Depression & Psychotropic Medication

"Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect (Romans 12:2 NLT),"

I talked with a client recently who was again in deep despair. He was again suffering from depression and went on--at length--about his life situation which he perceived as hopeless. His perspective--at the time--could be summarized in one sentence: "I got no future."

To be sure, he has plenty of problems: No money. No job. On parole. And more.

However, it was only about a month earlier when he felt a lot different: "I feel happy," "I haven't felt this good in a long time." 'It's a miracle . . ."

There was no change in his life situation. Everything was the same. Except one thing: During the earlier session his psych meds were working. And later, those same psych meds had stopped working.

This client has spent his entire life using drugs--legal and illegal--to medicate his depression. When they work, this client often enjoys his life--even if he is living on the street. When the drugs are ineffective or unavailable, he is usually in despair. He feels that, apart from drugs, he is powerless over his depression.

He feels powerless because he has never learned to discipline his thinking. He has never learned to control his depression by taking "every thought captive to the obedience of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB),"

He has never had to learn. Drugs and alcohol have always been available. And they provided instant relief.

Learning to control your depression by changing the way you think is often a slow, difficult and painful endeavor. Like a toddler learning to walk. The pain is an essential part of the learning process.

As Christians, the Bible says that we can be successful in this endeavor. The same is not necessarily true in respect to non-believers.

I don't want to say that psychotropic medication is never appropriate. That would be an overstatement. Even the Bible seems to suggest that one psychotropic agent--alcohol--is appropriate in some circumstances (Proverbs 31:4-7).

Alcoholism is a huge problem and the above scripture should be construed narrowly.

However, the point is this: To overcome depression, you need to control your thinking. It is extremely difficult--if not impossible--to really learn to do this when you are--at the same time--taking psychotropic medication.