We have just heard, by the way, that psychology (as a therapeutic method) cannot cure man's soul because it lacks the true understanding of human nature as taught by the Church and as created by God. Furthermore, psychology does not yet understand that man is a non-evolved,

spiritual/material being. Psychology does, however, have much to say about what causes depression from a genetic-biological perspective. That is how we will discuss it in this section. And we know, from self- observation, the physical influences the spiritual dimension, and the spiritual influences the physical dimension.

        Depression, can operate, independently, in both dimensions of human existence. Consequently, the cure the soul may not necessarily heal the depression caused by the body. And curing the bodily source of depression will not heal that affliction in the soul. It should be kept in mind that the depression caused by the body will, in most instances, require medical intervention. The problem facing us as pastors is determining which form of depression we are dealing with when one of our parishioners comes to us complaining of this affliction. Is it depression from a physical cause or depression from a spiritual cause?

            There are many real causes of what we call “depression.” There are also erroneous ideas about what causes depression. One such idea is that depression is the result of sin. Is there any truth to this? Yes there is; but sin is not the only cause. Look at Job, for example. God tested him, and he was in a miserable state. His friends asked him: “Is not thy wickedness great? And thine inequities infinite?” (Job 22:5) Job had already responded: “Miserable comforters are ye all” (16:2) Job had not sinned and God vindicated him in the end. He was, no doubt, “depressed” but not as the result of personal sin.

        Separating the cause from depression is very important. The depression is the symptom, the cause is the problem (disease). We must seek to remove the cause.

 

Depression can be seen as one of three things or even a combination of these:

 

        1. It can be a symptom of something. Influenza

or serious disease may have depression as a side effect.

 

         2.            It can be a reaction to life events, as in the death of a loved one, or being fired, or living a sinful life, or being angry, or experiencing guilt (whether false guilt or deserved guilt). This is called “reactive depression.” It occurs as a response to a certain life style or event. Cognition also plays a leading role in reactive depression.

 

         3.            It can be a disease in and of itself, such as when the body is suffering from some disorder. It may be hormonal, genetic, or physiological.

 

        There are also certain risk factors that may lead to depression:

 

         1.            A person's sex. Women have a higher rate of depression than do men. (2:1).

 

         2.            Age. Surveys seem to indicate a higher rate of depression in younger adults (18 to 40).

This is a change from earlier in this Century when older adults were reported to be more depressed.

 

         3. Marital status. Separated and divorced persons show a higher incidence of depression than do those who never married or who are currently married. Rates are lower among married persons the among single persons.

 

         4.            Social class. Depressive symptoms are more common among those in the lower occupational, financial, or educational levels.

 

         5.            Genetic factors. There seems to be compelling evidence that heredity factors predispose a person to bipolar disorders (Manic-depressives).

 

         6.            Biological factors. There is growing acceptance that clinical depression can be triggered in a number of different places in the body. Physical illness almost certainly increases one's risk for depression — so does having a certain “high risk” physiology.

 

        Before we leave this section on depression, — its types and possible causes, and before we look at the human person and depression from the standpoint of the Church and the Fathers, let’s trace a resulting depression from a root cause.

 

        One accepted major cause, mentioned earlier, is anger. Most anger begins with a “HURT” (some disappointment, an action or non-action on the part of someone). Instead of admitting the hurt the person mulls it over and becomes “ANGRY.” Anger hides the hurt. The anger is not admitted, expressed, or dealt with. This may lead to “REVENGE.” The revenge hides the hurt and the anger. Revenge leads to disruptive, violent actions that are not acceptable in our society. The revenge is then repressed. The repressed revenge can lead to 1), destructive action; or 2), Psychosomatic symptoms; or 3), depression. If the depression deepens, or is not alleviated, it can lead to despair and despondency.

 

        This doesn’t explain all depression but does explain some.

 

        We can now understand a little better this malady called depression. And secular psychologists consider it a malady. From the point of view that it was not given to mankind by God, it is a malady. The Holy fathers say that all types of pathology arise as the result of separation from God. It is a highly complex disorder that can come from both good and evil sources.

        It was surprising to learn that the word “depression” (or even the word “depressed”) is not found in Holy Scripture, and rarely found in the writings of the Holy Fathers. It is referred to and its symptoms are discussed, but depression, as such, does not seem to be the concern of the Church. The Fathers expected that every true Christian would be depressed. It is the source of the depression that concerns the Fathers, and to that which depression, not lighted by self-knowledge and trust in God, can lead.

        St Gregory of Nyssa (From Glory to Glory) writes:

 

         Our greatest protection is self-knowledge, and to avoid the delusion that we are seeing ourselves when we are in reality looking at something else. (not self-esteem).

        The Holy Scriptures tell us that the source of all the maladies of mankind was the “fall.” Adam and Eve (Zoe) were created and placed in a Garden of Delight. They were created in the image and the likeness of the God that created them. Adam and Eve lived in a near perfect relationship with each other and all the universe. When they contemplated each other, they saw God himself. They each saw a heart and a soul that were holy, pure and grace-filled; a will fixed on God’s purposes; and a mind that shone with a brilliance, and an illumination that was surpassed only by God himself — and unencumbered by the intellect and the reasoning power. It was “the light of the knowledge and the glory of God.”

        When God breathed into Adam the breath of life, the energy of the Holy Spirit, Adam became a living soul. He was made of much more that the dust of the ground (which constituted his body;) he was also made of the Image and Likeness of God (without having any “divine spark” whatsoever) — he therefore possessed a spirit aspect. Living on the earth, he also lived in heaven, walking and communing with God. Then came the fall.

        At this point it is important to know that the soul contains the body – the body does not contain or imprison the soul. The body is within the soul. The soul acts through the body. The fathers say that it is the soul that needs to be cured because of Adam and Eve’s disobedience and self – ish act. To understand why this is so, we have to take a closer look at the soul’s makeup.

            The soul, according the Fathers, has essence and energy (created by God). The essence of the soul is the heart. The energy of the soul is the mind (or the nous). The mind, or the nous, is also the “eye of the heart;” the mind’s natural “resting place” is in the heart, at its very core. The nous operates through the thoughts.

        Unfortunately, the word “nous” can be very confusing. In the biblical/patristic tradition the nous can define the heart, the soul, or the mind. However, men like Metropolitan Herotheos Vlachos, are doing much to unravel the confusion and the sometimes-cloudy definitions that one encounters when trying to understand the true nature of man according to the Fathers.

            So, to avoid confusion, the soul is defined as the spiritual element of man’s existence; the heart as the essence of the soul; and the nous (mind) as the energy of the soul which operates through the thoughts, and exists at the heart’s very center as the “eye of the heart.” The Fathers teach that man is an “unconfused union” of body and soul. They also teach that the center of this union is the heart.

            The natural state of man then, when first created by God, was that he enjoyed the vision of God (theoria); his mind (nous) was illumined with the unceasing knowledge of God; and his mind was also united to his heart — at its very center. It was the heart's “eye.” Separated from reason, it could concern itself with the thing of God.

            At the fall, the nous became darkened and separated from Adam's heart. The mind became identified with the reason and the intellect. Since the mind operates through the thoughts(it is not the thoughts) they began to act in the reason. Because of this, bodily corruption; enslavement to the passions; confused thinking and thoughts resulting from imaginings, fantasies, stimulation of the senses, and a malfunctioning reason, caused a frightening disease — separation from God and physical and spiritual death. The soul needs to be cured. When our savior, Jesus Christ, came, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the ever-virgin theotokos, He brought the cure — the Church as hospital, and the sacraments and the true ascetic life as remedies.

 

        It can now be easily understood why man suffers from such maladies as depression and also how these maladies can be cured. Man must remove the nous from its unnatural association with the reason and bring it back to its first love, the heart, where it can once again be the center, the “eye.”

        The nous must be illumined and thereby healed. The reason for this is found in an Old Testament Hebrew word that is translated “mind.” The word is KALYAW and it is used for “interior self,” “mind,” “kidney,” “reins.” In other words, the nous, like a kidney, is a filter. It guards the heart from any outward pollution that may come into it; and it guards the thoughts and actions from the defilements that arise from within the heart. And like the reins on a horse, the nous directs the human condition to conform to the things of God.

            Another word the scriptures use for “mind” is spirit.

Our spirit is the “life source,” the “power source,” the “energy source” of our lives. Our spirit resides at the core of our being. For the non-Christian, the human spirit has no other source of energy but itself. For the baptized, sacrament receiving, ascetic living Orthodox Christian, a connection has been established with another source of energy — the Holy Spirit. This Holy Spirit energy imparts everlasting life.

        I am speaking now, of course, of man in the fallen state. The original function of the mind was the unceasing remembrance and contemplation of the knowledge and the glory God as He was revealed to the heart. The reason, being of the brain, took care of all those other things that were necessary for the human being to live in the material world.

            We do not have the time to go into depth about methods of curing the nous, perhaps someone could be persuaded to do that someday, but, suffice to say, that as a man begins to cure his mind, even before illumination, he becomes the “social man par excellence.” That is, “He is no longer defiant, he becomes the health of his community, his thoughts are no longer confused and confusing, he does not seek inordinate pleasures or fulfillment.” He is immune to despair and despondency that springs from hopelessness, and his passions and emotions are beginning to come under control.

 

        To this end we must constantly “renew our minds.” God's life must show forth — not our own. In Romans 12:2 we read:

 

    Be not conformed to this world, but be Ye transformed by the renewing of your Mind (nous), so that you may prove what is the good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

 

Among the Holy Fathers, there is a distinction made between depression that comes from living a sinful life, and a depression that occurs and deepens the closer one gets to God.