HOLISTIC CHRISTIAN DEPRESSION TREATMENT LESSON 9 BIBLICAL THERAPY & MEDICAL THERAPY

BIBLICAL THERAPY FOR DEPRESSION
Confess your Sins

Confession of sins is very important in the treatment of depression since guilt is one of its causes. 

We can see that unconfessed sin is bad for mental health because when David committed adultery and murder, he said “When I kept silent, my bones grew old because of my groaning all day long because Your hand was heavy upon me and my vitality was turned into drought of summer” (Psalm 32:3-4) 

Therefore, confess all your sins to God, ask Him to forgive you and receive His forgiveness. Learn from David’s situation that if you confess, God will forgive you. 

Forgive yourself also, apologize to the people you hurt and compensate them in whatever way possible for any damages they may have incurred.

After you have forgiven yourself and paid your dues to society, disregard condemnation from all sources. 

Ignore people who will try to condemn you with their words and deeds and each time they try to remind you or anyone else of your past sins, say to yourself, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1) 

Do not also receive condemnation from yourself in the form of self accusing thoughts so that you can forget all those things which are behind you and reach forward to those things which are ahead. (Philippians 3:13)


Pray the following confession prayer to help you fight depression:

Have mercy upon me, O God according to your lovingkindness.

According to your many tender mercies blot out my sins.

Wash me thoroughly from my sins so that I can be whiter than snow because I acknowledge my sins which are always before me.

Forgive me for I have sinned against You and done these evil things.

Help me to hear joy and gladness so that I may rejoice.

Create in me a clean heart O God and renew a right spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from your presence or withdraw your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore unto me the joy of salvation and uphold me.

Deliver me from guilt and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness. 
(Adapted from Psalm 51)

MEDICAL THERAPY FOR DEPRESSION
Aerobic Exercise 

Aerobic exercise is very important in the management of depression because it has been shown to be just as effective as prescription antidepressants in some cases of depression. 

Aerobic exercise also results in the release of endorphins which raise a person's spirits and help them feel better.

Therefore, choose an aerobic exercise that you enjoy and exercise even if you don’t feel like exercising for 30 minutes each day. 

If you currently don’t enjoy any form of exercise, force yourself to take at least a 15 minute walk each day. Then up the ante and begin jogging, sprinting, dancing, swimming, playing basketball or exercising to an aerobic exercise DVD in the privacy of your home.



ACTIVITIES
1. Ask God to forgive you all your sins each morning and then meditate on, “There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” to remove all residual guilt from your mind. (Romans 8:1)

(NB If you are not in Christ Jesus, all you have to do is to Say with your mouth that “Jesus Christ is Lord” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead and you will be saved. (Romans 10:9) 

(NB Forgive those who have offended you because Jesus said we should pray asking God to Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors. (Matthew 6:12) 

2. Take a 15-30 minute brisk walk each day of your life. 

Be creative so that you can fit it into your lifestyle for example you can park your car in the slot that you can find so that you can take a brisk walk to your work place each day or alight from public transport one stage before your usual stage so that you can walk the rest of the way or if you work at home find an excuse to leave the house each day for example to buy a newspaper so that you can take a brisk walk to and from your errand.




3. Click here for Lesson 10


NB These therapies are to be used to complement treatment from your doctor and not to be use as substitutes for medical treatment.

Christian Depression Stress Management