The Dark Truth about Depression

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12-14, 2:18-23; Luke 12:13-21

            I am part of a small group that meets every Monday afternoon.  We’ve been meeting for about six years.  During the pandemic shutdown, we met on Zoom.  There were eight of us until two weeks ago when one moved to Florida to be closer to his children and grandchildren.  It is an intentional group.  We formed for the purpose of having friends to grow old with.  We don’t try to impress each other.  We’re all past that stage in life. We simply practice friendship.  We laugh a lot.  We talk politics, religion, books, relationships, sports.  And then we laugh some more.  As the one who moved to Florida once said, it is a life-giving group.

But sometimes we have a gathering like this past Monday. 

One of the men in the group—I call him my brother from another mother—

 is going through a lengthy depression.  He’s getting help and is slowly improving.  He is 70 years old and says he has never been depressed.  Until now.  He explained to us this past Monday what he thinks is the cause of his depression and how it affects him.  Soon after his retirement, President Trump was elected.  My friend is not a Trump supporter, and he began to despair about the direction of our country and the fragility of our democracy.  Could we really lose our democracy?  What about his children?  And grandchildren?  What kind of country are we leaving them?  My friend was a pastor, and he is also concerned about the future of the church.  It’s like people who do not really hold Christian values have hijacked the church and are using it for their political purposes.  We’re in the third year of the pandemic.  It's not the way he planned to spend his retirement.  On top of all this, his wife has had some health problems.  It all converged to create a perfect storm for my friend, and it led him to a dark, lonely place.  He lost interest in many of the things he used to enjoy.  I’m grateful for him and our group that he did not lose interest in our Monday gatherings. 

He will tell you he has experience the dark truth of depression.

            Some of you will listen more intently today because you too know the dark truth of depression.  According to the American Psychiatric Association, one in fifteen adults (6.7%) will experience depression in any given year.  One in six adults (16.6%) will experience depression in their lifetime.  While depression can occur at any age, onset is often in one’s late teens or early twenties.  Women are more likely to experience depression than men.  Some studies show that one-third of women will experience a major depressive episode in their lifetime.  Studies also suggest there is a high degree of inheritability.  If your parents were prone to depression, you likely will be too.

            Medical professionals have identified four risk factors for depression.  The first is biochemistry.  Certain chemicals in the brain contribute to depression.  The second is genetics.  As I said, depression can run in families.  A third risk factor is personality type.  If you have a low self-esteem, are easily overwhelmed by stress, or have a pessimistic outlook, you are more likely to experience depression.  The final risk factor is environment.  If you have continuous exposure to violence, abuse, neglect, or poverty, you too are more likely to experience depression.

            Now, let me make this clarification.  While depression often includes feelings of sadness, not all experiences of sadness are depression.  Here are some other symptoms of depression: loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed, changes in appetite, trouble sleeping or sleeping too much, loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or guilt, difficulty thinking and making decisions, and thoughts of death or suicide.

            Here’s some good news.  Most depression can be successfully treated.  Eighty to 90% of people with depression respond to treatment. Almost all gain some relief from their symptoms.  If you are experiencing depression, ask for help.  Start with your physician.  I’ve included phone numbers in our worship guide where you can get help.

            I doubt the writer of Ecclesiastes had a Monday afternoon support group.  I jokingly tell people not to read the book of Ecclesiastes on Mondays or rainy days.  It’s too dark.   Here’s how he begins: “Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities!  All is vanity.”

            The word “vanity” could be translated as “emptiness.”  Some suggest the words, “vapor” or “breath.”  Emptiness of emptiness.  Everything is emptiness.  Some say that is how depression feels.  Everything is empty.  The writer of Ecclesiastes goes on to say that he was king over Jerusalem.  From that place of privilege, he studied all the things that men and women do under heaven.  We work. We marry.  We rear children, form friendships, worship, and grow.  He studied it all, and here's his conclusion: “It is an unhappy business that God has given to human beings to be busy with.”  It’s all vanity, he said, everything, emptiness, like chasing after the wind. 

            Then he looked back at the work of his lifetime, all his toil under the sun.  He had given his life to that work, poured his soul into it. But he had to acknowledge the day would come when he would have to turn his work over to another, and that man may be a fool.  All his toil under the sun might be enjoyed by a fool who did not toil one moment for it.  “This,” he said, “is vanity and a great evil.”

            Here’s his final assessment:

What do mortals get from all the toil and strain with which they toil under the sun?  For all their days are full of pain, and their work is a vexation; even at night their minds do not rest.  This also is vanity.

            The writer of Ecclesiastes clearly was in a dark place.  Did he meet the criteria for clinical depression?  We don’t know for certain, but it surely seems possible.

            Here’s a problem.  Depression has become stigmatized, shrouded in secrecy and shame, as if it is a personal weakness.  As a result, some people suffer in silence and choose not to get help.  And, unfortunately, the church hasn’t helped.  Depression isn’t a spiritual weakness.  It’s not something we pray away.  Depression should no more be stigmatized than heart disease or diabetes.  We must recognize it as an illness that requires specific treatment.

            I came across a sermon recently written by a friend of mine who was a pastor in metro-DC back when I served up there.  He was a gifted preacher.  He’s retired now.  This particular sermon was an acknowledgement to his congregation of his own depression.  He titled the sermon, “The Abyss: Up Close and Personal.”  It’s painfully honest.  He compared his depression to standing on the rim of the Grand Canyon for the first time.  There was an emotional suction, he said, that pulled him closer to the rim, inviting him to leap over the edge.  And there was a like force at his back pulling him away from the rim.  This is what he told his congregation:

Those who have stayed around the Grand Canyon for any length of time have discovered that once they have adjusted to the pulls and tugs, they then can go down into the Canyon, explore it, learn from it, and have an even greater appreciation for it.  The only way really to appreciate and know the Grand Canyon is to travel through it. 

The only way out of depression is to travel through it.

            Three verses from 2 Corinthians 4 helped my friend.  This is what Paul writes there:

But we have this treasure in clay jars, so that it may be made clear that this extraordinary power belongs to God and does not come from us.  We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed.

            We are clay jars, Paul says, subject to being broken.  The strongest among us is still a clay jar, subject to being broken.  We are human beings.  As human beings, we are vulnerable to affliction, being crushed, and all the other troubles Paul identifies.  But here’s the good news: we don’t have to be destroyed.

            If you are feeling depressed, remember this.  You can be beautiful and depressed.  You can be successful and depressed.  You can be young and depressed.  You can have everything going for you and still be depressed.  Depression happens; don’t let it destroy you.  If you are feeling depressed, there is help and hope.  Most people respond well to treatment.  And don’t underestimate the power of friends.  It could be one or two or eight.  People you’re not trying to impress.  People with whom you can talk and be honest.  Here’s the truth about depression.  It can be dark.  It can be lonely.  And, it can be beaten.

Closing Prayer 

            Lord, you made us to be clay pots.  As such, we break.  Make us whole again.  Amen.