Depression: The Way Up When You Are Down (Resources For Changing Lives Series)

The message I found the most helpful from this booklet was that dealing with mental illness requires a change in thinking patterns; that it's not enough to just know that the negative thoughts you have are unhelpful and dishonest, but that you need to actually train your brain to think in new ways. Edward T. Welch does a fantastic job in helping the reader learn to speak spiritual truths to themselves in the midst of depression. I think that even if I didn't have depression I would have enjoyed hearing these spiritual truths again in the way that Welch presents them. \\r\\n\\r\\nI had hoped, though, that Welch would place more emphasis on the fact that depression is an illness often caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. However, Welch does not give the impression that a person who has depression only has it because they don't trust God enough, aren't 'Christian' enough, etc. Rather, Welch writes about the sinful nature that is evident in all of humanity and how depression stems from sinful desires. Furthermore, he poses that depression can be an opportunity to grow in reliance on and love for God\\r\\n\\r\\nI would recommend this booklet to any Christian who is struggling or has struggled with depression in the past, however, even Christians who don't suffer from depression have something they can learn from it also.