This book by Sarah Collins and Jayne Haynes is a short overview of the challenges Christians face when struggling with, or knowing people who are struggling with, depression. I bought it because since mid-October I've been going through a fairly mild but still unpleasant bout (yes, that is the main reason why my blog's been fairly dry over winter - sorry) brought on mainly by prolonged unemployment and exacerbated by my lifelong insomniac (and somewhat neurotic) tendencies, and this seemed like a good resource. I can attest that it was, but not as immediately helpful as talking openly to close Christian friends, and even more importantly, praying, about the issues I was facing. Other books have also been huge helps, primarily Emily Dickinson and Søren Kierkegaard, writers who express joy and beauty in more accessibly poignant ways than almost anyone else I've ever encountered: perhaps because a constant self-aware love of God lay at the heart of each of their efforts as poet or philosopher.
Anyway, I should probably say something about this book. It's a decent resource - overviews the basics of depression, its diagnosis, treatment, and particular problems that it may pose for Christians who may perceive it as spiritual as well as psychological; the writers take us to the Psalms, where comfort in sorrow can be found, and remind us of some solid gospel truths to keep in mind or speak to those suffering from depression. Each chapter closes with a Christian's account of their struggle with depression and how it affected their faith, or how others encouraged them: similarly, there are appendices recounting a pastor's efforts to disciple a sufferer, a husband's account of his wife's suffering, and an in-depth story of a first-hand struggle (told by Roger Carswell - a great man, he's written dozens of Christian mini-books like this one, and is an old friend of my dad's).
I think this book could be an excellent little resource for equipping churches to better engage with depressed persons, but if you are actually depressed and struggling to fit that into your Christian worldview, this could be helpful but probably isn't the book you need: there are plenty of others out there, but honestly, I would recommend you turn instead to God's word itself. Oh, and talk to people - I know that can be hard, but hopefully Christians are getting better at picking up clues about mental health, and they'll be there to initiate, include, and encourage you.
Anyway, I should probably say something about this book. It's a decent resource - overviews the basics of depression, its diagnosis, treatment, and particular problems that it may pose for Christians who may perceive it as spiritual as well as psychological; the writers take us to the Psalms, where comfort in sorrow can be found, and remind us of some solid gospel truths to keep in mind or speak to those suffering from depression. Each chapter closes with a Christian's account of their struggle with depression and how it affected their faith, or how others encouraged them: similarly, there are appendices recounting a pastor's efforts to disciple a sufferer, a husband's account of his wife's suffering, and an in-depth story of a first-hand struggle (told by Roger Carswell - a great man, he's written dozens of Christian mini-books like this one, and is an old friend of my dad's).
I think this book could be an excellent little resource for equipping churches to better engage with depressed persons, but if you are actually depressed and struggling to fit that into your Christian worldview, this could be helpful but probably isn't the book you need: there are plenty of others out there, but honestly, I would recommend you turn instead to God's word itself. Oh, and talk to people - I know that can be hard, but hopefully Christians are getting better at picking up clues about mental health, and they'll be there to initiate, include, and encourage you.
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