5 Tips For Black Christian Professionals Struggling With Depression
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There’s already enough stigma attached to mental health in the Black community, but the misconceptions and stigma associated with mental health concerns for Black Christians are much heavier. If you are a Black Christian professional struggling with depression, first know that you aren’t alone or in the wrong.
We know how hard it is to find information tailored to people who are Black, young Christians, and mentally ailing, which is why we wrote one with you in mind. In this blog, you will learn five tips for overcoming depression.
Change Your Mindset About Depression
Before anything else, you’ll need to work on your perception of depression. If not, you may struggle using the other tips discussed in this blog.
Here are some mindset shifts you need to have:
● Depression is real. It is not all in your mind.
● Depression is not a sin. It is an illness, only that it isn’t physical.
● Depression is not a punishment from God.
Tough times don’t choose tough people. It is neither your personal sin nor that of your parents that are responsible for your trial.
You may notice spiritual symptoms like the inability to pray in tongues or feeling spiritually desolate, but know that they are consequences of a mental illness, not a spiritual one. Feeling guilty for experiencing the emotions you get and withholding compassion from yourself would make it hard to heal from depression.
● Being faith-filled or fervent in prayer is not the only solution to your depression. Also, you may not find the perfect solution in the scriptures.
● Depression is not your excuse to be lazy or exclude yourself from God’s work.
God's not disappointed in you for not being in the right state of mind to serve him wholeheartedly. He loved you first, still does. Through your pain and changing emotions, he is with you.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed. (Psalm 34:18 NLT)
● Depression doesn't look the same for everyone. It even happens to those who seem to have their life under control.
Evaluate Your Lifestyle
Being mindful of how different thoughts, actions, and habits influence your emotions is critical to understanding your experience of depression. To find triggers or root causes of your depression and work on reducing your symptoms, you need to look back at when you started feeling depressed.
Ask yourself some important questions like:
● How was my sleep health?
● How were my diet and eating habits?
● Did I recently recollect a traumatic event?
● Do I have suppressed hurt, bitterness, or hatred?
● Did any significant event occur?
● Did everything go left after I changed jobs?
● How was my spiritual discipline?
● Am I in a toxic work environment?
● What domain(s) of wellness brought me the most worry, overwhelm, or shame?
It may seem like this tip would do nothing but bring you hurtful memories, but it will point you in the right direction. First, it will help you recognize the poor habits that sabotage your mental health.
It would also help you discover the point in your life where you lost yourself or if you ever found yourself. You may also discover unresolved stressors or conflicts, past and present, that you have with yourself and others.
In short, this tip will take you on a discovery journey to uncover the causes and triggers of your depression and brainstorm — alone or with your doctor — on ways to improve your experience.
Seek Professional Help
Many Black Christians struggling with depression assume that they will receive their healing if they exercise their faith and pray hard enough. And the ones born into families with firm Christian values often feel unsure about seeking professional help because, all their life, they’ve been taught many things about being a good Christian, and seeing the doctor for their emotions wasn’t one of them.
For many Christians, following this tip may cause an identity crisis. It is likely they will start questioning their Christianity and feeling like weak Christians who are being overly dramatic or using mental health as an excuse for not doing their Christian duty.
If this is also your dilemma, let’s help put your inner conflict into perspective…
When Christians suffer a physical illness such as diarrhea, diabetes, or cancer, they visit the doctor for a comprehensive diagnosis and prescription medications. Shouldn’t the same wisdom apply to mental health illnesses?
God created medicine, and he heals through doctors the same way he uses anointed men.
Large churches usually have counselors and licensed psychologists on staff. If you are comfortable, you can speak with them. But if you are scared of being judged or bothered about confidentiality, seek help from a professional who is a stranger. It will be better if they are Christians too.
Find Support in People Around You
Mental health professionals aren’t the only ones you need to seek their help. Outside consultation or therapy hours with them, you spend time with friends, family, roommates, employees, and work colleagues.
While struggling with depression, the last thing you may desire is having people around you, but having the right people can help speed up your recovery. It will help you avoid being overwhelmed with negative, depressive thoughts and assure you that you are loved.
Sadly, some Black families aren’t much help to people with mental health illnesses, partly because they don’t know how to offer support. Nevertheless, ask your family and friends for their prayers and love. Prayers can go a long way.
If you stay with a roommate, talk to them about keeping the space clean and organized, as it is proven to have a calming effect on the mind. And if you live alone, you can ask a trusted friend to visit you to chat whenever you get overwhelming feelings of sadness.
Spend quality time with Christ-loving faith community members praying and studying the scriptures if you have a hard time doing it alone.
Finally, the most underrated tip for professionals struggling with depression set boundaries at work and ask for your employer's, employees', or colleagues' understanding.
Maintain Your Spirituality
While struggling with depression, Christians may find it hard to stay devoted to God or get on that spiritual high when praying and worshiping. And their inability to be spiritually disciplined can, in turn, worsen their depression.
If you are experiencing the same, we suggest that you keep your prayers short and heartfelt and meditate on scriptures that inspire faith and hope in you.
It is not about how many pages of the bible you can digest in a short time. When you are going through depression, it is about which scriptures and spiritual practices uplift your spirit and mind.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to work overtime to impress God
When your depression causes you to act contrary to God’s word, push people away, or put down your shield of faith, the devil may trick you into believing that God has become distant and that you now have to strive to gain his love and mercy. Counter those negative thoughts by meditating on scriptures that reassure you of God’s character, which is love.
Scriptures like:
I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels won’t, and all the powers of hell itself cannot keep God’s love away. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, 39, or where we are—high above the sky or in the deepest ocean—nothing will ever be able to separate us from the love of God demonstrated by our Lord Jesus Christ when he died for us. (Romans 8:38-39, TLB)
Fear not, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed. I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand. (Isaiah 41:10 TLB)
God’s love for you is unconditional. He doesn’t stop loving you when your emotions change, so know that he is by your side as you find your way out of darkness and fear.
Look in your bible and read about how Jesus, the high priest of our confession, experienced fear and darkness, found strength in his father and triumphed in the end. You can read his story as many times as you yearn for support and love.
If you are having a hard time enjoying spiritual practices, consider searching your Christian community for a study or worship partner. If you or your loved one is in need of depression counseling or Christian counseling in Houston TX, Boston MA, or Fort Lauderdale FL, contact Comfort Nyeswah-Wiafe, LMHC, LPC for your complimentary consultation. We only offer online therapy. If you are ready to invest in your health, we are here to support you.
As always, we’d like to be clear that this blog post isn’t intended as professional counseling or clinical advice. If you’re in need of support, please consider speaking to a professional to be evaluated.
If suicidal thoughts are present, call 911 immediately or have someone take you to the nearest emergency room if you are worried about yourself or a loved one taking their own life.