The 10th of October 2019 was World Mental Health day – day for global mental health education, awareness and advocacy against social stigma. This is a great initiative that began in 1992, however, the importance of mental health should not be reduced to one day as it is something that I believe should always be at the forefront of our minds.

Did you know that in England, 1 in 6 people report experiencing a common mental health problem (anxiety, depression) in any given week? This means that it’s highly likely that you’ve come in contact with at least one person that has experienced a form of anxiety or depression or you may personally identify with that.

As a medical student, I have had exposure to learning more about depression and other mental conditions. Today I will like to share more about depression and also put a Christian spin on the topic. I desire that you will be blessed or will be able to be a blessing to others after reading this piece.

Firstly a definition for Depression:

An affective mood disorder that is chacterised by a persistent low mood (≥ 2weeks), loss of pleasure and/or lack of energy accompanied by emotional, cognitive and biological symptoms.

Cognitive symptoms – poor concentration, negative thoughts, excessive guilt, suicidal ideation.

Biological – weight loss & loss of appetitie, early morning wakening,

Psychiatry : A Clinical Handbook by Mohsin Azam, , Mohammed 

We are going to focus on cognitive symptoms as I am an advocate for positive thinking and would like us to incorporate biblical truths on this matter.

Aaron Beck is a psychiatrist that developed a theory on negative thoughts. He proposed that there are 3 types of negative thoughts; negative views about oneself, the world and of the future. He also describes certain thinking errors that make a person more prone to depressive feelings. The table below explains these thinking errors. I was able to relate with some of these and I’ve included examples from my friends in the table.

Thinking Error	Explanation	Examples
Selective abstraction	Focusing on one minor aspect rather than the bigger picture	I have failed that exam because I got one question wrong I was late because the bike lock didn’t open
All or nothing thinking	Thinking of things in all or nothing terms	If I fail this class, I’ll never get a job
Magnification / Minimization	Over-or under-estimating the importance of an event	They didn’t invite me so they hate me She didn’t say hi to me this morning so she must dislike me They didn’t say “thank you” when I held the door so they are rude
Catastrophic thinking	Anticipating the worst possible outcome of an event	I’ve got a mole on my face, I have skin cancer
Overgeneralization	If one thing is not going well, everything is going wrong	I overslept so I’m going to get fired I forgot the cheese, I can’t do anything right
Arbitrary inference	Coming to a conclusion in the absence of any evidence to support it	They were talking about me before I walked in No one finds me attractive

Were you able to relate to some of those points? When our thoughts are dominated by these thinking errors we will have a greater tendency towards depression. Positive thinking is a habit that we should all aim to cultivate so we avoid an overall negative outlook on life. Now, let us look at the biblical truths about these thinking errors?

A final verse to conclude with:

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

• There are numerous occasions in the bible where the mind is discussed – ” be transformed by the renewing of your mind”, “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”
• What we choose to meditate [focus] on matters
• Rather than thinking about the things that worry/trouble you, things that give you anxiety think positively on things that are: TRUE. HONEST. JUST. PURE. LOVELY. GOOD REPORT.
• There is an upside and downside to everything, some of us choose to only see the downside but I urge you to try to see the silver lining in what life throws at you.

Rather than thinking about the things that worry/trouble you, things that give you anxiety think positively on things that are: TRUE. HONEST. JUST. PURE. LOVELY. GOOD REPORT.

Tweet

I hope this post has been insightful. Please keep in mind that we’ve only discussed a portion of thoughts about symptoms of depression. Some other symptoms and presentations may not be completely “cured” by changing our thought processes and will require other management options such as medication. I would advise you to see a healthcare professional if you do have concerns.

Stay blessed,

Dara

P.S – Let me know your thoughts about this topic and hopefully I will be back with more related blog posts soon