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wrong results in negative or depres–
sive feelings.
Unresolved resentment, bitter–
ness, jealousy, envy or anger leads to
feelings of loss, hence to depressed
feelings. "Envy is rottenness to the
bones," correctly states Scr ipt ure
(Prov.
J
4:30).
For such sins one needs to ask for
forgiveness from God, and others
you have offended. T hen set your
values right and resolve not to do
them again.
Though many do not believe in
evil spiritual forces-Satan and a
host of fallen angels (demons)- they
do exist and they do influence the
minds and att itudes of unwary
humanity. No wonder so many psy–
chiat r ists and t heir patients don' t
understand sorne of their negative
moods or attitudes! (See Ephesians
2:2-3.)
Scripture warns: "For we wrestle
not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the
darkness of this world, against spiri–
tual wickedness [wicked spirits,
margin] in high places" {Eph. 6:12,
AV).
These evil spirits place damaging
and negative moods and feelings in
vulnerable or unwary human minds.
In sorne weakened persons, they
implant impulses to want to give up
on life and end it.
Physical Causes
Overwork, prolonged mental stress,
anxiety or fear may drain our men–
tal and physical energy levels. Gone
are the needed strength and reserves
to cope with life and its problems.
Physical and mental exhaustion
may take weeks or years to develop.
But they eventually can t ranslate
into mental energy ru ndown- a
feeling of being unable to cope.
Improper nutrit ion can gradually
set one up for depression. Too many
refined sugars, starches or fats in
the diet , or other unbalanced nutri–
tion, can weaken the body's physical
endu rance, mental alertness and
abi lity to handle problems or stress.
Allergic reactions to certain foods
or chemical substances in one's
environment can also produce men–
tal dullness or depressed feel ings, or
irritation and agitation.
Proper sleep, diet and exercise
are necessary to help avoid fall ing
November
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December 1984
into depressed states of mind. Prop–
er rest, food and creative act ivity are
needed to help a depressed person
come out of his or her condition.
Creative activity or achievement,
even if it must s tar t out small,
should be encouraged for depressed
pe rsons. O ne depressed person
fou nd putt ing puzzles togethe r
helped her gain self-esteem. Find–
ing cor rect puzzle pieces helped her
rebuild a sense of accomplishment
and success. It is necessary to build
up, a step at a time, a depressive's
sense of worth and accomplishment
again. Accomplishments should be
pointed out positively to depres–
sives, because in their depressed
att it ude they may downgrade even
things they can accomplish.
Here is another important, but
comforting, piece of knowledge:
Many deeply depressed persons
feel they have totally lost al l their
former skills and abilities, hence
are total failures. This is a mislead–
ing feeling caused by the depres–
sion. Unfortunately, it viciously
adds fue! to feelings of hopelessness
and futility. But the skills and abil–
it ies are really still there! They will
return as the person recovers from
depression, as he or she reorders his
or her life with positive values and
attitudes.
It is important for recovery that
depressives keep moderately active
mentally and physically. Resist the
temptation to sleep excessively or
totally withdraw socially.
A lthough many don't realize it,
boredom is another endogenous
stress. T he human mind and body
were created to need a modest
amount of healthy var iety and stim–
ulation to feel alive and maintain
equilibrium. With increasing age
the body slows down. Age-appro–
priate act ivity and exercise are
needed by all.
Boredom is the absence or dull–
ness of stimulation and feeli ng.
Boredom produces apathy, lethar–
gy, loss of sense of worth and of
positive feelings about oneself.
Cont inua! boredom will set one up
for a depression. Many of the
symptoms of boredom and depres–
sion are similar, only the intensity
may differ.
This tragedy of boredom is vir–
tually engineered in many areas of
modero life-such as homes for the
elder ly, pr isons for the criminal and
bleak residential quarters.
Drugs and alcohol are often used
to tranquilize the resulting pain or
to fill the emptiness. Yet the pain
and sufferi ng will not
be
truly alle–
viated without an exciting, worth–
while goal or purpose in life. What
is needed is a life fi lled with faith
and hope for growth in the futu re.
Drug/ Health Factors
Depressive feelings can be induced
by cer tain drugs, abuses of alcohol,
improperly working bodi ly func–
tions or viral infections. This is
called
toxic depression.
Wrong use of certain drugs
needs special emphasis. Many
depressives take barbiturates, sed–
atives, tranquil izers or alcohol–
drugs that depress the central ner–
vous system- to alleviate their suf–
fe r ing. Sorne doctors prescribe
such drugs for vague physical com–
plaints not realizing that the prob–
lem is not physical-the person is
emotionally depressed. Biochemical
responses are already depressing
t he depressive's central nervous
system. T hese d rugs may alleviate
cer tai n pain or suffering temporar i–
ly, b ut in the long term t hey
depress the brain and nervous sys–
tem even more. T his causes even
less ability to salve underlying
problems with right responses.
There are other physical causes
of depression. Imbalances in hor–
mone production can also cause
depressive feelings. This may hap–
pen from malfunctioning pitui tary,
adrenal, thyroid or other glands.
Adolescence- the onset of puber–
ty-sparks hormone changes that
make sorne youths more prone to
emotional upsets, to sadness or
mi ld anxiety.
Menstrual, post partum (after
birth) or menopause hormonal
changes sometimes produce nega–
tive moods.
Diseases such as d iabetes, hypo–
glycemia, t hyroid illness, mono–
nucleosis, infectious hepatitis, a
heavy touch of the fl.u or other poor
health conditions can be responsi–
ble for sorne depressive feel ings.
Because a wide variety of such
conditions exist, anyone suffering
from prolonged depressive feelings
should seek a thorough physical
examination to see to what extent
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