Overcome Depression

You aren't worthless:

  • GENESIS 1:26
    "Then God said, 'Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness.'"
  • PSALM 139:13-14
    "Thou didst form my inward parts...for I am fearfully and wonderfully made."

Everyone goes through transitions in life which they have to adjust to. There is a Veterans Administration website at www.vetcenter.va.gov with resources to help strengthen a person's coping skills. Some people may be disadvantaged with weaker coping abilities and need to be informed so they can become more resourceful, confident, empowered, and be able to set goals for themselves. With higher stress levels people with low self-esteem tend to have more depression. Cognitive education will mobilize them to ward off becoming hopeless or discouraged. Information is at www.maketheconnection.net.

You aren't helpless:

  • JOHN 14:16-17
    "I will ask the father, and he will give you another Helper, that he may be with you forever, that is the Spirit of truth."
  • PSALM 46:1
    "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."

Where to go for help:

You aren't hopeless:

  • JEREMIAH 29:11
    "The plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, [are] 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.'"
  • PSALM 62:5
    "My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from him."

A troubled world can produce emotional challenges. There are those "who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives" (Heb 2:15). If you are not in control you are subject to depression. The Vet Center has a fifty-eight page cognitive-behavioral workbook to educate vets to improve their coping skills. Cognition is knowing or perceiving the truth of something. However, if your analytical mind allowed you to think illogically in the first place, you'd have to trust that cognitive counseling could modify your thoughts to go back in the right direction. "Watch the path of your feet and all your ways will be established" (Pr 5:26).

Veterans Administration resources:

There is a VA workbook "Living with Purpose" cited above. It applies Behavior Modification Therapy (BMT). But Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) isn't mentioned per se in the Bible. However "God created man in His own image" (Ge 1:27), so if therapists successfully use CBT to help people, it is a valid tool for this purpose. There is a text provided by MIRECC to help clinicians utilize the workbook called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Strategies. These therapies and methods are what professionals use. However, when tailored to an individual situation, other disciplines would be incorporated. On my website the relevant subject matter would be: thinking, depression, and guidance.

Pertinent Web sites: