Holistic Christian Depression Treatment Lesson 12 Biblical Therapy & Psychotherapy

BIBLICAL THERAPY FOR DEALING WITH DEPRESSION 

Believe that You will See God’s goodness

David declared that “I would have lost heart if I had not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (Psalm 27:13)

Therefore when dealing with depression or a depressing situation, you have to believe like David that you will see God’s goodness while you are still alive. 


You have to believe that you will see and experience God's goodness here on earth so that you do not drown in despair. Therefore, cling onto this hope filling thought regardless of how depressing your situation may be and even if you don’t know how God will bring it to pass.

Note that, to be able to cling to the thought that you will see God’s goodness while you are experiencing badness in every area of your life, you have to believe that God can turn negatives into positives. 

Believe that He can transform your depressing situation into a beautiful one and strengthen your belief by reminding yourself of the numerous Biblical where He turned a depressing negative situation into a positively uplifting one.

A perfect example to draw on is when He turned Joseph’s negative situation after being sold into slavery by his brothers and then imprisoned after Potiphar’s wife falsely accused him of attempted rape into a positive one when Pharaoh appointed him to be the Prime Minister of Egypt. Joseph later declared his brothers that “You meant it for evil, but God turned it around for good.” (Genesis 50:20)

Learn also from Mordecai whom powerful Haman planned to murder because he did not stand or tremble before him (Esther 5:9) but God turned his situation around and Haman instead was hanged on the fifty cubits high gallows that he had erected to hang Mordecai. (Esther 7:10)

Therefore, when dealing with depression, live believing that God can turn your negative situation into a positive one regardless of how depressed you may be or how long the depressing situation has persisted in your life.

PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR DEALING WITH DEPRESSION 

Visualization

Visualization can help you manage depression because it helps you imagine your depression-free future after your current depressing situation has lifted.

For example if your current life events such as the loss of a job are depressing you, imagine yourself at a future date living depression free in financial abundance. See yourself living in the villa of your dreams, hear yourself being congratulated for doing your dream job exceptionally well, smell the interior of your opulent car and feel the pleasure of using your abundant resources to help others coursing through your veins.

If severe depression symptoms and the dark cloud of gloom in your mind are making it difficult for the sun rays of a depression free future to shine through, help yourself by cutting out magazines pictures portraying the kind of life you would love to live and paste them on a board or a book so that you can look at them everyday to reinforce the images of a depression-free future in your mind.

You can also make an online vision board by buying stock images or copying them from Creative Common websites and pasting them on your own online vision board. Make it a habit to look at it every day as you check your email so as to reinforce those images in your mind.

Visualize your vision until it becomes “real” to you because if you can visualize it, you can believe it and if you can believe it then you can receive it and if you can receive it, then you can live it.

After believing that you can receive your vision of a depression free life, Write the vision and make it plain so that he may run who reads it. (Habakkuk 2:2) Write down your vision on paper so that you can mentally “run” towards it as you physically work towards it.

ACTIVITIES FOR DEALING WITH DEPRESSION

1. Every morning and every evening and every time the problems of your depressing situation attempt to overwhelm you declare that “I believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” (ADP Psalm 27:13)

2. Help yourself believe that you will see the God’s goodness before you die by creating an online or offline vision board by pasting the images or pictures that represent a depression free good life to you on a folder or book or board and look at them every day. Drink in those images until they become your second nature.


3. Read more on the the Christian perspective of dealing with depression from these resources:
Christian Answers
Christian Depression
Got Questions?


4. Click here to read Lesson 13

 

Christian Depression Stress Management