Faith: January 2017 Archives
Robin Williams, Suicide, Depression, and Evil Spirits | RedState
Dan McLaughlin writes: "At the opposite end of the scale, however, it is perilous and maybe more harm than good to reduce depression strictly to a question of chemistry.... It's actively dangerous to tell people their problems are just a matter of chemicals, then give them drugs and tell them it will all be OK, when it actually won't and they may feel like they have just lost the only hope there was. It's dangerous to tell people they have no free will in the face of depression, when they do - when the thing they need most is to have it pressed into their brains that no matter how dark things get, there is always help, always hope. Depression is a sickness of the soul, and the fact that we can diagnose its physical manifestations doesn't change that.... The mind and the soul are complex things. But while depression is a disease, it's not just a disease, and combating it is a matter of treating a person, not treating a disease alone."
McLaughlin quotes Ben Stein: "In my own life, I have found that prayer, intense rest, fresh air, and above all, 12-step programs for helping persons who want to get off the suicide express before it reaches its final destination in hell, work miracles. I have never known a person injured by prayer. I have never known a person driven to suicide by going to 90 meetings in 90 days and maybe 180 meetings in 90 days....I carry with me a gift from a friend who said it had saved his life many a time. It is a simple piece of paper that reads, "NOT TODAY." It has brought me peace and salvation many a time. Anyone can get through just one more day and by tomorrow you might feel completely different."
