Several of Jay Adam’s counselling case studies concern mental health and depression. Let’s have a look at a couple of them. First of all, we have Violet, a 54 year old lady who is suffering from depression and also has an undisclosed problem which she can tell only to God. Have a look at the… Continue reading Nouthetic Counselling and Depression
Tag: Depression
Is it burnout?
I’ve seen a few articles talking about burnout among those in church leadership over the past few weeks. These seem to be particularly in response to the experience of leaders through the COVID-19 pandemic which has in many ways amplified many of the challenges of Gospel ministry. One helpful contribution to the discussion was this… Continue reading Is it burnout?
Depression, sin and trust issues
I just wanted to pick up on something I’ve seen suggested a few times namely that depression is intrinsically sinful because it involves a lack or loss of trust in the Lord. I’ve seen this suggested in the context of medication -that you should be depending on God to heal you but I’ve also seen… Continue reading Depression, sin and trust issues
Should a Christian take anti-depressants?
One question I’ve seen raised so many times is about whether or not Christians should take anti-depressants. It’s fascinating because I rarely here the question asked about taking Ibuprofen, or going to the hospital to get your leg put in plaster if you break it. Yet, there seems to be some uncertainty about medication for… Continue reading Should a Christian take anti-depressants?
Why do we struggle to talk about pastors and depression?
A few years back I was asked to cover a couple of sessions for a ministry training course. One of the sessions was on “failure.” The request came with a couple of those expected awkward jokes along the lines of “we aren’t picking you for any specific reason.” Indeed, at the time, arguably I’d not… Continue reading Why do we struggle to talk about pastors and depression?
Your pastor has considered giving up
That’s perhaps not the headline you wanted to read is it? However, this is the challenging reality. At some point your pastor/vicar/elders have thought “I could just walk out the building after the service finishes, in fact, I could do it right now. I could shut the Bible, walk out and never come back here.”… Continue reading Your pastor has considered giving up
The other cost of COVID
Here’s this week’s podcast
The pandemic – faith and emotional health
Earlier this week, I shared the results of a survey that I had done among my twitter followers picking up on the impact of the pandemic. The survey showed that whilst quite a few people are able to talk positively about the impact on their spiritual health in terms of relationship to church family and… Continue reading The pandemic – faith and emotional health
A magnifying glass on my sin
Back in 2019 I was becoming increasingly irritable and snappy. I found that my patience was in short supply and that I struggled to find joy and delight in things. Perhaps it was no surprise then when towards the end of the year I found myself diagnosed with Mixed Anxiety and Depressive Disorder. Things had… Continue reading A magnifying glass on my sin
When did you last hear a pastor talk about mental health issues?
In my recent survey about application and what pastors talked about, I asked respondents to indicate whether or not they’d heard pastors address particular issues within the last 5 years. One issue concerned mental health. This is such an important subject to address within our churches because as we preach and pastor we are so… Continue reading When did you last hear a pastor talk about mental health issues?
