Atheism Doen't Equal Depression

[Rhondazvous]

Depression and bipolar disorder is in my genes apparently. Several people in my family are alcoholics or addicted to religion. For them, admitting that you are depressed is a character flaw that Jesus can cure. They put on happy music or throw themselves into church. Sadly, the people closest to them often suffer from their denial. I think that untreated depression is probably as common among Christians as it is atheists but Christians are less likely to seek help or admit that they aren't happy. At least among my religious family and friends, lying to yourself seems to be a shared trait.

I'm not a fan of Focus on the Family but this article is a good description of how hard it is for many Christians to admit that they have a mental disorder.
http://www.focusonthefamily.com/lifechal...ian-family

Mental illness runs in my family, and yet there has always been a lot of denial and shame about it. For a long time, I thought if I just kept focused on God's Word, I'd find relief. But the depression just got worse.

“Spiritually, I couldn’t feel God’s presence. I couldn’t understand why He didn’t heal me. Reading the Bible didn’t help. I couldn’t even pray. Others had to pray for me. Only after I’d received some counseling and started taking anti-depressant medication did I start to feel better.”

It's so sad. The Church claims to have all the answers, but they don't. Tell them you been waiting 20 years for god to heal you, they say well god's time is not your time. Hold the faith because if you stop believing it will never work. "Give it to god." "Rebuke the devil." Those aren't answers.

Like Vic, my depression stopped when I let religion go with all the changes it put me through.