counselors, ministers, elders, who understand MI and counsel based on the clinical illness and "peppered" with Scriptures that are of comfort and not of condemnation!

Like I mentioned in my previous post, in another forum, I have read of personal accounts where people have left their churches due to the persecution that they were sinning because of their depression, etc., and become Atheist, a member of a cult, Wiccan, etc., where they find acceptance.

Let's be more understanding of our MI members and offer them love and support rather than condemnation and/or shunning. Let the leaders of the church be more educated in this area.

Comments?

Blessings,
Pam

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"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go." Joshua 1:9 NKJV