Our women's brunch in February featured a discussion on anxiety led by Harriet Warf of Journey Counseling, and included Grace members Cara Kidd and Bobbie Dill. These ladies all had some follow-up thoughts, specifically on the topics of depression, medication, and panic attacks. We hope their words below will encourage and comfort you, as each woman has a unique perspective on these difficult topics.
From Harriet:
At the women’s brunch, we (the panel) addressed anxiety, looking into God’s Word for His ways, His guidance in coping with this difficult disorder. While our time was brief that day, there is much more that can be said about it and Pastor Don has given us the opportunity to speak to several other subjects related to anxiety.
As mentioned that morning, anxiety is a constant fearful state, accompanied by a feeling of unrest, dread or worry and the person experiencing it may not be fully aware of the source. However, some people have what is an even more frightening feeling, that of panic attacks, which cause symptoms of feeling out of control, difficulty breathing, choking, fainting, feeling paralyzed, and they have a sense of “impending doom”. When this happens many people go to the ER as the symptoms resemble a heart attack. If they are occurring repeatedly, professional help (medications and therapy) are recommended. Panic attacks can be debilitating and overwhelming, but help is available.
Medications often play an important role in coping with anxiety, panic attacks and also in depression. Sometimes depression results from life circumstances, such as trauma or grief, and a person can feel listless, have little motivation to do everyday things, cease to care about things that were once important or pleasurable, feel sad, tired, and want to sleep too much.
Feelings of hopelessness prevail, however, there is help, and all someone has to do is to realize that they do not want to continue to live and feel that way. There are so many different medications available and once begun, can give someone the ability and the energy to take further steps in their life and to address the past, or the present, or the grief or the hopelessness that they are experiencing.
As a Christian counselor, I have seen hundreds of people benefit from medications, therapy and encouragement from God’s word.
I am available for all of you here at Grace Community Church.
Harriet Warf MA, LSW
From Bobbie:
Depression has several faces but all types can rob us from experiencing the abundant life that Jesus offers us. Web MD lists these potential symptoms of depression: Difficulty concentrating or making decisions, fatigue, feelings of guilt, worthlessness or helplessness, memory lapses, feeling pessimistic or hopeless, sleep difficulties, irritability and restlessness, loss of interest in activities once pleasurable, overeating or appetite loss, aches or pains, cramps or digestive problems, sad, anxious or “empty” feelings, thoughts of suicide. Sadly many people suffer from depression and Christians are not exempt. There are numerous “causes” but depression is NOT the result of a bad attitude or lack of strength of character! In a small percentage of cases depression has a medical cause such as problems with the thyroid, anemia, sleep apnea, brain injury, or even medications we take. This is why it is important to check in with your doctor if you begin to feel depressed. Your doctor will do some tests and encourage you to follow a healthy lifestyle such as getting enough exercise and sleep and eating a Mediterranean type diet.
Some other possible causes of depression are prolonged stress, poor relationships, or faulty thinking about issues in our lives. To understand why it is usually not possible to “just get over it” it helps to take a look at how our brain works. God designed our brain for relationship with Him and each other as well as to be able to fulfill His purpose for us here on earth. There are five major areas of the brain that make us uniquely human and, if functioning properly, can help us conquer depression and live life above our circumstances. These five brain regions are:
Prefrontal cortex – The Supervising Boss
Basil Ganglia – The Anxiety Center
Deep Limbic system – The bonding and mood control center
Anterior Cingulate – The Gear shifter (dubbed “neurological heart” because it gets us in touch with God)
Temporal Lobes – The Memory and Mood Stabilizer
When these five areas of the brain are unable to work correctly, depression and/or anxiety may result (depression and anxiety actually occur together 70% of the time). For instance if we are polluting our mind with negative thoughts every cell in our body is affected in a negative way. “He is always putting me down”, “I’ll never get a raise”, "No one will ever call me”. This is where counseling can be so helpful in freeing us from the negative automatic thoughts that lie to us, adding to the constellation of symptoms known as depression and anxiety. If we do not get support and help with depression and anxiety our body will often begin to “speak “to us. A host of stress-related symptoms may appear to make our lives even more difficult. These symptoms can show up in the form of frequent headaches, disturbances in the GI track, muscle tension, or chest pain. Many times people will be amazed that some of these stress-related symptoms will begin to disappear when they begin counseling and make some lifestyle changes.
In addition to counseling and lifestyle changes, medication is often a very important factor in healing from depression and/or anxiety. As you can see from the description of the areas of the brain involved in depression and anxiety, medicines which can restore our brain’s ability to transport messages and tamp down fear and negative thinking may be part of restoring brain health. For instance, serotonin, a neurotransmitter, influences practically every aspect of our brain life and is critically important in regulating moods, energy, memory, and outlook on life. When we are under prolonged stress we use up much of our available serotonin and, just as with diabetics need insulin, an outside source is necessary until we can produce what is needed. There are numerous medications of all types available and psychiatrists, who are experts in the way medications affect the brain, can prescribe the one that will target your individual set of symptoms. Sometimes medication is needed for only a short time but there are some conditions that may require medication for life to enable the brain to perform properly.
Panic disorder is a severe form of anxiety that can cause much suffering and disruption of life. These terrifying attacks affect 2.4 million adults in the US alone. Thankfully, panic attacks are one of the most treatable of all panic disorders. Panic attacks can appear out of nowhere with no apparent reason causing sudden fear and physical symptoms. Sweating, bounding pulse, racing heart, feelings of choking or dizziness sometimes accompanied with a sense of “going crazy” This is far over and above the normal anxiety we may feel about a major test or a job interview. With panic attacks there is a sense of impending disaster like falling from a high cliff or being overpowered by a wild animal. It is an overwhelming response to something that is not a reality. It can happen anywhere: walking down the street, in a restaurant, hiking, shopping… It can even be mistaken for a heart attack due to pressure or pain in the chest. Unfortunately some people suffer for years not realizing there is a cure for panic attack and can actually become afraid to even leave their house. There are a number of causes which is why it is imperative to be evaluated by your physician. Panic disorder can be caused by a major life stress, an abnormality in part of the brain, abuse of alcohol or drugs, or even may even be passed down in some families Because our miracle brain is constantly growing, changing and rewiring itself as we learn to nourish and treat it in healthy ways, there is always hope of restoring it to function in the amazing ways God intended.
From Cara:
Depression isn’t something that gets talked about very often. It’s one of those things that people who live with this might talk about or not depending on how they feel about that fact that they hurt. Depression can hurt can be difficult to share with others. But often others may be surprised by how many other people may struggle with this either through a season of hard situations or through life because of an individual’s chemical make up. Either way, depression is hard to live with, but is not something that anyone should shame or guilt you for. If you haven’t experienced depression, understand that it isn’t necessarily a bad day; it might be a hard month, year or decade in terms of the way it feels. Loving someone with depression means being honest, supportive and not shaming. But may involve encouraging someone to seek help through medication or counseling or both. In my experience, the things that I wanted to do when I was in a season of depression were not all things that would help me through it. It took others loving me when I was sad and still sharing the truth with me but also knowing when to be quiet and let me talk. I needed to be in God’s word but I also needed to cry. Both were good. It wouldn’t have been helpful for people to just tell me to laugh or go do something, I ached inside and needed more than a quick fix, I needed time, and truth and friends and family.
Medication can be a part of living a healthy life. For people who struggle with severe anxiety, depression or other mental/emotional struggles medication can be the only way to make it through each day. Often medication can put people back on the road to living when they have merely been surviving. Some people need to use medication for a short period of time, some for longer and some as a way of life. This is something that should be discussed with a professional to know which is right for an individual. It can be very difficult to be on medication emotionally and everyone should know there is no shame or guilt in needing to take an aid to help you live, just as one shouldn’t feel shame in taking medication for a physical need, whether short lived or a life long illness. Mental health is just as important as physical health.
Panic attacks are a response from your body when something makes you anxious to the point of being overwhelmed. Sometimes it is because of a trigger that regularly sets you off, sometimes it seems impossible to figure out where the anxiety is coming from. But often panic attacks are the symptom of something more deeply imbedded in your psyche. It is important and necessary to find out the cause of these attacks so that you are able to live again and not just merely avoid what causes them (although, that may be necessary too, depending upon what triggers them). Panic attacks can feel like the world is closing in, and that is a scary feeling. It is important for you to be able to share what your panic attacks are about if you know, even if feels silly or scary to hard to talk about. Being able to have someone speak truth (often a counselor) into your life in this area may ease or help your attacks cease. In my experience, extreme stress could bring them on, especially when issues were not being dealt with, as they should. And they often resulted after continual thinking about the same things without combating those thoughts with truth.