{"id":31763,"date":"2019-05-14T19:02:16","date_gmt":"2019-05-14T18:02:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/?p=31763"},"modified":"2020-06-07T20:16:36","modified_gmt":"2020-06-07T19:16:36","slug":"dark-days-of-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/adrianwarnock\/2019\/05\/dark-days-of-depression\/","title":{"rendered":"Dark Days of Depression"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>
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\"\"<\/a>\u2018Some say that you\u2019re a Christian, so you shouldn\u2019t feel depressed. But I guess, they haven\u2019t read the Psalms in depth\u2019
\nNizam Speaks\u00a0<\/a><\/h3>\n

\u201cThe LORD heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds\u201d (Psalm 147:3, NLT)<\/h3>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Nizam is a friend of mine. He has a firm and deep Christian faith, and is an inspirational spoken word artist. \u00a0I have shared one of his modern poetry performances<\/a> before on here.<\/p>\n

Nizam also suffers from depression.<\/p>\n

This week is Mental Health Awareness week (see the UK\u2019s Mind Charity<\/a>). Suicide remains the leading cause of death in men<\/a> under fifty.<\/p>\n

Nizam has bravely decided to share a video which expresses how he felt in the middle of a significant period of clinical depression.<\/p>\n

This video is raw. It is emotional. It will help you understand how depression feels.<\/p>\n

It will also highlight some of the misconceptions many Christians have, and the way a depressed person can feel about well meaning but ultimately unhelpful comments.<\/p>\n

Make no mistake, a Christian can<\/em> get depressed.<\/a><\/p>\n

I hope that Nizam\u2019s video will stir your compassion<\/a>\u00a0and if you are depressed yourself help you feel that you are NOT alone.<\/p>\n

Nizam assures me that he is in a much better place now, but his piece deliberately does not offer an overly simplistic solution. Like many other chronic illnesses, depression can be with someone for a very long time.<\/p>\n

Friends and family are often much better at offering support to people with acute illness than we are helping someone who has been struggling for years or even decades. There may be someone in your circle this week who needs you to ask \u201cHow are you really<\/em>?\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

If you are unfamiliar with the spoken word it is a form of modern poetry that doesn\u2019t have to rhyme but does use word plays and pithy lines such as,<\/p>\n

\u2019I get refereed to get some medication from a psychiatrist. But then I get odd looks from the congregation like \u201cwhy am I even trying this? Cause all you\u2019ve got to do is just pray and read your Bible, Niz\u201d. But I wonder, would they same thing too if I had cancer? And tell me not to go to Chemo cause Jesus is the answer.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This latest poem is reflective of Psalm 42, where the psalmist is crying out to God in distress (\u2018my tears have been my food day and night\u2019) but ends with Nizam acknowledging that God is his only hope (\u2018Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God\u2019).<\/p>\n

You can watch Nizam\u2019s video here:<\/p>\n

Dark Days by Nizam Speaks<\/h2>\n