(Dr. Mullen will be speaking & ministering in Auckland (August 2); Dunedin (Aug. 5); Christchurch (Aug. 7) & Wellington (Aug. 9) 2008
Details on www.jubilee.org.nz/calendar.htm)
How common is Depression?
6 to 10% of the population are depressed at any given time. This very common condition is undiagnosed and untreated in eighty percent of its victims. Ten to twenty percent of women and five to ten percent of men will suffer from depression at some point in their lives. Depression is more common in women due to poorly understood genetically understood factors. It is also more common as people age. It is found in all races and social classes. It even occurs in those who are not stressed and are otherwise quite well.
Churches attract people with depression. Often up to 20% of the average congregation could suffer from this, because we run "seeker services" to attract people, but we then let them down by not knowing how to help them.
How can one tell Depression from Discouragement?
Depression is by far the most common form of mental suffering. It is however, a poorly defined condition which means different things to different people. We must be able to distinguish between the transient "Depression" of someone unhappy about a recent disappointment and the severe crushing despair of one who has for many years lost all interest in life. I choose to use the term "discouragement" for temporary mood fluctuations which would commonly be referred to as the "blues" and would never be considered an "illness". "Depression" is reserved for prolonged disorders of mood which require professional help. There is presently no blood test or X ray that will diagnose mental illness.
What causes Depression?
It is now well established that mental illnesses are usually the result of an imbalance in the chemicals associated with mood control. This tendency to malfunction is usually inherited. Symptoms may just appear without reason, or Depression may come as a result of stressful circumstances that bring out the inherited tendency to have a mood disorder. Depression is now seen as a physical illness needing and responding to medical treatment. Sometimes Depression just develops over years with no obvious cause, much like diabetes. The treatment of Depression is the same whether or not it was triggered by stress.
What are the symptoms of Depression?
Depression has a very wide variety of symptoms and each individual shows a different pattern. Generally speaking, these people have been sad for prolonged periods without obvious cause. They have lost interest in most activities of life which previously gave them pleasure. They feel defeated, useless, hopeless, unable to pray, punished by God and unworthy of anyone's love or God's forgiveness. They may feel that God has left them or is no longer listening to them due to unknowingly committing the "unpardonable sin." They consider themselves to be a failure as a Christian or as a person. Plagued by guilt they condemn themselves for not being able to "snap out of it". Some have increased irritability and will attack everyone around them as the likely cause of their unhappiness. They find it hard to relax or ever feel content. There is a diminished interest in sex or any kind of intimacy.
Depressed people often have great difficulty falling asleep due to persistent and uncontrollable racing of unpleasant thoughts or worried through their mind. Concentration on work, pleasure or reading becomes impossible while struggling with the continuous stream of unpleasant and depressing thoughts which cannot be kept out of the mind. Fatigue becomes overwhelming in eighty percent of depressed people. The onset of depression is often during the teen years, but at that time the symptoms are dismissed as just an "adolescent phase." Depression affects every part of our ability to think and feel. It clouds our personality and changes how we interpret events and how we relate to others.
How does Depression affect Pastors?
An untreated depressed pastor can cause serious damage to a church and to his own ministry. He will likely label his symptoms as "burnout" and may blame it on the congregation, his spouse or superiors. Most often he will blame himself for sliding into a spiritual valley where prayer and Bible study becomes very difficult.
Pastors are very reluctant to seek help from fellow ministers due to embarrassment, so they suffer in isolation. If there is mood instability, they may act impulsively and slip into sin. This will then put them under discipline. They will likely then leave the ministry in personal disgrace. This sequence of events can be easily prevented if depression is recognised and treated early.
Why are Christians so difficult to treat?
Mental health problems are poorly understood by the public. The Christian population is not only equally uninformed but we have created our own explanation for the cause and treatments of mental illnesses. It is assumed that since spiritual symptoms are present, then there must be a spiritual cause and that the spiritual treatment will always work. If it doesn't, then the victim is blamed for inadequate faith or motivation. Christians don't realise that depression is the only medical condition with spiritual symptoms.
Christians are very reluctant to seek medical help with their moods since they perceive that this is an admission that they "don't have enough resources in God" or that "the Cross isn't enough". This is sometimes reinforced by well-meaning friends or pastors who intensify their guilt. It is also thought that no medical treatment could ever help a spiritual problem so it would be an insult to God to accept such treatment. Christians need to understand that treatment won't undermine their faith nor override their will. Antidepressants are not "mood-altering drugs" nor are they addicting. It is quite permissible for Christians to take them. Medications are a part of the recovery process along with Pastoral counselling, praying for healing and personal devotions.
Remember when eye glasses were first introduced? They were very effective treatment for blurred vision, but they were not well received by the public since people had no idea that they themselves had blurred vision and could be helped with glasses. Those who tried the glasses couldn't believe the improvement and wished that they had started wearing them years before. Their vision became normal but they had to live with the stigma attached to wearing glasses.
Now we are dealing with problems of "blurred" thinking, which are invisible to an observer. Even the sufferer doesn't know that he is not thinking as clearly as he should be. None of this information replaces a proper evaluation by a physician or counsellor but it will assist in the evaluation process. END
Endorsements for Dr. Mullen:
"Delightfully clear, transforming insights, salted with refreshing humour. We praise God for this message, filled as it is with the Holy Spirit's power, will leap… to effect healing and deliverance." - Dr. John & Paula Sandford (Elijah House)
"Grant Mullen is seeing the Holy Spirit move in healing power among those who have some to him with various mental health problems. God has enabled him to combine sound medical practice with the power of God." - John Arnott, (Senior Minister, Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship.)
"Dr. Mullen offers a prescription for the body, soul and spirit. We need both the church and the hospital, the pastoral counsellor and the medical doctor. You will be helped as he shares how you too can be physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. He confronts two extreme views that cripple our chances of recovery. One extreme is to place all our hope in medication for resolving our emotional problems. The other extreme is to believe that taking any medication is a lack of faith in God. That is why I am so excited about Dr. Grant Mullen who is by profession a medical doctor. Not all doctors are trained or even willing to look beyond their scientific discipline to seek a holistic cure for their patients. If our psychological problems had a physical origin, then medication along with a balanced regime of nutrition, exercise and diet is the proper prescription. Medication can be helpful and in some cases essential in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. It is very difficult to process biblical truth in extreme cases of fear and anxiety until the physical symptoms have been reduced through medication. The alleviation of human suffering by legitimate medical means administered in the name of Jesus, is truly an act of mercy." - Dr. Neil Anderson (author & pastor)
Dr. Grant Mullen's website is www.drgrantmullen.com
6 to 10% of the population are depressed at any given time. This very common condition is undiagnosed and untreated in eighty percent of its victims. Ten to twenty percent of women and five to ten percent of men will suffer from depression at some point in their lives. Depression is more common in women due to poorly understood genetically understood factors. It is also more common as people age. It is found in all races and social classes. It even occurs in those who are not stressed and are otherwise quite well.
Churches attract people with depression. Often up to 20% of the average congregation could suffer from this, because we run "seeker services" to attract people, but we then let them down by not knowing how to help them.
How can one tell Depression from Discouragement?
Depression is by far the most common form of mental suffering. It is however, a poorly defined condition which means different things to different people. We must be able to distinguish between the transient "Depression" of someone unhappy about a recent disappointment and the severe crushing despair of one who has for many years lost all interest in life. I choose to use the term "discouragement" for temporary mood fluctuations which would commonly be referred to as the "blues" and would never be considered an "illness". "Depression" is reserved for prolonged disorders of mood which require professional help. There is presently no blood test or X ray that will diagnose mental illness.
What causes Depression?
It is now well established that mental illnesses are usually the result of an imbalance in the chemicals associated with mood control. This tendency to malfunction is usually inherited. Symptoms may just appear without reason, or Depression may come as a result of stressful circumstances that bring out the inherited tendency to have a mood disorder. Depression is now seen as a physical illness needing and responding to medical treatment. Sometimes Depression just develops over years with no obvious cause, much like diabetes. The treatment of Depression is the same whether or not it was triggered by stress.
What are the symptoms of Depression?
Depression has a very wide variety of symptoms and each individual shows a different pattern. Generally speaking, these people have been sad for prolonged periods without obvious cause. They have lost interest in most activities of life which previously gave them pleasure. They feel defeated, useless, hopeless, unable to pray, punished by God and unworthy of anyone's love or God's forgiveness. They may feel that God has left them or is no longer listening to them due to unknowingly committing the "unpardonable sin." They consider themselves to be a failure as a Christian or as a person. Plagued by guilt they condemn themselves for not being able to "snap out of it". Some have increased irritability and will attack everyone around them as the likely cause of their unhappiness. They find it hard to relax or ever feel content. There is a diminished interest in sex or any kind of intimacy.
Depressed people often have great difficulty falling asleep due to persistent and uncontrollable racing of unpleasant thoughts or worried through their mind. Concentration on work, pleasure or reading becomes impossible while struggling with the continuous stream of unpleasant and depressing thoughts which cannot be kept out of the mind. Fatigue becomes overwhelming in eighty percent of depressed people. The onset of depression is often during the teen years, but at that time the symptoms are dismissed as just an "adolescent phase." Depression affects every part of our ability to think and feel. It clouds our personality and changes how we interpret events and how we relate to others.
How does Depression affect Pastors?
An untreated depressed pastor can cause serious damage to a church and to his own ministry. He will likely label his symptoms as "burnout" and may blame it on the congregation, his spouse or superiors. Most often he will blame himself for sliding into a spiritual valley where prayer and Bible study becomes very difficult.
Pastors are very reluctant to seek help from fellow ministers due to embarrassment, so they suffer in isolation. If there is mood instability, they may act impulsively and slip into sin. This will then put them under discipline. They will likely then leave the ministry in personal disgrace. This sequence of events can be easily prevented if depression is recognised and treated early.
Why are Christians so difficult to treat?
Mental health problems are poorly understood by the public. The Christian population is not only equally uninformed but we have created our own explanation for the cause and treatments of mental illnesses. It is assumed that since spiritual symptoms are present, then there must be a spiritual cause and that the spiritual treatment will always work. If it doesn't, then the victim is blamed for inadequate faith or motivation. Christians don't realise that depression is the only medical condition with spiritual symptoms.
Christians are very reluctant to seek medical help with their moods since they perceive that this is an admission that they "don't have enough resources in God" or that "the Cross isn't enough". This is sometimes reinforced by well-meaning friends or pastors who intensify their guilt. It is also thought that no medical treatment could ever help a spiritual problem so it would be an insult to God to accept such treatment. Christians need to understand that treatment won't undermine their faith nor override their will. Antidepressants are not "mood-altering drugs" nor are they addicting. It is quite permissible for Christians to take them. Medications are a part of the recovery process along with Pastoral counselling, praying for healing and personal devotions.
Remember when eye glasses were first introduced? They were very effective treatment for blurred vision, but they were not well received by the public since people had no idea that they themselves had blurred vision and could be helped with glasses. Those who tried the glasses couldn't believe the improvement and wished that they had started wearing them years before. Their vision became normal but they had to live with the stigma attached to wearing glasses.
Now we are dealing with problems of "blurred" thinking, which are invisible to an observer. Even the sufferer doesn't know that he is not thinking as clearly as he should be. None of this information replaces a proper evaluation by a physician or counsellor but it will assist in the evaluation process. END
Endorsements for Dr. Mullen:
"Delightfully clear, transforming insights, salted with refreshing humour. We praise God for this message, filled as it is with the Holy Spirit's power, will leap… to effect healing and deliverance." - Dr. John & Paula Sandford (Elijah House)
"Grant Mullen is seeing the Holy Spirit move in healing power among those who have some to him with various mental health problems. God has enabled him to combine sound medical practice with the power of God." - John Arnott, (Senior Minister, Toronto Airport Christian Fellowship.)
"Dr. Mullen offers a prescription for the body, soul and spirit. We need both the church and the hospital, the pastoral counsellor and the medical doctor. You will be helped as he shares how you too can be physically, mentally and emotionally healthy. He confronts two extreme views that cripple our chances of recovery. One extreme is to place all our hope in medication for resolving our emotional problems. The other extreme is to believe that taking any medication is a lack of faith in God. That is why I am so excited about Dr. Grant Mullen who is by profession a medical doctor. Not all doctors are trained or even willing to look beyond their scientific discipline to seek a holistic cure for their patients. If our psychological problems had a physical origin, then medication along with a balanced regime of nutrition, exercise and diet is the proper prescription. Medication can be helpful and in some cases essential in the treatment of depression and anxiety disorders. It is very difficult to process biblical truth in extreme cases of fear and anxiety until the physical symptoms have been reduced through medication. The alleviation of human suffering by legitimate medical means administered in the name of Jesus, is truly an act of mercy." - Dr. Neil Anderson (author & pastor)
Dr. Grant Mullen's website is www.drgrantmullen.com