Dealing with Depression

I. depression: a. The condition of being depressed in spirits; dejection. b. Psychol. Freq. a sign of psychiatric disorder or a component of various psychoses, with symptoms of misery, anguish, or guilt accompanied by headache, insomnia, etc. II. Preliminary thoughts. A. Depression is a reality of life that even great men and women of God might go through. B. Depression may be a short-term or long-term problem but need not be permanent. C. Depression...

IV. As a pastor, I try to be careful to not make clinical diagnoses beyond obvious cases (e.g. “Not only your nagging hangover headaches but perhaps even your depression might be tied to your alcohol overconsumption since alcohol is a known depressant.”), nor take hard-line binary approaches to treatment protocols that might include a special therapy, prescription drug or OTC medication. This is not to say that I might not make some cursory observations based upon years of...