Is It Right for a Christian to Take Anti-Depressants?
— Tuesday, February 28th, 2012 —
Dear Dr. Moore,
Not long ago, my doctor prescribed me as having a (relatively) mild form of depression. He put me on an anti-depressant. I hate the side effects, and I don’t like the way it makes me feel, but maybe I’ll get used to it. My biggest struggle is whether it is right to be on these at all. If I have the Holy Spirit, why do I need this drug? Is it ethical for a Christian to take drugs like this?
Dazed and Confused
Dear Dazed,
First of all, you are right to seek medical help. Depression is not just unpleasant; it can be debilitating and dangerous, and it signals that something has gone wrong somewhere. Here are some things to think about.
God created us as whole persons, with body and psyche together. The body affects the psyche. Going without food, for example, or sleep will change the way one thinks or feels dramatically. And the psyche affects the body. We don’t “have” bodies or “have” psyches. We are psychosomatic whole persons, made in the image of God.
It makes sense to me that biological and physiological factors often play a role in persons not seeing reality correctly. Some drugs can “fix” something that’s gone wrong. For example, a malfunctioning thyroid can be corrected by synthetic drugs that prompt the body to do what it’s designed to do. Most of the anti-depressants you see advertised on television don’t “fix” something, as much as they alleviate symptoms. They rework levels of serotonin or dopamine reception, for instance, so that a person doesn’t experience the same levels of sadness or dullness or hopelessness.
Often, even when depression or anxiety is rooted in non-physiological reasons, the person is so far gone that medication is necessary to start working on the root issues. But, remember, for most people, there is no drug that will bring about psychic flourishing. What the drug is meant to do is to “numb” the person to the pain of depression and anxiety.
Numbing, as part of an overall plan, can be a good thing. When I have a toothache, I want my dentist to give me an anesthetic so that I don’t feel that throbbing anymore. Before my tooth can be fixed, someone must “shut down” the agony I’m in, temporarily. But a dentist who simply “treats” my infected tooth with an anesthetic isn’t helping me. Ultimately, the tooth must be fixed.
It could be that your depression and anxiety is caused by something physiological. If so, continue your medical treatment and have that looked at. But it could be that there’s a reason for the sadness or the anxiety. Maybe you’ve recently lost a spouse or a job or a friend. If so, grieve over that loss. Maybe you’re anxious about a guilty conscience or about an uncertain future. Don’t just medicalize that anxiety. Rehearse the gospel you’ve embraced, and pray, alone and with others, and seek the kind of counsel that can bring about the necessary life-change to cope with whatever seems so hopeless right now.
Whether your depression is ultimately chemical or circumstantial, it is also important, I think, to start with a realistic picture of what “normal” is, what your end goal should look like. I know I have trouble seeing this clearly sometimes.
The “normal” human life isn’t what is marketed to us by the pharmaceutical industry or by the lives we see projected on movie screens, or, frankly, by a lot of Christian sermons and praise songs. The normal human life is the life of Jesus of Nazareth, who sums up in himself everything it means to be human (Eph. 1:10). And the life of Christ presented to us in the Gospels is a life of joy, of fellowship, of celebration, but also of loneliness, of profound sadness, of lament, of grief, of anger, of suffering, all without sin.
As the Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of Christ, we don’t become giddy, or, much less, emotionally vacant. Instead, the Bible tells us we “groan” along with the persecuted creation around us (Rom. 8:23). We cry out with Jesus himself, experiencing with him often the agony of Gethsemane (Gal. 4:6; Mk. 14:36). And, paradoxically, along the way, we join Jesus in joy and peace (Gal. 5:22). A human emotional life is complicated, and a regenerated human emotional life is complicated too.
If your doctors are trying to get you to this kind of emotional holism, good. But if what you’re expecting is a kind of all-the-time emotional tranquility, you just might be passing up something that is part of the human condition itself.
There are some Christians who believe any psychiatric drug is a spiritual rejection of the Bible’s authority. I’m not one of them. But there are other Christians who seem to think, with the culture around us, that everything is material and can be solved by material means. I don’t think that’s right either.
Keep working with your doctors to treat your depression. If you’re not happy with the treatment or with the side-effects, seek some additional medical opinion, and listen for wisdom in a multitude of counselors. As you note in your question, sometimes the side-effects of these drugs are awful. Communicate with your doctor, and read up to ask the right kinds of questions.
But spend time too with those who know you and love you, and ask if there’s more behind this than simply serotonin reception. God doesn’t want you to be simply, in the words of one observer of the current pharmacological utopianism, “comfortably numb.” He wants you to be whole.
40 Responses to “Is It Right for a Christian to Take Anti-Depressants?”
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Great article, Dr. Moore. I struggled with serious depression for a period of about two years. I was told by a caring Christian woman that I should go to a doctor and get some medication. My situation was different than others. I knew the source of my depression: I had made a bad life decision and was out of God’s will. My depression stemmed from feelings of guilt over disobeying God’s will for my life, and a feeling of desperation because I felt I couldn’t get my life back on track. I didn’t know what steps to take to make “amends.” I also encountered the most intense spiritual warfare in my life during this time.
I resolved not to take any medication, because I knew the source of my problem was spiritual and I felt that the only proper healing would have to be completely spiritual as well. I could share my entire story but that would be entirely too long. I do not condemn the use of medications for depression, but from my experience, I advise taking a time of prayer, fasting, and seeking God through His Word for spiritual guidance before taking medication. I also advise being very brutally honest with oneself concerning your personal spiritual condition. Treating physical and mental symptoms of a spiritual problem will only cause one to accept the condition rather than remedying it.
Again, I am not against medications. I simply advocate honesty with oneself and a thorough spiritual self-examination and also wise counsel from spiritually mature Christian friends and leaders as a primary course of action.
@Ray Umphrey,
It is certainly commendable that you got your life back on track from whatever doldrums it was in through serious self-reflection.
But.
I think it’s important to understand that what you went through may not have been clinical depression. While a friend may have diagnosed you with the disorder, a clinical professional may not have. Consider that you recommend finding counsel from “spiritually mature Christian friends and leaders” in the same way that others would similarly recommend finding counsel from a reputable doctor.
The very fact that you wanted in some way to get your life back on track suggests that you may have been “depressed” but weren’t suffering from depression.
I certainly can’t speak to the details of your experience, but I would suggest being very, very careful in drawing parallels.
Please realize that the disinterest in life characteristically found in those suffering depression often results in suicide. By advocating a primary course of action — spiritual, medical, or otherwise — rather than seeking comprehensive diagnosis from experts, you are taking the responsibility for lives based on a specific situation you likely do not fully understand.
“But if what you’re expecting is a kind of all-the-time emotional tranquility, you just might be passing up something that is part of the human condition itself.”
That is a great and helpful point. It is easy to forget that our capacity for pain is part of our design. Numbing it could numb one of the means by which God causes us to yearn for Him.
Thank you, Dr. Moore, for your balanced and compassionate response. As the wife of one who strives to practice biblical counseling in his profession and the daughter of one who struggles with depression, I am all too aware of the distrust and/or criticism often leveled within the evangelical community by those who want to treat personal struggles either from a totally spiritual or from a totally physiological vantage point. I am also aware of the struggles of godly believers who feel they are failing God spiritually. We do live in a fallen world and experience within our bodies the evidence and consequences of that fallenness. While the Lord did not hesitate to address the sin problem, He did heal physical ailments as well–sometimes forgiving sin and other times telling his disciples that sin had nothing to do with the sickness in question. The challenge for us is to discern the difference so that we may not shoot our wounded.
@Fay Clark, Well said.
I see this issue constantly in my current pastoral ministry.
I serve a church in a rural community rampant with substance abuse. This context affects the perception of those living in our community and worshiping in our church. As pastor, I am also affected by this reality when counseling those seeking a pharmaceutical fix to any problem.
My recent counsel to a woman in our church on the issue of anti-depresants was not to pursue this avenue of treatment.
This counsel came because I knew her situation. She battles a past history of an abusive childhood and first marriage. However, the abusive life ended over 20 years ago. She is married to a wonderful loving husband. This her own confession. But she desires an instant end to her depression.
Anti-depressants are not intended to cure any problem. Yet they can be an aid in the healing process. Psychological and spiritual depression is the result of more factors than a chemical imbalance. Community influences are also a factor. A rural community struggling with many types of substance abuses convinces many who live in that community to seek a magic pill.
I totally agree with Dr. Moore’s response to this ethical dilemma among God’s people. The solution is never as simple as yes or no to medication. There are always other factors at play. But the goal is to become whole, not patched.
Turn to Christ. Not a temporary comfortable numbness.
@Bryant Owens, I’m disappointed that you counselled against taking medication.
I think that one of the points in the original article was that anti-depressants can help in the numbing of the pain of the depression. In order for your church member to be open to counselling, she may well have needed the anti-depressant. Just to cope. Please reconsider your counsel and speak again to the woman in question.
@Bryant Owens,
Andrew,
The counsel I gave was in the context of knowing of my congregate’s personal history and present. This is also a main point in Dr. Moore’s response to the Christian use of anti-depressants. Seek wise counsel from Christian friends and leaders and spend time with those who know and love you.
This woman is still very open to counsel. She is even more in love with Christ today than before. She is struggling with boughts of insecurity, but is growing in her new- found freedom in Christ.
Our church is excited to see her progress. So am I.
Thank you so much, Dr. Moore. I have been on anti-depressants on and off for the past 19 years, currently having been on them for 2 years, and I plan to stay on them. Thankfully, mine do not numb me, they just help me to not be what I call “psycho.” Staring-into-space, wanting to cry all the time depressed. I have wrestled with my depression for long enough that I know its contours, and I’ve had many a conversation with God about it. I know that it is chemical, and I know that my life is awesome, even when I’m in the depths of despair. When I forget to take it for a few days, I see the difference.
As a friend of mine once said to someone she counsels, “You’re in a 20 foot deep hole, and I only have a 10 foot long ladder.” Medicine can be a great aid in getting out of the hole and being able to see straight.
Thank you Dr Moore, this was a very good response.
I’ve had severe depression for years, and the distinctive symptoms mean it is clearly a biologically based depression. Thankfully, the latest round of medication seems to be helping.
I don’t think most people realise that severe depression is very dangerous and debilitating, and is very different to the depression many people often experience for a short time in response to grief. Christians who advise against medication for severe cases can be inadvertantly putting someone’s life in danger.
Responding to the person who has a shorter-term and less serious depression, that seems driven by psychology or circumstance, is a bit harder. The medication often helps, but counselling and time probably help the most.
The discussion of what we should expect from a ‘normal’ life is spot on. I’ve heard it said that the opposite of depression isn’t happiness, it’s vitality. I have a real difficulty seperating out what is the normal lonliness, sadness or anxiety versus more minor symptoms of depression. It’s quite clear its the depression when i lose all interest in everything, want to cry for no reason and spend most of my time staring blankely at the wall.
There’s also the problem of seperating out depression and walking away from God. The return of depression without fail temporarily destroys any sense of personal relationship, but on top of that i now realise i walked quite far away over the past year. Much of it is not within my control, but it’s hard to figure out what portion is my responsibility.
As a pastor who has been on a cocktail of anti-depressent medications since a MVA in 1991 I understand the struggle. I do believe that God can (and still does heal today) but trust in his sovereignty and timing. In the meantime my medications keep me functioning.
We are spiritual, emotional and physical beings and we need to treat all the parts of the body. I would no more counsel a Christian to stop taking their anti-depressants any more than I would to stop taking their blood pressure or diabetes medicine. Of course we must do what we can to bring healing in all areas of life including the requisite life style changes, counselling and deliverence where required, but when all is said and done, sometimes medication is required. God gave us doctors and medications for a reason.
I’ve struggled with depression for my entire adult life and I deeply appreciate this wise and balanced perspective. Thank you.
Helpful, I appreciate the thought that drugs can potentially cause you to miss out on signifcant, normal human experience (see Psalms) and the purpose of God in trials.
“Going without food, for example, or sleep will change the way one thinks or feels dramatically”. True, but didn’t Jesus 40 day fast and temptation happen sans drugs? and he remained perfect. If Christ being formed in us is God’s goal then it is possible for us, and our goal and calling, to be famished and not fretful or irritated, to be tired to our bones and not blame our failings and sin on sleep depravity.
I think the readers comment on ‘clinical depression’ is telling. These are newly developed terms and conditions as constructed by man. Who is the final arbiter of what the exact definition is? It will surely change as the years go by anyway. And, among the elites who set the ultimate terms, is determined devoid of any god let alone the God.
For Christians it is helpful if not vital to use Biblical terms - God’s diagnosis - in helping each other. God prescribes the ‘treatment’ for fear, anxiety, sadness, pain, anger, grief, selfish amtition etc. Some if not many of these are sins that need repentance. If you’re looking for help with ‘clinical depression’, as this is man’s diagnosis you’ll have to go to man for help.
I am not opposed to drugs, but i appreciate the toothache analogy. Use drugs to help with the pain, but as a temporary aid in the ultimate goal of rooting out the bad tooth. Usually if not always this involves repentance of wrong thinking and belief. Bring compassion and sympathy, but not as the end of the matter. The heart is ultimately the issue, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life”, et al. Our circumstances are not our master, they don’t determine a Christian’s response. This is evidenced by the widely varying responses to humans who go through the same tragic and terrible circumstances.
One man’s opinion, who believes “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness”.
@John S, I think your point about “clinical depression” is not valid. Diabetes was not diagnosed until the late 1800s. Would you also claim that it is not a legitimate disease? Feeling depressed and having clinical depression are very different things.
As a Christian recently prescribed anti-depressants, I appreciate the balanced perspective of this article. The toothache analogy is spot on. For a long time I tried to fight the depression without medication–exercise, counseling, spiritual reflection, and community. But when the symptoms became so debilitating that I was no longer able to “fight”, I knew it was time to call the doctor. I am an otherwise healthy individual and, therefore, did not have a general physician in this city. By the grace of God, the doctor who saw me was a fellow believer who understands the holistic nature of depression. After asking a series of relevant questions, he told me that he thinks depression stands on three legs that need to be addressed: stressors, chemicals, and the spiritual life. My responses indicated to him that chemicals were the primary concern and that he believed God could heal me but He would probably use medication to do so. In addition to writing a prescription, the doctor also prayed with me, recommended a John Piper book called “When the Darkness Doesn’t Lift”, and gave me some questions to discuss with God.
I am fully aware that not everyone has this kind of experience, and I am beyond grateful God showed His grace in such ways. That said, if there was some way I could photograph the difference in my thought patterns before and after the prescription, I would… just so those who are fortunate enough not to struggle could catch a glimpse of the difference between thoughts that defaulted to despair changing to thoughts containing a willingness to fight and glimmers of hope. It is incredibly difficult to fight a spiritual battle when every ounce of energy is required to shower or eat a meal.
I was diagnosed with depression in my teens, & so of & on I took an antidepressant for years. I mainly acted out my “depression” with anger, so anytime that I started doing so, I turned to the drug to “fix” me. When my darling husband, Michael, came along, he showed me that my anger was sin & I needed to confront it, not numb it. I got off the antidepressants, & with that realization - which for me has definitely proven true - I fight my sin with God’s Word & prayer rather than just covering it up with a drug. The underlying cause of my anger was my fourth-grade molestation by an uncle & how my father & his family dealt with it (blaming me & sweeping it under the rug). I went to counselors - even “Christian” counselors - for years & was never freed. Michael gave me a Mark Driscoll sermon on expiation & C.J. Mahaney’s book Living the Cross-Centered Life, both of which applied the Gospel to my situation & freed me! I learned from Mark that not only did Christ’s death cleanse me of my own sin, but also the sins committed against me (sexual abuse victims always feel dirty & at fault). I learned from C.J. that my own sin committed against our perfectly holy God was far worse than any sin someone committed against sinful me. Yet, God forgives me & loves me. Who am I to withhold forgiveness from anyone? I can’t tell you how clean I suddenly was, how free of the bitterness & hatred! No drug could ever have done that, it would have simply continued to numb me. I’ve never taken an antidepressant since.
Russ,
Great answer to one of the more common questions pastors get. I had a similar question and gave (virtually) the same answer just today. Thanks for providing excellent ministry through your blog.
My mother overcame depression and anxiety without medication, and has written a fantastic book about her experience and a practical guide to how she overcame through the Word.
It’s titled Released by Tina Thompson. Find it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Released-Tina-Thompson/dp/1607996537/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1330558132&sr=8-3
Often those going through depression can’t manage a 300-page technical tome on causes, medical jargon, and psychological terms. I pray this could help someone to understand depression and overcome it as she has. The book is compact, and highly practical so if you’re going through it, the book itself isn’t overwhelming.
This personal perspective makes all the difference, as she can empathize and give insight as to thoughts of those that are dealing with depression and anxiety.
I am an RN, a christian, and I felt compelled to comment on this article.
Let me clear up a misconception that seems to be circulating: anti-depressant medication does not “numb” anything or anyone, I don’t know where that came from or how anybody got that idea, but if your medication is numbing you then you are on the wrong medication. Antidepressants don’t work as an anesthetic, quite the opposite. The goal of medication is for the depressed person to regain functionality in daily life, and a lifting of negative thoughts, a renewal of interest in life, certainly not numbness. Antidepressants don’t make you “feel” any certain way.
It saddens me that people are still so hard on those who are trying so hard and still suffering, this is why depressed people suffer in silence and don’t seek treatment, because of the guilt and disapproval heaped on by others, most of whom have never experienced depression. It hurts to be invalidated, or worse blamed, for your suffering. Depression is real, I wish those of you who think it’s just complaining about normal ups and downs could know how it feels. Let’s try a little compassion.
@Debbie Blackburn,
There is certainly warrant for taking medication to counteract testable physiological problems. However, which testable physiological (or chemical) problem do antidepressants treat. I would respectfully ask if you’ve ever seen any antidepressant research that is not based entirely on theory.
With a thyroid problem, there is a test to determine whether or not a person’s thyroid is correctly functioning. Unless it has recently been found, all of my research has revealed that there are no such tests for so-called chemical imbalances.
Please don’t take offense at my comment, I just want to make sure we’re on the same page.
Depends if Advil, cough medicine and bandaids are permitted
Thank you so much for this post. I think you worded all of this very wisely!
Marquis de Sade: “The pleasure of the senses is always regulated in accordance with the imagination. Man can aspire to felicity only by serving all the whims of his imagination.”
I like your insightful writing. good work