Where I come from, there is no depression. You’re like: What?? I’m not saying this because I went from town to town (or village to village) and took psych evaluations to determine this. I’m speaking (very generally) through experience and personal knowledge of many of my fellow countrymen. Suicide is extremely rare if existent where I come from. One thing I've noticed that is different about America, ever since moving here, is that there is a certain solitude and isolation that one experiences on a daily basis here. I basically think that's why so many people are depressed inside and outside the American church. Here is my theory: I think this solitude and isolation that Americans face on a daily basis (whether consciously or not) is the fundamental cause of the rise in depression. To refine my theory, I believe that the depression in the American Church is not due to the Church or Christian teachings, I believe that it is due to isolation and loneliness or what I believe is a general lack of strong community within the American Church. When I first moved to the United States, I remember wondering why everyone was so cold. Don’t get me wrong. When I say cold, it probably doesn't mean the same thing to you as it does me. After moving from a country in which community is valued and something that everyone lives, eats and breaths, it was very easy for me to perceive my interactions with Americans as "cold" or "unfriendly". I do not think that this “coldness” or “unfriendliness” is something that any of the Americans I've encountered meant to do or did maliciously. I have come to understand and sadly accept that the somewhat cold manner in which many Americans conduct their lives is just part of the culture. It is a cultural difference. My opinion is that this culture of "coldness" which includes indifference or minding your own business is detrimental to overall human mental well-being, and I think that it is, consequently, resulting in the growing trend of depression among Americans. Furthermore, because the American church has left its doors wide open to the outside American culture, this culture of indifference has entered and has led to rising depression among Christians as well. Since this sort of behavior is the norm and the social convention, it goes about without many souls realizing how lonely and how fundamentally deprived they are for the basic human need of deeper connections or companionship.
My ideas are based on more than a decade of observation and living both abroad and in America, but of course, they aren't scientific. However, I do know many things about psychology and what psychologists know. I know for a fact that human beings are social creatures. We are meant to interact with each other, meddle and not mind our own business. However, I find it difficult with my American friends because there are times in which I try to pry (out of care and love and concern) and I am met with suspicion, coldness and indifference. It is sad for me to admit that some of what I have seen of the American reality or day to day goings is so saddening (in non-Christian circles particularly) that I know that if I did not have Christ, I would slip into depression (since I know what the other side of the fence looks like and that it is indeed greener). In fact, I did fall into depression at a very young age, shortly after immigrating to the United States. And the biggest reason why I was so depressed was – loneliness and isolation! I had a very different understanding of what friendship meant. It was very different than my friends of the time and so when they did not reciprocate my efforts of what I considered a true, deep friendship, I took it very negatively to mean that I was not worthy of their friendship or that my efforts and friendship meant nothing because I was nothing...etc So yes, I grew very depressed because my idea of friendship was something much deeper, closer and something that was way more involved than the “friendship” I was being shown by my friends of the time. Another point I want to make is that the underlying causes of the growing trend of depression are more than just coldness and indifference. I have to be a bit scholastic here for a second and I have to of course discuss the American economic system – Capitalism. First off, I’m not a Communist or a Socialist and I think that Capitalism is the [best] economic system. (if anyone who was wondering) Though I believe this, I believe that like any human invention, Capitalism has its flaws because we are flawed and everything we make is like so. But the fundamental drives in capitalism are self-interest and I believe this aspect of Capitalism definitely affected the American culture by molding a society that is self-interested because the system (Capitalism) is most rewarding when one is self-seeking. Additional empirical evidence of this is the fact that Western civilization, which is Capitalist mostly, is described as being individualistic, a trait that I find is strongly connected to this “coldness” and “indifference” I’ve been talking about. As Western cultures are described as being more individualistic, meaning that Westerners are more self-reliant, and self-motivated, Eastern and African cultures are described as being more collective, meaning that there a deeper sense of community and dependence is something very strong in which people identify themselves more as a group than an individual. In these cultures, people are more cooperative (work together) and are more dependent on families and neighbors. Now back to my main point: There is a growing trend of depression in the church and there is a lot of criticism about how this issue is being handled by the powers that be inside the Church. (Exhibit A) I won’t go into them (that will be a discussion for another time). But something occurred to me just a while ago that spurned this spontaneous blog post. I think that maybe the issue that is most daunting within the American church is not just the fact that maybe people aren't understanding the Gospel or truly embracing God’s love and the joy that it brings. What if it’s more than just that? What if the Church (which is not a building but the people inside it) is just not what it used to be? What if many Christians that are unfortunately isolated, quiet, withdrawn because it is socially acceptable are suffering the consequences of depriving themselves of socialness – and are suffering from depression? What if, furthermore, the Church which is compiled with somewhat cold and indifferent individualists is having trouble seeing the problem since it is below their noses and very hard to notice – the culture! Don’t get me wrong, this is not an attack on the American culture and I do not intend to mud sling or I'm not saying that Americans are cold. That’s not what this is about. This is about examining what could potentially be causing the trends of depression inside and outside of the American church. I’m not claiming to have found a cure or pinned down the exact roots of depression. I'm examining individualism, which is one aspect of American culture but there are many lovely aspects of American culture that are not the focus of this blog post. I’m simply exploring possible avenues as to why depression is so high in America and also within the American Church. My premise is that there may be a problem within America, a general decline in community, which could also be affecting the church and contributing to this problem. Article A: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/07/27/depressed-countries_n_910345.html#s316418&title=France_21 Aritcle B: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/26/news/la-heb-depression-wealthy-countries-20110726 Some people in western nations think that people in 3rd world countries are sooo miserable because they don’t have this and they don’t have that and they can’t do this or they can’t do that, but the truth is that people only think this because they themselves would be miserable if the circumstances in which 3rd world dwellers inhibit were their own. The reality is that ignorance is bliss. How can you feel bad over something you don’t know or have never experienced? Think about it. Based on that logic it would mean that people living in the 20th century all over the world and beyond into the past were severally depressed and miserable 24/7 because they didn’t have cellphones, over stocked grocery stores and debit cards. It would be a wonder that the human race even survived if that was the case. I believe that human beings are not that weak and our spirits are not broken that easily. I think that it is only (basically) when you take away the fundamentals of life such as health (mental and physical), food, water and shelter that you begin to see the spirit break and weaken. In examining the American culture, I’m only suggesting that this culture is not very adaptive (in biological/evolutionary terms). This culture of individualism is not good for the spirit or the mind, and I think it is why there are higher levels of depression in Western nations than in poorer countries. And all it proves is that all the extra stuff and the extra wealth Westerners have is not what a human *fundamentally* needs to be healthy in mind. More support for my reasoning is the fact that people in lower socioeconomic homes in America are more likely to be depressed than people in richer homes. I think it is due to the fact that there is relative deprivation (a psychology term). So basically since there isn’t much to compare to or envy in poorer countries, everyone is basically happier because they generally don’t even really need all that stuff. I believe that what people need (today especially) and have always needed, (and had until recently in some parts of America) is a vibrant social environment in which there is a strong community in which a group of humans interacted with each other, grew close with each other, forged bonds with each other, took care of each other, relied on one another, loved each other, cried together and did it all again. I think having a vibrant social environment is one step to achieving good mental health. I know that there are many more things that cause depression, and there are many more factors I cannot touch on such as chemical imbalances in the brain, or the fact that Westerners live more complicated lives and have more things to be stressed about (and more sources of stress) but I do believe that humans basically to survive need a few things: food, water, shelter. However, I think that the last bit should be changed to strong home or family. Social bonds are so important! I just read this in one of my articles for a class “Indeed, some researchers have hypothesized that the complexity of human social relationships, rather than the need to do higher math, is why the human prefrontal cortex is so large and our executive function abilities are so advanced (Building the Brain’s “Air Traffic Control” System)”. So basically, the reason why God gave us such huge and complicated brains is so that we could love each other better , and get entangled in the messy pursuit of intimacy in human relationships. That being said, I love my American brothers and sisters when I say that this culture is not healthy and I think it needs to change and become more socially inclined. No more awkwardness. No more introversion, self-interest, rudeness or standoffishness. It needs to become something like it used to be when neighbors actually knew each other and trusted each other. A time when people smiled at each stranger they saw while walking down the street. A time in which you could enter a town and know that most of the people would be willing to show you hospitality by letting you into their homes. I know that this still happens in some parts of America, but my general impression is that this kind of life is unfortunately outdated. I think that the first step to rediscovering this world is just letting the person next door of your dorm, home, or cubicle or the person next to you in the train or bus into your life in small ways such as having conversations that go deeper than the surface. It starts with opening up and being vulnerable. It also requires lots of emotional awareness, gentleness and kindness – things that I believe are unfortunately in short supply these days. Vulnerability is hard, I know, but change has to start somewhere, and it should start with you and me. You could inspire change by treating someone differently. We could start a revolution and change the whole culture of the coming generation just by acting differently and more kindly. This is my big giant crazy dream about the crazy awesome power God's love has to transform us! Finally, to address depression in the church, I believe that change truly needs to come into the culture of the Church and that change should be Jesus Christ and the radical love he preached. I believe that if we truly followed the Lord’s teaching and loved each other like he commanded us ( Matthew 22:36-40, John 15:9-17, John 4:7), there would be so much love that the new trend would be love sickness or sick-to-death-of-love or something. I can’t predict and say that this would cure depression in the Church, but I do believe that genuine love shown through followers of Christ who are full of His Spirit has the power to heal, mend and restore! I would love to see a radical transformation wrought in the Church by the Holy Spirit all because of love shown in Christ. We would be a bright light, burning in the darkness, and we would be the city upon a hill to the world. (1 Thessalonians 5:5, Matthew 5:14). I will close with a verse. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35 In Christ, Evangeline
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