Godly Resources for Dealing with Depression (Week 2)
While I write this during the week of October 4-10, our country is raising cognizance of mental health issues with Mental Illness Awareness Week. Last week, I shared a resource examining how depression (or other mental illness) is not sinful. Living in a world broken by sin brings brokenness. Living with bodies and minds affected and infected with sin leads to brains and bodies not functioning the way they were created to function.
Depression is common in people of all ages, races, gender identities, and socioeconomic status. According to the 2017 report from the National Institute of Mental Health, depression affects approximately 17.3 million people in the United States every year. In 2018, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that approximately 1.9 million children (ages 3–17) in the U.S. had been diagnosed with depression.
Doctors and psychiatrists who treat individuals with depression look at four major factors: biological factors, environmental factors, social factors, and lifestyle factors. I will share information on the first two this week and the other two next week.
Biological Factors
In playing card games, you learn to play with the cards which you were dealt. There are some factors, like genetics, that you don’t have control over. Some risk factors for depression are rooted in biology. Researchers know that people who have family members who are depressed are more likely to become depressed. But having a family history of depression doesn’t mean you will experience depression in your lifetime. There are still other factors that have to line up in order for a genetic predisposition to result in depression. One link in the genetic picture which has helped is ongoing improvement in understanding brain chemistry.
Researchers don’t agree on precisely how brain chemicals relate to depression, but the connection has been discussed for many decades. Some established theories suggest that low certain levels of neurotransmitters (which the brain cells use to send signals to each other) could cause depression. Other researchers have proposed that being depressed causes low levels, rather than it being the other way around. The relationship may even go both ways.
What is known is that some people with depression feel better when they take medications that work on these neurotransmitters. Sometimes, one medication does not have the effect a doctor or psychiatrist was hoping. So, they work with their clients to find a medication that does help.
Researchers are convinced that medications are often not enough. Focusing only on biological factors may not be enough, in large part because some people with depression don’t feel better even when they take antidepressants. This has helped researchers focus on other factors which may be involved.
Environmental Factors
Environmental factors also appear to play a role in the development of depression in some people. One prominent environmental factor is a child experiencing trauma or abuse at an early age. In fact, it is one of the most well-studied depression risk factors. Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are known to increase a person’s lifetime risk of developing both mental and chronic physical illness, including depression. Research into ACEs is ongoing, but previous studies have confirmed a strong link between specific childhood experiences and depression later in life. The CDC groups ACEs into three types:
Abuse: Physical, emotional, sexual
Household Dysfunction: Domestic violence, divorce, substance use, a parent who is mentally ill, a parent who is incarcerated
Neglect: Physical, emotional
An individual’s ACE score is strongly linked to their risk of mental and physical illness, poverty, and even early death. Risk increases as the number of ACEs increases and a person with four or more ACEs is at the highest risk. Researchers believe that child abuse may change the brain physically, as well as alter its connectivity structure. Studies have also shown that neuroendocrine function may be altered in people who experienced high levels of stress as children. A 2019 study from the Massachusetts General Hospital has even proposed that traumatic experiences in the first three years of life may even change a child’s DNA.
The good news is that primary shareholders who interact with children who have higher ACE scores can help ameliorate some of the negative stressors they are experiencing. Parents can learn ways to help their children cope with trauma responses. Teachers and school administrators, guidance counselors can have a positive impact on them by providing a safe space and teaching their students helpful coping skills for stress. In addition, Health and Human Service personnel can equip foster families to understand the needs of children who have higher ACE scores. Psychologist and therapists who are trained in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy can help children heal from the traumas and abuse they have experienced.
Another common environmental factor is where a person lives. People who live further from the equator experience colder and darker winter months. Some people who live in these regions report that they become depressed during these months of the year, called seasonal affective disorder (SAD). There are also studies that cite pollution and other environmental exposures as potential contributing factors to depression. For example, some research has linked lead exposure in childhood to poor mental health later in life. In another study, children who grew up in areas with poor air quality appeared to be more likely to be depressed or be diagnosed with conduct disorder by the time they turned 18.
The good news is that you can control some of your environment. Your environment can also be an asset to your mental health. Research has shown that spending time in nature can help people cope with depression, and an international study that came out in 2019 found that kids who spent time in nature – even in winter months – had better mental health as adults. God has given us a way to tap into what He has created for our good.
Next week, we will focus on the other two factors which can impact individuals dealing with depression.
See you next week right here at the intersection of faith and mental health.
Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Chad Wright