Still Fizzling + Reasons to Be Optimistic . . . or Vexed

mental health monday

I'm still leaning on excerpts from my sectional at the LEA Convocation in Grand Rapids earlier this month. My title [admittedly pretty lame, but I thought it might pique some interest] was "Fizzling? Drop & Roll!" Among my goals? First, convince my audience that what some might think is a case of "burnout" might really be a case of clinical depression & why it might be crucial to distinguish between the two. A second goal was to examine the causes & symptoms of each. A third goal, which I will start to flesh out this week, involves "strategies" for addressing a case of depression.
      CAVEAT:  I am a victim & student of clinical depression [among a few other mood disorders] & a student, as well. However, I am NOT a mental health practitioner. A diagnosis & treatment plan is best left to a mental health therapist and/or doctor.
      SUB-CAVEAT:  My comments are  [bracketed]. Everything else is "sourced."

False & Destructive Narratives

• You aren’t praying or studying the Bible enough.
• You have insufficient or weak faith.
• God is causing tribulation to draw your soul to repentance.

      [MY COMMENTS:  These are false narratives constructed by other people about those who are depressed and/or constructed by those who are suffering from depression. They are destructive because:

1. They are false, so all they do is contribute to a depressed person's feelings of unworthiness, hopelessness, & helplessness.
2. They are destructive, because they are more likely to delay effective treatment than to encourage a person to seek effective treatment.
3. Furthermore, if you are suffering from clinical depression, your thought processes and/or feelings cannot entirely be trusted. That makes both these narratives & the following spiritual myths especially insidious.]

Spiritual Myths

The faithful shouldn’t become depressed.

• What about Moses? He had moments of despair en route to the Promised Land. 
• What about David? “How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts every day & have sorrow in my heart? Psalm 13:1-2a
• What about Elijah on Mt. Carmel? In the Wilderness? After God reigned down fire on Elijah’s offerings & he slew the prophets of Baal, he fled to the wilderness & wanted to die. 
• The faithful shouldn't become depressed? Conclusion:  FALSE! [Obviously nobody can diagnose these three pillars of faith with clinical depression, but if you go back & check my previous post(s) re:  symptoms, you'll find that they display some of those symptoms. I would also encourage you to do some digging in the OT to refresh your memories about these three. And, last but not least, is a reminder . . . this spiritual myth can also be considered a false narrative . . . & you can't trust your thought processes and/or feelings if you are suffering from clinical depression.]

Depressed people are being punished by God.

• What about Job? If God allowed Job to suffer in order to fulfill a godly purpose . . . 
• We can’t expect that we will remain free from suffering. 
• If God could sustain Job’s faith when assailed by Satan himself, He can surely sustain us.
• There is a difference between punishment & testing or godly discipline.
• Depressed people are being punished by God? Conclusion:  FALSE!  [There is one punishment for sin & that would be eternal damnation. What about death? That's a consequence of sin. Doubt me? You'll have to talk to your pastor about it, since he's more of a theologian than I am. God will allow us to be "tested," which sounds so much better than "disciplined." Keep in mind that "Disciple" & "discipline" have the same route. These tests serve to strengthen our faith as we turn to Him in Word & prayer. Second, check out the scriptural references which follow.

If you think you may be suffering from depression . . .                  

1. Make an appointment w/your pastor, a counselor, a physician to tell them what's been happening in your life. 
2. Let them know how many things have become very difficult for you & you don't seem to be getting better.
3. Try to follow their recommendations.
4. Arrange follow-up visits, especially if the symptoms of your illness are continuing to leave you feeling discouraged & defeated. [I'll include this list again & add to it again next time. Once again keep in mind that if you clinically depressed, you can't entirely trust your thought processes and/or your feelings, so it may be difficult for you to "force" yourself to follow these suggestions. This list is from mental health sources . . . NOT from Paul Leckband. I'll list some of my own strategies in a subsequent entry.]

Truth & Hope from Scripture

Romans 8:28

“And we know that in all things God works for those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” [Well, how do you know that you've been called according to His purpose? It has nothing to do w/the "divine call." Martin Luther would tell you that if you believe that Jesus is your Lord & Savior, you can be assured that you have been called to be a child of God according to God's own purpose. I learned that from reading a short version of Luther's Commentary on St. Paul's Epistle to the Romans.]

Romans 8:35, 37-39  

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword . . . No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  [This, along w/8:28 & verses in-between, was part of the text that Lois & I chose for our wedding. We have fallen back on this verse many, many times throughout our marriage--really, too many times to count.]

Sources

• Halloran, Kevin. “Christian Ministry Burnout, Prevention, Signs, Statistics & Recovery. leadershipresources.org, posted 10/22/13.
• Lukits, Ann. “Are Burnout & Depression the Same Thing?” Wall Street Journal on-line, 3/7/16.
• Yahnke, Dr. Beverly. “Depression:  Understanding the Pieces of the Puzzle.” Lutheran Hour Ministries brochure, 2013.

Some Reasons to Be Cheerful, Optimistic, Upbeat

Conversation between My 7-year-old Grand-daughter & Me at the Lincoln Lutheran Fall Concert Last THU 10/20):  ME:  Isn't the junior high band awesome? * HADLEY: Yeah! ME: What instrument do you want to play in band some day? HADLEY: The ukulele! ME:  Take a good look at the band . . . Do you notice that there aren't any ukulele's? HADLEY (after a slight pause, turns to her mother, my daughter Sarah, & says):  Mom, I want to go to another school that has a ukulele in the band!"

* My 12-year-old grand-daughter, a 7th grader, plays clarinet in the band **

** Also participating in the concert:  6th grade band & choir; middle-school choir; high school choir; high school marching band. KUDOs to the music department. It was an awesome concert!

From Omaha World Herald (10/21):  "Ice cream maker plans a large expansion in Le Mars. Ice cream maker Wells Enterprises plans a $40.5 million expansion that will create 81 jobs in Le Mars (Iowa) . . . " [There is no place like IA!]

From Lincoln Journal Star (10/22):  "An app to relieve your election stress. The final debate started relatively peacefully, at least by 2016 standards. But, by the end, you may have been watching w/fists clenched, stomach knotted, & heartbeat accelerated. You may have gone to bed w/emotions charged, your mind racing. And now you've woken up knowing talk about the election will be largely unavoidable.

      "Breathe . . . The good news is there are now guided meditations available for the sole purpose of calming your election stress. By now we've established that election-induced stress is a real & common phenomenon inflicting more than half of American adults & negatively impacting their work, their relationships & their health . . . So last week the meditation app 10% Happier enlisted several leading instructors to put together 'election emergency' meditations to offer tips & breathing exercises to help our stressed-out populace manage their emotions . . . "  [My strategy? Watching videos of charming baby raccoons & foxes on YouTube.]

Some Reasons to Be Grumpy, Anxious, Vexed

From Parade Magazine 'All the Answers' (Oct '16):  Q. Is my smartphone making me depressed? A. Our smartphones & tablets help us feel connected, but too much connectivity can contribute to stress & anxiety. This is especially true if your devices keep you connected to your job after you've gone home for the day . . . [DEPT. of IMAGINARY CONVERSATIONS:  Satan: Were you REALLY told not to pluck the fruit of the Tree of 24/7 Connectivity? Eve: I think so. Satan: But if you "taste the forbidden i-fruit," you will know what it's like to be omniscient. Eve:  OK. Adam: Me, too!] *
* I'm a blogger, not a theologian.

From OWH (10/18):  "Unintended consequence of password demands. A federal study finds that users overwhelmed by 'security fatigue' become more careless . . . "  [I don't like to brag, but I consider myself to be an expect in this field because of my extensive viewing of TV shows such as NCIS.]

From OWH (10/19):  "Cauliflower takes center stage as the new hot veggie. A curious popularity contest is putting the food-obsessed on the lookout for the next 'it' veggie. Popular obsessions have included chef Wolfgang Puck's now classic pairing of beets & goat cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, arugula, portobello mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, kale, Brussels sprouts &, most recently, cauliflower.
      "Cauliflower has been called the new kale, & many chefs on both coasts are serving it in a new hip incarnation known as cauliflower 'steaks" . . . [Those who shared a table w/Lois & me at the THU night banquet at the L.E.A. Convocation were privy to my favorite Brussels sprouts recipe. They really seemed to appreciate it. Here it is.]
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PAUL'S FAVORITE BRUSSELS SPROUTS RECIPE.

1. Empty one bag of frozen Brussels sprouts into a sauce pan & bring to a boil.
2. Use another smaller sauce pan to heat some cheese sauce. Use whatever cheese sauce "tickles your palate."
3. Throw away the Brussels sprouts.
4. Pour the cheese sauce on a bowl of nacho chips.
5. Enjoy!

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From LJS (10/22):  World wine output near 20-year low. World wine output may fall 5.3% this year because of excess rain that spoiled grape harvests in S. America & adverse weather in French vineyards, resulting in one of the smallest vintages of the past 20 yrs, according to an intergovernmental group . . . "  [I can neither confirm nor deny that this may seriously impact plans for a potential Hill Family Summer of 2017 Sister Bash.]

Ditto LJS):  "Evangelicals are more accepting of 'immoral' politicians. In just 5 years, white evangelicals have become much more likely to say a person who commits an 'immoral' act can behave ethically in a public role. In 2011, just 30% of these evangelicals said this, but that number has more than doubled to 72% in a recent survey . . . "  [This is a sad commentary on "white evangelicals." ] *
* ALTERNATE THEORY THAT MAKES JUST AS MUCH SENSE, PROBABLY MORE:  This is a phantom survey conducted by a quasi-scientific entity hostile to white evangelicals. I'm just sayin'.

License Plate Update

No doubt some of you were anxiously waiting to see if our road trip to Grand Rapids resulted in garnering the last three license plates needed to successfully complete our 2016 license plate "bingo" game. Sadly, it did not. We did NOT see license plates from the last three states we need to complete our "bingo" card:  Hawaii, New Hampshire.
      Our last hopes are riding on:

• Christmas shoppers and/or Big 10 FB fans swarming into Lincoln, NE, where I will be continuing to make trips to assist my daughter by providing limo service for my grand-daughters while my son-in-law is deployed;
• Christmas shoppers swarming into Norfolk, NE, because of the awesome Thanksgiving Day/Christmas sales; [Unlike Mall of America, Sunset Plaza has NOT announced that it will be closed on Thanksgiving Day.]
• Our planned road trip to TX toward the end of the calendar year.