Overcoming Anxiety & Depression

Scriptures: John 14:27, Matthew 11:28-30, Isaiah 61:3, Matthew 6:34

God Brings Peace

Anxiety and depression are massive problems affecting millions. Antidepressants have become a $17+ billion industry. And that is just the medication. The mental health market was estimated at $415 billion in 2022. People are doing everything they know to do to find freedom. They are looking for answers, for help, for freedom. Anxiety and depression cause stress and affect our whole immune system. “Medical research estimates as much as 90 percent of illness and disease is stress-related. Stress can interfere with our physical functioning and bodily processes. High blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and heart disease have been linked to stress factors.” – Adam Markle 

The Bible has good news for those who are struggling with anxiety and depression. Jesus says He wants to give us “peace” (John 14:27). Sometimes we see Jesus healing those sick with physical issues, and yet we hold our mental and emotional struggles aside, questioning God’s desire to heal them. But Jesus said He came to heal the brokenhearted (Luke 4:18). Jesus invites those of us who are heavy laden, weighed down, or depressed to come to Him! He wants to comfort those who mourn, give joy for mourning, and praise for heaviness (Isaiah 61:3). 

We are going to take this study to look at how to walk in the freedom that God has for us, and how to receive the freedom, joy, peace, and grace that Jesus has for us, and how to close the door on anxiety and depression in our lives.

Scriptures: Matthew 7:24-27, Deuteronomy 31:6, Romans 8:37, Romans 16:20, John 14:27

Circumstances Don’t Control Me

John 14:1 NKJV – “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.” 

As encouraging as this verse is, it is still challenging. It seems to indicate that I have a choice, but I didn’t choose, on purpose, to be under anxiety or depression. How can I get free when I have wanted freedom for so long, and so much of life is outside of my control? If we are trying to control what we can’t, we are frustrated, but if we don’t know what we can control, we become a victim of what we could change. 

In Matthew 7, Jesus tells us that those who hear the Word and apply it are like someone who builds their house on a rock. Those who don’t put the Word into practice are like those who build on the sand. Then a storm comes to both. The house on the rock stands, and the house on the sand falls apart. Those who did it right still faced the same storm, but the storm didn’t affect them the same way as it did the others. If you have ever been camping in bad weather, it affects you very differently than when you are at home. When camping, the rain and wind that don’t bother you at home are a big deal. 

In life, we can’t control all the storms; we can’t opt out of all difficult times, but where we build and how we build can determine how the storms affect us. I wish I could promise you a storm-free life, but that isn’t a promise in the Word. It does say the one with their house on the rock stood strong. It does promise that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us. It does say that we can be overcomers and that no weapon formed against us shall prosper. It does say we have the God of peace, and Jesus said He gives us His peace. It does list joy and peace as fruits of the Spirit. It does tell us not to let our hearts be troubled. While storms may come, we can have hearts that stand strong and aren’t destroyed, anxious, or depressed by the storms.

Scriptures: Matthew 14:22-33, Isaiah 26:3, 1 Peter 5:7, Philippians 4:6-7

Focus Matters

Jesus tells us not to let our hearts be troubled, but most of us aren’t sure how to do that. 

As we look for the secret to remain stable in the midst of whatever life throws at us, Peter shows us a key during a storm he went through. 

Peter, along with the other disciples, was following Jesus’ directions to head across the sea when a storm rose up. While they were struggling, Jesus came walking across the sea. As scared as they were, Peter called out, “If it’s you, Jesus, tell me, come to you.” Jesus called him, and Peter stepped out of the boat and began walking on the water. But while walking on water, doing the impossible, he took his eyes off Jesus and placed them on the wind and the storm, filling him with fear and causing him to sink. He was already walking on the water, yet when his eyes went from Jesus to the storm, it changed what was happening in him. We tend to think that our feelings are just a response to the circumstances that we are in. Peter, in the middle of the storm, was walking on water until his focus shifted to the storm. When his focus turned to the problem, his feelings were filled with fear. His focus on the storm was more important than the power of the storm. 

We often dismiss the importance our focus has on anxiety and depression, which can leave us feeling like helpless victims — like we are physically broken and hopeless. Therefore, we feel our situation is permanent and/or out of our control, but that isn’t the case. 

There is a lesson from technology that can help us. Commonly, technology doesn’t work the way it’s supposed to. If you call for IT support, their standard direction is to reset your device. I have been sure there was a problem with my physical device, but most of the time, a good reset fixes the issue because the issue wasn’t with the hardware, but that the software wasn’t running right and needed to be reset. The same thing is true for many of us. We can think our bodies are broken, often citing that chemicals are out of balance. The chemicals may indeed be out of balance, but more often than broken hardware, what we need is a software reset. Where we look changes what our brain responds to and what chemicals it releases. As Peter looked at Jesus, he was filled with boldness, so much so that he was ready to step out of a boat onto the water, but when he looked at the storm, he was filled with fear. As we go on through this plan, we are going to look at areas where we can reset and rebalance. Let’s start with our focus, as our focus can reset our feelings. 

Where are we focusing? Where we fix our hearts will fill us and affect how we feel. The scriptures are full of verses telling us to fix our eyes on Jesus, inviting us to come to Him and be filled with His Peace.

Scriptures: Proverbs 11:27, Romans 12:2, Isaiah 26:3

The Power of The Cycle

The chicken or the egg, which came first? This seems to be a never-ending cycle because chickens come from eggs, and eggs come from chickens. Likewise, feelings flow from our focus, but our feelings can drive our focus. When we listen to sad music, it can make us feel sad, but when we feel sad, we feel like listening to sad music. It’s not just about music but about the fact that the cycle tries to feed itself. While most of us recognize that we like to be right, at least in arguments, we may not realize how much our brain likes to be right. As such, our brains look for ways to confirm what they already hold to be true. Neurologically, this is called a confirmation bias. When we believe something, we begin looking for things that support it. So, when we let our feelings lead, we begin looking for things that back up or support how we already feel. This is further supported by Hebb’s law, which states that neurons that fire together wire together. In our brain, we have neurological connections or pathways. Each time we fire a neurological connection, the bond and path get stronger and easier to use. This is why practicing anything makes such a difference. Things we struggled through in the beginning become easy as we practice them. The neurological pathways grow, making a stronger connection in our brain. Many of us have gone from a path to paved highways in our brains as we have reinforced the habit of complaining, worrying, fault-finding, and holding on to the worst possibility. We may call it being a pessimist or a realist, but we have practiced finding the faults. I am not saying that all problems disappear if you aren’t looking for them, but you will find what you look for. Then what we find will affect our feelings. 

Our brains will release chemicals in response to our feelings. We have all watched a movie and felt an emotional response to things in the movie that aren’t even real. Some movies produce anger and fear, and some pull on heartstrings. Food commercials can make our mouths water even when they’re only on the screen and not real. Where we look and what we focus on triggers our brain to release chemicals on the inside. There are real and physical effects in our bodies due to where we focus. If our focus is on the storms, on the problems, on what didn’t go right, we will find it. Our bodies will be filled with the chemical response to it. 

While many of us have gotten good at finding the negative, there is still hope. We “got good at it” means it’s a skill we developed. It’s not who we are. Skills can be learned, and connections can be strengthened. When we were born, we weren’t good at anything. We didn’t even know that we could control our arms, but we learned. In sports, coaches have players practice over and over to build connections so that they can do things correctly on autopilot. Sometimes doing things right means unlearning a habit they have. It means intentionally building new neurological pathways. Many of us need to practice focusing on God and looking for what we can be thankful for. We can build new pathways. Sure, the easiest thing is to use the old pathways most used in our brain, but we can make new ones. Even in areas that we aren’t good at yet. Let’s choose what we look for, let’s focus on God and His promises, and give thanks no matter our circumstances.

Scriptures: Colossians 3:17, Philippians 2:14, Psalms 107:1, 1 Thessalonians 5:18, Philippians 4:6-8

Gratitude, Our Weapon Against Depression

Yesterday, we focused on the neurological pathways in our brains. We saw that we experience physical symptoms based on what we focus on. The Bible has a lot to say on this subject that is very counter-cultural. The Bible talks about being thankful. It tells us to give thanks 62 times, and 76 verses tell us to praise the Lord. We are told to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:17). In all we do in Word or deed, to give thanks to God (Colossians 3:17). We are even told not to complain (Philippians 2:14). Complaining is the bitter overflow of negative focus. 

We live in a culture that has made complaining a daily competition, where people think the only way to get others to notice or listen to them is to complain the most. They don’t realize that it’s actually training their brain to look for and remember anything that they might possibly complain about. Their skill in finding the negative problems in everything grows as they build these neurological pathways. It doesn’t just give them the award-winning largest complaint in the break room. As the complaints become front and center, the brain begins to respond by releasing different stress hormones. It causes a shortage of positive hormones. Many of these chemicals have a short-term purpose for intense situations, but when released constantly, they cause problems. Our medical world often tries to bypass the cause and effect by using artificial chemicals to temporarily balance the body. While I am not saying that a body can’t be broken, more often than broken, we are living in a way or focusing in a way that produces a negative result. We have become expert complainers, even going beyond what happened today to declare our future. Saying things like, it’s just my luck, or it always happens to me. We set our own expectation that not only is there much to complain about, but more is coming because we have labeled that as part of our identity. 

As science grows, they can now see the effects of what the Bible has been saying for thousands of years. 

“Research over recent years clearly shows that gratitude has been linked to decreased depression, increased optimism, fewer physical ailments, and increased amounts of Dopamine in the brain….”, says Dr Allan Schwartz, Ph.D. 

“Gratitude can be a natural antidepressant. When we take the time to ask what we are grateful for, certain neural circuits are activated. Production of dopamine and serotonin increases, and these neurotransmitters then travel neural pathways to the “bliss” center of the brain, similar to the mechanisms of many antidepressants. Practicing gratitude, therefore, can be a way to naturally create the same effects of medications and create feelings of contentment.” 

Our brains are amazing, but they have limits. Our brain can only focus on so much. It can’t easily focus on both negative and positive stimuli. Complaining or giving thanks are opposite directions and cause different chemicals to be released. When we choose to give thanks, we are setting the cycle on purpose. The Bible tells us where to focus and what to meditate on. Even as we pray, we are told to do it with thanksgiving. When we do, in Philippians, it promises peace that surpasses understanding. If we look at the words of our mouths as the overflow of our hearts, do they reveal gratitude or a negative focus? Let’s set the cycle on purpose.

Scriptures: Proverbs 18:21, James 3:2-5, Numbers 14:27-29, Mark 11:23-24

Power of Our Words

Our words play a much larger role in our lives than most of us realize. Many of us know words reveal our inner condition based on Jesus’ comment, “out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34). That is just the beginning. They are more than revealing. Words also steer our hearts. Proverbs 18:21 warns us that death and life are in the power of the tongue, and James 3:4-5 compares our tongue to the bit of a horse or the rudder on a ship, setting our direction. 

We live in a world full of voices that say all sorts of things to us, but those words come from outside, and we get to decide whether to accept or reject them. Our own words come from inside the filter and drop straight into our heart, beginning the cycle of shaping our view. Joshua 1:8 says God’s Word should always be on our tongue. Our tongue is the paintbrush of our heart, but the canvas it paints is the window we look through. A whole generation of Israelites missed out on the Promised Land because they let their negative and complaining words shape their future. When Joshua got God’s plans for defeating Jericho, he added the instruction not to say anything until it was time to shout. He knew that if they let their mouths complain, it would set the wrong direction. 

Our body looks to our words for direction. I heard this years ago and decided to experiment. I found a dumbbell that was at the edge of what most of the guys could lift. I gave it to half a dozen friends and told them to confess out loud, “I am strong” ten times before lifting it. They did so and then lifted it. Then I had them say, “I am weak” 10 times and try to lift it again. The weight they had lifted just a moment ago was now too difficult for them to lift as they had before. Their body responded to the belief of what they said and came into alignment with their words. 

If our bodies are responding to our words, if our words are shaping the filter we see through and affecting the chemicals that our brains are releasing, are our words helping or hurting us? Our words put our faith into action for both good and bad. If we see what we have been saying come to pass, will it be a blessing or a curse?

Scriptures: Mark 2:27, Matthew 14:23, Mark 1:35, Mark 6:30-32

Not Broken, But Empty

While our focus and our words play a huge role in how we feel, there are other components to it as well. While the results of being empty and broken can look the same, there is a difference between being empty and being broken. If I take my car on a drive and don’t put gas in it, eventually it will stop going. Is it broken? No, it’s empty. It won’t work until I refill it. But the solution isn’t to replace the engine, it is to refill the fuel. Many times, we run our bodies on empty and then call them broken when the engine begins to sputter. God laid out a principle of rest from the beginning. He set aside a day every week to rest. He made the Sabbath a law for Israel. While our justification is by grace through faith in what Jesus did, not from fulfilling the law, Jesus says it was for us. Mark 2:27 says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” God knew that we need rest to be part of our rhythm. When we look at Jesus’ life and ministry, He took time to pull away from the crazy and spend time praying and recharging with the Father. (Matthew 14:23) He taught His disciples to do the same. It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of our world, but while on the most important mission ever, Jesus still took and taught, taking time to rest. The world, too, is starting to recognize this principle. 

The United Nations, in its official statement for World Health Day in 2017, announced that we need to talk less about chemical imbalances and more about the imbalances in the way we live. More and more experts — neurologists, psychiatrists, counselors, psychologists, and sociologists — now conclude that depression (and its partner, anxiety) most often results from our lifestyle. In many cases, we’re doing it to ourselves. Dr. Stephen Ilardi, a clinical psychologist and depression researcher, expertly sums up the lifestyle problem in his book The Depression Cure: “We were never designed for the sedentary, socially isolated, sleep-deprived, poorly nourished, indoor, frenetic pace of modern American Life.” 

If you are struggling with depression or anxiety, it may be time to look and see if the battle is caused by something that is broken, things being empty, or out of balance. Learning how to balance and recharge is super important.

Scriptures: 1 Kings 19, Hebrews 10:24-25, Ecclesiastes 4:9-12, Galatians 6:2

The Side Effects of Isolation

Many times, depression can leave us feeling alone. We aren’t alone. There are millions of people who are fighting depression. Some of the heroes in the Bible faced it too. 

Elijah’s battle exposes both problems and solutions. In 1 Kings 19, we find Elijah’s struggle, but the two chapters before make it seem out of place. We expect depression when things are bad, not after a win. When we go through 1 Kings 17 & 18, Elijah prophesies a drought, is guided by God, and fed miraculously as birds deliver food to him. When the river dries up, God provides him with a widow and her son through a daily ongoing miracle. He has a showdown with King Ahab and the 450 prophets of Baal. God shows up as Elijah calls down fire from heaven to consume his sacrifice. The people of Israel rally around him and destroy the prophets of Baal. He calls for rain after three years of drought, and the rain comes. This streak of wins is enormous, yet in chapter 19, he is battling depression and ready to die. Jezebel threatens him, and he is filled with fear, which turns to depression and thoughts of suicide. NKJV says, “When he saw that,” speaking of her threat. It stopped mattering how many victories he had experienced; it stopped mattering how many things he had to give thanks for. All he saw was the threat, the problem, the challenge, the internal shortcomings… So he ran and isolated. In isolation, he became vulnerable to deception, discouragement, self-pity, depression, anxiety, and shame. He ran and hid, focusing on his shortcomings, declaring himself no better than his fathers, and asking for God to take away his life. 

No matter how much we have to be grateful for, if we focus on the problem, all that we do have is lost to view. Problems become all-consuming. Like Elijah, they can drive us into isolation. In isolation, we become vulnerable to the enemy, his lies, and deception. We are warned in 1 Peter 5:8 that the devil hunts like a lion. Lions isolate their prey. 

In Verses 9-14, Elijah states his case to the Lord. Six times he used the word “I” declaring how alone he was, and four times stating how all the people were against him. In verse 18, God lets him know there are 7,000 who had never bowed to Baal. The note for us, though, is that depression isolates, and in isolation, we tend to become self-focused and easily deceived. Elijah wasn’t trying to lie to God about his situation. It was truly what he thought and how he felt. It is easier to isolate today than ever before. We can work from home, order what we need to be delivered, and fill time with screens. But in isolation, we become easily deceived and depressed. When God made man, He said it was not good for man to be alone (Genesis 2:18). We are made to do life in relationship. In God’s response to Elijah, there were directions to get Elisha, who would be with him and would help him. American Sociological Review states, “One in four Americans report that they have zero friends to confide in with important matters, which has tripled in the last thirty years.” Science now sees that “Having weak social connections is as bad for our health as being an alcoholic and twice as bad as being obese. Social isolation sets off a cellular chain reaction that increases inflammation and inhibits the body’s autoimmune response to disease. We can not only go mentally insane from isolation and loneliness, we get physically sick!” While depression can cause us to isolate and self-focus, isolation and self-focus causes us to be depressed. God’s Word gives us more than 30 “one another” commands, love one another, be kind, forgiving, encouraging, pray for, …. It tells us not to forsake gathering together. This isn’t just for others’ benefit, this actually helps us and our mental health.

Scriptures: Proverbs 27:7, Proverbs 15:14, Proverbs 4:23, Galatians 6:7

Addicted to Substitutes

Are we addicted to the problem? While none of us like the problems themselves, many of us are addicted to things or habits that may lead to the problem. We often get addicted to substitutes in life. 

It’s easy to see a similar pattern with our kids. We regularly tell them not to spoil their dinner. The snack food often has more appeal, but lacks the nutrition needed. If they eat lots of snacks before the meal, they don’t want to eat what they actually need. As we become drained, we can feel the hunger, but we are often drawn to junk to fill it and leave out what actually helps it. When we feel drained or empty, there is a difference between unplugging and recharging. Many times we unplug but don’t recharge. We plug into junk like caffeine, alcohol, porn, food, projects, TV, video games, mind-numbing activities. Some substitutes are sinful while others aren’t bad, but may not be helpful either. They may make us feel better momentarily. It’s like painting over a water stain on the ceiling from a leaking roof. It may hide the problem for a moment, but if we don’t fix the roof, it’s going to reappear. 

There is a difference between entertainment and recharging. Lack of sleep often fuels or aggravates anxiety, depression, and being drained. But instead of more sleep, we turn to caffeine, TV, and mindless phone scrolling. The substitutes leave us more drained and more dependent on them. It’s not just about sleep. Mind-numbing screen sessions replace physical activity, and scrolling on the phone replaces relational connection. Viewing others’ activities replaces doing our own pleasant activities or accomplishments. The average American spends 21 hours a week watching TV and 30.59 hours a week on their phone. While this may fill recovery time, for most of us, it doesn’t refill us. 

People often use the term burnout as they feel overwhelmed and empty. They truly feel its effects, some emotionally and some physically. In reality, empty or dried out is a better description for most of us. When our output is larger than our intake, we eventually run out of gas. For some people, that can look like stress or even anxiety attacks. Are we fixing problems or patching them with substitutes? We need to look at how we recharge. We may have to stop the substitutes that have allowed us to go this far in the red. Too many people have been living off caffeine instead of sleeping, or eating easily accessible unhealthy food, which has left them feeling horrible. Sedentary habits have replaced exercise and left us feeling blah or yuck. Are we recharging or filling up on substitutes that are leaving us drained physically?

Scriptures: Galatians 5:13-14, 1 Peter 4:10-11, Proverbs 19:17, Galatians 6:2, Ephesians 2:10, Acts 20:35

Serving others

One of the most counterintuitive things that battles anxiety and depression is serving others. The Bible is filled with instructions on serving one another and bearing one another’s burdens. In Ephesians, we are told we are God’s workmanship, created for good works which He prepared. We ultimately find the most fulfillment when we serve others. Scientists and psychologists have seen the outcomes of these Biblical principles. According to a Mayo Clinic study, “Volunteering reduces stress and increases positive, relaxed feelings by releasing dopamine. By spending time in service to others, volunteers report feeling a sense of meaning and appreciation, both given and received, which can have a stress-reducing effect.” (The Cleveland Clinic) 

“Studies have indicated that volunteering is great for your mental health,” said Susan Albers, PsyD, psychologist for Cleveland Clinic. “It has been shown to decrease stress levels, depression, anxiety, and boost your overall health and satisfaction with life.” 

Dr. Albers said that when you help other people, it activates the reward center in your brain and releases serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins. 

Part of this is that we are made for more than a self-centered life. God’s directions are to serve one another. As we do, it does something inside us. While anxiety and depression both push us toward internal focus, internal focus often pushes us toward anxiety and depression. When we lift our focus onto serving others, it does a wonder in our own hearts. 

I am often told by those who serve that they thought they were only there to help others, but to their surprise, it has helped them. Serving others brought life to them and became a highlight of their week. That serving others has brought life to them. When we turn our focus off our problems and let God work through us in the lives of those around us, it does something amazing in us. You can serve with your church, with different organizations, or just with someone you see with a need. But regardless of where you serve, taking our eyes off ourselves and serving others helps us, too. 

As we wrap up this plan, I want to summarize:

God’s plan and desire for you is peace, not anxiety or depression. He wants to set you free and fill you with the joy from His presence. While we don’t control all of our circumstances, our circumstances don’t have to control us. We can still have peace when things around us aren’t perfect. Our focus matters. Where we fix our eyes, hearts, and thoughts will overflow into our feelings. When we fix our eyes on God, we can find His peace. 

Our feelings get into a cycle. We look for more of how we feel. We find more of what we look for. So if the cycle you have been on has been rough, it may take some time to make new habits and neurological connections, but we can do it. We aren’t doomed to keep repeating the habits that used to mark us. When we choose to look for things to be thankful for and to give thanks, it breaks the cycle of complaining and heaviness. Giving thanks is the opposite mental direction of complaining, anxiety, and depression. Our brain can’t go in all directions at once. If we choose to give thanks, it will pull away from the other directions. Our words don’t just show us how we feel, they steer our lives. Our words are taking us places; they shape thoughts, feelings, and the filters we look through. Don’t mistake empty for broken. While both can look like a breakdown, the solution is different. Make sure you are taking time to rest, sleep, and eat. Just because you can do it for a short time doesn’t mean you can do it indefinitely. If we get caught trying to live life at a full sprint, eventually we will find ourselves collapsing, as not every pace is sustainable. Relationships do matter. No matter how much we want to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, it doesn’t work. God said it wasn’t good for man to be alone. We are designed for relationships. We are instructed to love one another, encourage each other, and bear one another’s burdens. Find people going in the direction you want to be going, and do life together on purpose. Let’s check ourselves. Have substitutes taken the place of what we really need? Are we getting the nutrition, rest, and relationships we need, or are we finding a way to try to cope without them? Last, but not least, life is better when we serve others. When we take the focus off ourselves and let God work through us to serve others, we will always find that it serves and blesses us too.