It’s no secret that many of the most creative and brilliant talents were known to have suffered depression. A handful of the writers include: Hans Christian Andersen, James Barrie, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Henry James, Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Herman Melville, Mary Shelley, Robert Louis Stevenson, Mary Wollstonecraft, Virginia Woolf, and Edgar Allen Poe.
Since there’s a suspected strong link between depression and creativity, this week’s (anonymous) poll asks:
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Friday, July 11, 2008
Saturday Poll
I've definitely wrestled with this at times, but it's so hard to get good support in Christian circles because "it's a sin to doubt," or "it's a lack of faith to be depressed."
ReplyDeleteMy greatest encouragement has come from those who are willing to weep with those who weep. Even Jesus wept at Lazarus' death, despite his knowledge that he would raise his friend from the dead. There are many theories on this, but I believe, in part, that he was sympathizing with Mary and Martha. It makes it even more interesting that the same Mary washed Jesus' feet with burial perfumes (perhaps originally intended for her dead brother).
I think artists (writers, musicians, etc) often "carry the wounds of their generation." We need extra prayer and support to reach out to those who are spiritually dying in our modern age.
I wish Christians would get over that and just admit depression is an illness, a chemical imbalance or something that has real origins.
ReplyDeleteThis is a hot button of mine. Santimonious, self-righteous peopel who haven't suffered think they know it all.
I haven't suffered from depression, but at least I know I don't know it all. :D
My bouts with depression have come from a number of things. We went through very rough financial times...that was one. We have dealt with very real spiritual conflicts, where I believe I faced attack...that's two. And when I'm writing, I often find myself feeling the sorrows of the world...that's three.
ReplyDeleteIdentifying the source, and understanding that it's temporary, helps. My best prescription is going up into the mountains, or driving in my car, and just letting it all out--total honesty--with God. I always find that His grace is sufficient in the middle of my messiness.
I think sometimes it is chemical or homormonal, for some it's circumstances and other times it may be poor diet and lack of sunshine and exercise. For others a thyroid problem or something medical. I'm a melancholy personality and I'm definitely prone. I feel blessed that when I do get the blues, it's never lasted for too long but it can be really difficult for even a short time. I think it is really intersting that creativity is so strongly linked and I think Eric has a point of writers and artists feeling the pains of our generations. We do seem to feel very strongly as a whole.
ReplyDeleteI'm not at all shy about saying that I have struggled with this from time to time.
I struggle with chronic depression in association with fibromyalgia. Depression and FM go hand-in-hand because of the chronic pain. I will most likely stay on anti-depressants for the rest of my life and I have no desire at all to stop taking them. Life doesn't feel worth living without them.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ane 100%. Too many "Christians" are sanctimonious and self-righteous about depression. I do not have a chronic illness because I have unforgiven sin in my past and I most certainly am *not* depressed because I'm not trying hard enough.
I've dealt with depression for as long as I can remember. I do seem to have a melancholy streak. Yes, I too do not remember a time when I did not write to assuage the sore spots. Anti-depressants are a wonderful invention. I have memories of being tearful as a Kindergarten student, and cannot trace it back to any dietary deficiency at that age. Unfortunately, many in the Christian community put extra baggage on those that struggle with depression; denegrating their level of faith and offering those patronizing phrases designed to guilt us back into submission.
ReplyDeleteGod is faithful, though. He has always provided His love and care at those moments of critical mass:).
Have a cup o'joy
and a fresh taste of the bread of heaven...
Lynne
I know there are many causes for depression. In my case, the cause was spiritual. After four years of perpetual and increasing agony that I thought would never end, I was saved out of the black hole of a debilitating depression by the touch of the Great Physician in 1972. He lifted me out of the hole when no one else could, and even through the ups and downs and trials of life in the years since, that horrible blackness has never closed in upon me again. Never even close. Some who preach "depression is a sin" don't say this out of ignorance, but because they've been there. All depressions don't have the same cause and we can't treat them all the same way.
ReplyDeleteI notice something about the list in this post of famous writers who struggled with depression: few were believers in Christ. I'd also like to add another famous person, who DID know the Lord: the prophet Elijah (his symptoms in I Kings 19 sure look like depression to me).
Depression is a complex thing and I have empathy for anyone who struggles with it. When the cause is physical, physical treatment makes sense. But for me, it was a matter of putting my trust in the Lord.
Job, King David, Tolstoy and C.S. Lewis come to mind too. For me, I was in the deepest relationship with God of my life and still suffered the blues which made me feel even worse (and guilty).
ReplyDeleteI'm glad God delivered you, Y. He knows what each of us needs and acts according to our best interests. It's nice to have that trust that whatever happens, He will use it for our good.
It must be a God-thing that I also posted about depression and creativity last week. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteMy depression has almost always come during times of spiritual activity. When I'm complacently enjoying life and doing little for God's kingdom, Satan doesn't seem to care.
ReplyDeleteBeing an oldest child, raised overseas and therefore often isolated in my early years, I was sometimes quiet and solitary, but rarely depressed. My bouts with depression began after my father, a minister, ran off with a girl in our youth group. (He and I are on very good terms these days, and he's a very loving man.) Of course, it was a huge blow personally; more profoundly, though, it slammed home the very real spiritual and emotional battles we all endure and that many fall prey to. It heightened my desire to see God's grace and power in people's lives, while also underlining the seriousness of the world's situation.
My experience is that depression is not the sin, it is what can lead to sin. Out of despair or dryness, I start looking for the wrong things to bring back joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength.
We all have our blue periods when the stresses and sorrows of life get us down. And yes, Jesus wept; He fully understands our feelings, and shares them, and walks through them with us. I'm not talking about the understandable response to life's difficulties, when we get bummed out for a time. I'm talking about the spiritual depression that holds us in a death grip, often for no reason that we can pinpoint (that is, it isn't brought on by stress or trauma) but that nevertheless renders us unable to function. That's the kind of depression I wallowed in before I met my Savior, and which He delivered me out of.
ReplyDeleteRachel, chronic pain is a legitimate bummer -- a back injury taught me that with exquisite intensity. And Wilsonwriter, when your father fell into sin, it's understandable that it would affect you deeply. He was the "model" of God for you, and he let you down -- hard! Your response to that (depression) was not a sin -- but to remain there would have been. Instead, you looked to your Heavenly Father (Who is perfect), and He lifted you up.
It's right and normal to experience the whole gamut of God-given emotions. It's when we dwell on our feelings that we run into trouble. I agree that one valuable thing to do is to recognize the source and understand that the situation is temporar, thanking Him for the opportunity to draw closer to Him, and praising Him for all that He is. When you get the focus off ourself and onto Him where it belongs, you can't be bummed for long.
The Apostle Paul had plenty of cause for depression, but he learned that God's grace is sufficient in any situation.
And I've taken up more than my fair space on this subject so I'll shut up now.
What a can of worms you opened, Jess!
I’ll throw in Charlotte Bronte (as a writer and Christian) to the list of those suffered depression.
ReplyDeleteI found the link between curiosity and depression very interesting and am glad the poll stirred up some conversation.
CBS Cares covered the case study where someone studied 30 prominent writers (faculty at a writer’s workshop) and found that 70% had cumulative depression.
The theory in this article was that creative people are more open, and feel more keenly therefore more vulnerable to hurt and suffering. They went on to say that while in depression, the writers were unable to write, but afterwards the depression served as “a reservoir upon which a creative person draws in order to produce whatever they are going to produce, a novel, a poem, a play, whatever.”
Then it goes on to warn readers not to get romantic ideas over mood disorders. But, at least if you’re battling a funk, it’s nice to know that there might be some good writing days head.
It’s a fascinating article. For those wanting to know more copy and paste the link below:
http://www.cbs.com/cbs_cares/depression/creativity.shtml
I have to say, I've written two of my nine novels in pretty deep depression, so it is possible to create while in that place--despite the theories in the article you mentioned, Jessica. (In general, though, I would agree.)
ReplyDeleteThe deadlines for those two books (and I dare any of my fans to figure out which ones...it might surprise you) kept me going through that period, even though every day of writing felt almost physically painful. In some ways, I think those books come off as my "cheeriest" because I had more need to find even the slimmest humor as I went along.
That's interesting, Eric. When I've been depressed, it has taken me all day to pull one page of writing out of myself. These pages weren't more or less creative but it was painful to force myself to write. It's not impossible for me to write during these times but incredibly difficult. I think a deadline would be useful. I can totally see that.
ReplyDeleteThanks to all that commented. I think it's also important to remember that those who suffer regularly are most likely dealing with a physical trigger, such as low serotonin levels. We don't blame someone who is born with one arm but a chemical imbalance is just as out of our control. Our actions in response of course, are not.
Great discussion. It's good to shine light on all subjects, particularly the ones we tend to only whisper about behind closed doors.