Battling the Shadows: Pt #3 - The Hidden Risk Factors of Depression: A Christian Perspective

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Introduction to Depression Risk Factors

Speaker 1 0:00

Resilient Solution Shortcast , episode 70 , christians and Depressions Part 3 . I don't know about you , but sometimes , when I'm listening to the news or watching TV or listening to media , it seems like the entire world is depressed and in need of medication . I often feel like sometimes we've accepted the medical model that suggests that depression stems from a neurological imbalance and that medication is the only solution . Well , recent research has showed us that it may not necessarily all be a neurochemical imbalance , but research also shows us there are a list of additional factors that could be risk factors for having a major depressive episode , and that's what I'll be talking about today . Hello , my name is John Thurman and you're listening to my podcast , john Thurman's Resilient Solution Shortcast , where I help you become more resilient in your personal life , in your relationships and in your faith . Let's jump right in . Thanks for joining me today . Why , hello , this is John Thurman and thanks for joining me today .

Speaker 1 1:02

Today we're in our third part of the series on Christians and depression , and today I'll be sharing some information about additional risk factors . Do you know that when we look at depression , there's a whole series of things that can contribute to it ? It's not just a neurochemical imbalance . It can be a host of other things , and first of all , I'd like to start off and just share three of the broad risk factors ,

The Three Ps of Depression

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the three Ps . I like to call them . First is the predisposition factors . Those encompass components of your background that may increase your risk of depression . These might include your genes , the genetic makeup , your upbringing , your personal history , your socioeconomic background , faith influences , culture , recent events , overall health , diet , exercise just a whole host of things . And some of these factors are changeable , while others are not . The second broad risk factor category are precipitating factors . These refer to psychological , spiritual and emotional and physical triggers that could lead to depression , such as trauma , stress , chronic illness , just a whole host of things . And then the third one are perpetuating factors . Now , these are different from the other two because they can occur after these other events or in the context of these other types of factors . An example of this would be someone who's a heavy drinker or drug user , or even a heavy marijuana consumer . The dominant effect of alcohol and marijuana on the brain is really more depressive than anything , and , if left unchecked , this combination can create a vicious cycle in which you feel more depressed . And so the more depressed you feel , the more you use the medication or drug , the more depressed you feel . So you just take more of the medication and end up in this crazy circle . So be careful . And for the next few minutes I want to review some other risk factors .

Insomnia and Chronic Illness

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The next one is insomnia . That's right . This is such an overlooked part of our makeup and our practices that really has a huge impact on us . Now , most of us occasionally have some issues falling asleep . If you don't believe that , watch television for an hour in the evening and see how many sleep aid ad comes on . However , when a person misses several nights of sleep , they not only can feel out of sync with life , but they can begin to have some psychological manifestations of it . We know that the longer you lose sleep , the more severe and less tolerable your symptoms become . I put a couple of links in the show notes and in my blog on the five stages of acute sleep deprivation , also a link to Doc Parsley's website . He is a former SEAL , a medical doctor who specializes in sleep . He's got some really good information in those links .

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So number one is insomnia . Number two is chronic illness . For countless people , chronic illness and depression are brutal facts of life . A chronic condition is a condition that lasts a long time and usually cannot be completely healed , although some can be controlled by diet , exercise , good sleep , hygiene , appropriate medication . Some examples of chronic disease can be diabetes , heart disease , arthritis , kidney disease , hiv , aids , lupus and a whole host of other autoimmune issues .

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The next risk factor is you may have a depression-prone personality

Depression-Prone Personalities

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. Now , at this point , don't do an eye roll or a deep sigh , just realize that personality types are highly inheritable . An individual with a depression-prone personality may have inherited a strong predisposition to status anxiety . While these findings might discourage some people , a person , any person , can learn to adjust their attitude , adjust the way they think and the way they feel and the way they receive the world and the way they live their life . So if this sounds like you , don't disparage , don't feel down . Realize that some of it's just in your genes , but you can take some kinetic measures to overcome that .

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The next risk factor

Four Types of Loss

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is grief and loss . For many , grief and loss involve intense emotions we'd prefer to avoid . However , it's completely natural to experience some of these things when we've lost someone , when we've lost a pet , lost a job . That's just part of the process of grief . These reactions are really important . They're a critical part of processing and recognizing the significance of loss in our life . Good grief work includes identifying our losses by experiencing intense emotions that are associated with those losses .

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Several years ago I was exposed to Dr Archibald Hart . Dr Hart was an innovative Christian psychologist who had done a lot of work in grief and integrating biblical principles and psychological principles . In his groundbreaking book Unmasking Male Depression , which was a huge help to me when I was dealing with some of these issues , indicated that loss can be a significant cause of depression . Based on his research and studies and clinical experience , he notes we typically encounter different types of loss and most of the research suggests that depression can stem from these losses . He breaks them down into four different categories . You want to check the show notes on this , but when I was dealing with my depression these were golden .

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The first type of loss he talks about is a concrete loss . That loss is really tied to something that occurred in real world history . It has a time and date of a specific loss . That's a concrete loss . Maybe a parent passed away a pet , you lost a job . You can go back to your calendar and remember that day , so that's a concrete loss .

Speaker 1 6:30

The second type of loss is what he calls an abstract loss . These losses are usually related to a concrete loss . It's abstract because it's nothing you can specifically touch or remember in detail . You can feel it nothing you can specifically touch or remember in detail . You can feel it but you can't touch it . When I hear someone talk about losing a pet , losing a parent , I can recall the pain I felt when I lost my first dog , yeller . Yes , we had a dog named Yeller . You can guess what movie that came out of . And that type of loss is a loss that's described more abstractly . It's a feeling , it's a thought , it's an impression , but it's all part of normal grief . But it's different than concrete loss . It might be you walk into a home and some smells in that home remind you of your grandparents . Or you see someone with a pet and it reminds you of your pet , any type of association there . It's not concrete but it's connected . The good news about that is , as you acknowledge and understand those abstract losses , you can grieve them . So the concrete losses and the abstract losses you can process .

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The next two are where we get into trouble . The third type of loss are imagined losses . An imagined loss involves all those thoughts and regrets about what , if only if Thoughts like if I'd done this or if I'd only done that . This form of loss is challenging because nothing can be changed about it . It drains you dry , it steals your energy without offering any resolution and , while it's an emotional burden , it's something you really can't grieve . It just steals your energy and distracts you . The fourth type of loss is a threatened loss , and the threatened loss is what happens if you don't deal with the imagined loss . It's a huge what if ? That can occupy your mind , steal your time and represents a potential issue , because it's a loss that may or may not happen . For instance , if a man discovers a lump on his neck , he may undergo a biopsy , but while he's waiting for the results of the biopsy , his mind can go all sorts of places . He could be planning his funeral or getting real depressed . So just be aware that we have the concrete loss , the abstract loss , which you can grieve and work through , but you really need to be on guard with the imagined losses and the threatened losses , because those are time stealers and resource stealers .

Speaker 1 8:50

A couple of things I'd like to share with you . Grief is personal , it's unique , it's like a thumbprint . There is no nice easy transition to grief . There are no easy five steps . It's not linear , it's confusing , it's messy and it's like a thumbprint . So , as you're processing loss in your life , don't let anybody tell you how you need to do it . It's something that's very unique , because grief is unique , the loss is unique . It's your loss .

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In this episode I've reviewed a few of the risk factors for depression that Christians might face . In the next podcast , I'll go a little bit deeper as we'll talk about additional factors that can impact depression , including trauma , stress and anger and resentment

Grief Is Personal and Unique

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. So be sure you check in next week . As I'm wrapping up today , I'm thinking about one of my favorite verses and it's found in 2 Corinthians , the first chapter , verses 3 and 4 . And this is from the ESV . It says Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ , the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort . That's an important verse . So as you work through grief and loss issues , don't do it alone . Remember the Lord is with you and there

Closing Thoughts and Scripture

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are people who can walk with you through that at your church and support groups . And while it's important to do some grief work by yourself , don't let that grief work overwhelm you . There are tons of resources in your church and the community of faith that can help you work through that .

Speaker 1 10:28

Thank you so much for joining me today . Remember to join me next week as I share some additional risk factors for depression , which include trauma , stress , brain injury and anger and resentment . That'll be the final look at some of the risk factors and in the weeks following I'll give you some practical tools that you can use to get better . I am author and therapist , john Thurman . You can learn more about me at my website , johnthurmannet , and I want to thank you once again to join me today . It really means a lot to me that we can spend a little bit of time together , and my hope and my prayer is that something I say , some ideas I share , will give you encouragement and hope . And as I close out today , let me just remind you this is a day that the Lord has made and I'll make a choice to rejoice and be glad in it . Thanks so much for joining me . God bless . We'll see you next time . Thank you .