The Depression Demon

I don't want to make it sound as if this is the most common thought in the Christian world, I simply want to address it.  During my struggle, I never ran into this, as I only told about twenty people about it.  But, I have heard stories through others, and I have heard it through passing comments on depression in general.  One of the thoughts I have seen expressed quite a bit with church going folk, is that depression is akin to demon possession.  Preachers have spoken about trying to heal depression in a manner that sounds, not like Jesus healing a leper, but more like Him casting out the Legion of demons into the pigs.

On one hand, I understand the confusion.  Depression affects how we feel, and people consider feelings to be spiritual.  So, if your feelings are what are being affected then problem must be spiritual, and not physical.  So, go grab the holy water and a crucifix.

This is only a half formed thought though.  Fully formed, we see several things very clearly.

One: Emotions, while spiritual in essence, are tied to our physical bodies.  Food, exercise, medicine, illness, they all are physical things that deeply affect our emotions.  This makes sense, as we are spiritual beings, but our spirit is tied to a physical body.  Is it not?  I am not everywhere at all times.  My spirit is confined to this body, and what happens to this body can affect my spirit.

Two: We don't treat other mood affecting struggles as demonic.  Are women demon possessed once a month?  Should we try to heal them of their periods?  Seriously.  Once a month, females go through a drastic emotional shift that is basically a mild form of depression.  Same goes with menopause.  Every woman that lives long enough goes through it.  Is that demonic, or is it hormonal?  Now, I am not saying that there is no spiritual battle going on.  Satan surely uses such things to his advantage, and will lie to us in our pain, but they are not in and of themselves necessarily demonic.

So, let us treat those who are depressed with the truth that we know, that there is surely a heavy spiritual battle going on.  But, let us not be fooled into thinking depression is something it is not.