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Well, as someone who experienced clinical depression in short bursts a couple times in my life, quickly dissipating after meds for about 3 weeks, I can relate. It’s been my Church experiences that have plunged me personally into that level of depression. Nothing else — not the diagnosis of my son, not the problems in my marriage (although they have at times, been a close second), not even job loss, huge financial losses and other issues that have hit me over time, or even those failures you have in your life pursuits that hit us all. It’s been the Church and its constant demands on our time and our resources, and the strong conscience it breeds in individuals — Freud’s super-ego if you will…. However, I think many people have the power to get past that — to the extent my experience is generalizeable to others.
It comes from recognizing our own dispositions/personalities, life situation, priorities and then — getting on your own personal clock. Ask yourself what you REALLY THINK about the way your life needs to be for happines — indepdendent of any shoulds that may have been taught at Church, or furthered even by the GA’s. Are they right for me at this point in my life? In my portfolio of roles (parent, temporal provider, church member, hobbyist, other roles) what is the optimal balance for me right now, given my circumstances?
Certainly, we have to start out “black and white” on certain issues, and that will lead to certain non-negotiables, but there is much wiggle room — for those brave enough to claim it as their own.
And that, in my experience, is what it takes to kick church-facilitated depression out of your life.
Brown wrote:Perhaps the depressing thing is not being LDS, but having to live with us!
Yes, it could be depressing!
I used to live in a predominantly Jewish community, but I never felt excluded or looked down on for not being Jewish.
I was never considered or called a “
non member.” One convert told me she hated that term.
Brian Johnston wrote:I could see a cultural reason, perhaps. We have so many other “comfort” foods and beverages forbidden, Mormons in Utah may gravitate more towards the fewer remaining outlets for stress, anxiety and depression. There’s no WoW prohibition against taking medicine prescribed by a doctor. So there’s that and … chocolate. Unless people starting hitting the really hard stuff like Diet Coke
😆 Once, as a kid, I accidentally ordered Mountain Dew and started drinking it (not knowing it had caffeine) & you would’ve thought my sister was having a nervous break down – she freaked out so much!
Quote:I could see the statistics being skewed by only looking at prescription anti-depressants.
Stats were gathered by the US CDC to show that Utah’s use of anti-depressants is TWICE the national average.Two Studies Find Depression Widespread in Utah:
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/MindMoodNews/story?id=4403731&page=2#.TzcQ18jhdDk “The MHA study evaluated information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, each of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., and factored in suicide statistics to determine each state’s “depression status.”
SamBee wrote:I was talking to a friend yesterday who gets money from the government for his mental illness, and he said I was worse than him! He reckoned I was manic depressive. I suspect some kind of autism, but who knows. I have tried to go to the doctor about this, but they perscribed me nothing.
You mentioned you can be escentric…
SamBee, Do you think you struggle with Polarized thinking… it’s (life or how you feel about it & yourself) is either tip top great…. or in the dumps rock bottom?
Feel free if you want to pm me to sort your thoughts or get feedback.
DevilsAdvocate wrote:Featherina wrote:…I don’t think it’s just the LDS church’s distorted teachings… it’s many religions’.
I read that
it’s estimated that up to 80% of mental illnesses are rooted in misunderstandings of Judaic or Christian doctrines…The bible has been worded specifically to keep people submissive – with fear & shame – so the powers that be can continue their power. I’m not sure what to think about this idea. For one thing I have heard many psychologists completely disagree with each others’ conclusions so I don’t know if it’s a good idea to read too much into any one mental health study or report. Also, even if this claim is true how many people are classified as mentally ill compared to everyone else (probably less than 15%)? Maybe a small minority react badly to common religious teachings but to the majority that like religion they are mostly comforting and actually make them feel better overall than they would otherwise. Personally I think that even if there was no religion a similar number of people would typically find something else to be depressed or obsessed about in an unhealthy way but if they talk about religious ideas some people will automatically associate their problems primarily with religion.
You’re being a good Devil’s Advocate, DevilsAdvocate.🙂 You can find almost whatever you want to find in studies… much of which are began with a goal of specific findings in mind.
There are studies that show religion helps people – (esp. with community – which is considered to be most helpful in curing/preventing depression).
There was a study that showed religion had potential to help or harm, depending on how one interprets & applies it.
Then of course, there are many factors that contribute to mental health (ie depression or happiness) besides religion: diet, exercise, sun exposure/vitamin D, social connections, genetics, age, hormones (ie pms/pregnancy), experiences (trauma) etc…
Still… the general trend of Utah (which is mostly LDS) is that Utah is TWICE the national average in anti-depressants.
We don’t have to get all depressed about that, but to deny or ignore it isn’t going to help.
SilentDawning wrote:Well, as someone who experienced clinical depression in short bursts a couple times in my life, quickly dissipating after meds for about 3 weeks, I can relate. It’s been my Church experiences that have plunged me personally into that level of depression. Nothing else — not the diagnosis of my son, not the problems in my marriage (although they have at times, been a close second), not even job loss, huge financial losses and other issues that have hit me over time, or even those failures you have in your life pursuits that hit us all. It’s been the Church and its constant demands on our time and our resources, and the strong conscience it breeds in individuals — Freud’s super-ego if you will….
However, I think many people have the power to get past that — to the extent my experience is generalizeable to others.
It comes from recognizing our own dispositions/personalities, life situation, priorities and then — getting on your own personal clock. Ask yourself what you REALLY THINK about the way your life needs to be for happines — indepdendent of any shoulds that may have been taught at Church, or furthered even by the GA’s. Are they right for me at this point in my life? In my portfolio of roles (parent, temporal provider, church member, hobbyist, other roles) what is the optimal balance for me right now, given my circumstances?
Certainly, we have to start out “black and white” on certain issues, and that will lead to certain non-negotiables, but there is much wiggle room — for those brave enough to claim it as their own.
And that, in my experience, is what it takes to kick church-facilitated depression out of your life.
I like the basic idea to give oneself permission to reevaluate all beliefs… some internal cleaning!Manic depression (bipolar) runs in my family. There are stories of a great grandmother of mine that every winter about this time of year would leave the family she loved very much for the California coast for several months to receive some relief from the seasonal affective disorder (SAD) that she knew would trigger a depression cycle. No coincidence that threads like this are often are started and discussed more openly this time of year IMHO:) Today I have three siblings that are medicated with many of the traditional medications these studies are discussing. Only one of them has remained marginally active in the church. The problem being…. the way I see it is that the use of MIOA and SRII (even when perfectly prescribed) leave the individual with a feeling of numbness as they stunt emotion (both the highs and the lows). In turn the lack of feeling leaves you less receptive to the spirit by way of emotional apathy toward all things: including the plight of servicing the needs of your fellow man (really the only true core value of the gospel). As a younger sibling I then realized the biology had not escaped me either, but understandably looked for other avenues of relief. I spent many years bulimic as the increases endorphins of that act I found out later were assisting in regulating my serotonin levels. That was great for some many years until my dentist called my out seeing the beginnings of enamel decay. The depression I felt after this meeting with him was overwhelming because I knew I could not continue….and all other “church sanctioned” methods of relief were off the table for me because I could not go down the road of the prescribed emotional apathy- IE space case SRII’s. That emotional numbness would defeat the purpose of remaining in the church I felt. I instead chose a rout that Brian (BTW consistently my favorite poster- thank you for all you do) alluded to in his earlier post of little less than legal route of medication (well technically only a few miles from legal as the state lines have been currently drawn). I remain very active in the church and am by far the most well-adjusted, balanced and successful sibling in my family. I of course cannot hold a temple recommend at this time but I never give up hope that either that the FDA trials of Sativex will be adopted…. or I will get a job transfer:) Excellent insights, SoG. Thank you so much for sharing. I appreciate these thoughtful comments. Depression is an issue that deeply affects my family. We are dealing with some severe issues relative to meds and withdrawal from meds right now. I don’t have much time to write right now, but I do think that some things in the church and in LDS culture, while perhaps not causing depression, tend to deprive us of tools to deal with many issues that could help.
I will post more extensively in the thread asking about the new For Strength of Youth pamphlet (which does exist and which my daughters have now), but I want to post here that the section about “Physical Health” has been changed to be about “Physical and Emotional Health”. The part about emotional health says (bolding mine): Quote:“Your emotional health is also important and may affect your spiritual and physical well-being. Disappointment and occasional sadness are part of this mortal life. However, if you have prolonged feelings of sadness, hopelessness, anxiety, or depression, talk with your parents and your bishop
and seek help. In all aspects of your life,
seek healthy solutions to problems. Do all you can to safeguard your physical and emotional health so that you can fulfill your divine potential as a son or daughter of God.” Overall, almost without exception, I really like the changes I’ve seen thus far – and this section is my favorite.
Featherina wrote:SamBee, Do you think you struggle with Polarized thinking… it’s (life or how you feel about it & yourself) is either tip top great…. or in the dumps rock bottom?
Definitely, although some of the time I just feel numb to everyone and everything.
Featherina wrote:You’re being a good Devil’s Advocate, DevilsAdvocate…You can find almost whatever you want to find in studies… much of which are began with a goal of specific findings in mind…There are studies that show religion helps people – (esp. with community – which is considered to be most helpful in curing/preventing depression)….There was a study that showed religion had potential to help or harm, depending on how one interprets & applies it….Then of course, there are many factors that contribute to mental health (ie depression or happiness) besides religion: diet, exercise, sun exposure/vitamin D, social connections, genetics, age, hormones (ie pms/pregnancy), experiences (trauma) etc…Still… the general trend of Utah (which is mostly LDS) is that Utah is TWICE the national average in anti-depressants…We don’t have to get all depressed about that, but to deny or ignore it isn’t going to help. That’s what I’m here for; I like to second-guess and consider alternative possibilities. In this case, I don’t doubt that Utah had more prescription antidepressant use than other states but the real question is what does this statistic mean and how do we know this? For example, does this really prove that practicing Mormons in Utah are more depressed on average than non-Mormons in states like Colorado, Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana or could it be that some of the people here are just more likely to go to the doctor and get a prescription than in other states? It sounds like Utah is above average for prescription drugs in general, not just antidepressants. Some of the other states at the top of the list for antidepressant use mentioned in articles about this were Oregon and Maine but if it was mostly related to religion in general then I would have expected to see states in the Bible belt over these two.
Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think the LDS Church contributes to depression in many ways it shouldn’t in an ideal world and that having a high concentration of active Mormons in one place can be especially unhealthy to some individuals that are already susceptible to severe depression but I just don’t know that the level of prescription drug use really proves that much by itself. I would be interested to see statistics on depression in Utah broken down to show if those that are depressed are Mormon or non-Mormon, how often they attend church, what age group they belong to, if they are married or not, how many children they have, if they have callings and temple recommends, etc. I keep seeing the statistic that supposedly up to 70% of the people in Utah are still Mormon but the truth is that many of these reported Mormons are mostly non-religious people that rarely go to church (if ever) and they don’t really have much to do with the LDS Church and its doctrines anymore.
SamBee wrote:Featherina wrote:SamBee, Do you think you struggle with Polarized thinking… it’s (life or how you feel about it & yourself) is either tip top great…. or in the dumps rock bottom?
Definitely, although some of the time I just feel numb to everyone and everything.
Meds? Ignore if it’s too personal.
SamBee – another personal question you can pass on if you want: where are you from? You’ve mentioned a different culture, so I’m curious.
DevilsAdvocate wrote:…Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think the LDS Church contributes to depression in many ways it shouldn’t in an ideal world and that having a high concentration of active Mormons in one place can be especially unhealthy to some individuals that are already susceptible to severe depression but I just don’t know that the level of prescription drug use really proves that much by itself. I would be interested to see statistics on depression in Utah broken down to show if those that are depressed are Mormon or non-Mormon, how often they attend church, what age group they belong to, if they are married or not, how many children they have, if they have callings and temple recommends, etc. I keep seeing the statistic that supposedly up to 70% of the people in Utah are still Mormon but the truth is that many of these reported Mormons are mostly non-religious people that rarely go to church (if ever) and they don’t really have much to do with the LDS Church and its doctrines anymore.
I’m with you on that. I’d also like to see stats that are more broken down.
I don’t know if we’ll ever get such detailed stats, though, especially about depression.
I imagine there are more (like me) who never get prescribed anti-depressants but are depressed.
In some ways, Utah is great – but if you live in the majority of rural areas… where everywhere you turn someone is LDS… & then you have concerns about the church/religion… it can be a very lonely place.
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