“How Can I Help a Friend Defeat Depression?”

By: Craig Beyer

I. Introduction

A. Our emotions are often caused by our thoughts!

All-or-nothing thinking: There’s no middle ground. You’re either a hero or a loser. The situation is either ideal or a disaster. If you make any mistakes

at all, you look at yourself as a failure.

Overgeneralization: Generalizing from a single negative experience,

expecting it to happen over and over again in all situations. If you got

turned down or rejected once it will always happen.

The mental filter: Dwelling on the negatives while filtering out all the positives. For example, you do well most of the time but failed a test so

you are a failure.

Diminishing the positive: Coming up with reasons why positive events

don’t count. You tell yourself that you just got lucky or it was an easy

accomplishment that anyone could have done.

Jumping to conclusions: Despite any proof to back it up, you go straight to a

negative interpretation of events. You act as either a mind reader (assuming that

someone is reacting negatively to you) or a fortune teller (you “know” that things will

turn out badly).

Magnification or minimization: Also known as the binocular trick. You either

magnify problems, blowing them way out of proportion, or you minimize your own achievements and positive qualities until

they seem insignificant.

Emotional reasoning: You buy into the idea that the way you feel reflects

reality. If you feel like you’re worthless, that means it’s true.

'Should' and 'must' statements: You constantly beat yourself over the

head with the things you should or shouldn’t do. This rigid to-do list of

“shoulds” and “musts” leads to guilt, shame, and stress.

Labeling and mislabeling: You label yourself according to what you do or don’t do. If you make a mistake, you slap on a negative label (failure, idiot, loser). These labels stick, long after

the negative event is forgotten.

Personalization: You assume guilt and responsibility for things that are

outside your control. Whenever something goes wrong, you blame

yourself.

1. Rom. 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.2. 2 Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

B. To overcome depression, you sometimes need an attitude adjustment about life!

1. John 8:32 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”

II. How can I defeat depression?

A. Focus on the facts, not on my feelings.

1. The Bible doesn’t tell us to get in touch with our feelings, but to get in touch with the truth!

B. Don’t compare myself with others.

1. II Cor. 10:12b But when they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding.

2. The only person I want you to be is you.

3. We often compare our weaknesses with other people’s strengths!

4. We also compare Spiritual disciplines.

a. We don’t read the Bible to change God’s opinion of us! We read the Bible to change our opinion of God!

5. We tend to label ourselves.

C. Don’t take false blame.

D. Don’t exaggerate the negative.

E. Take care of my physical needs.

F. Give my frustrations to God.

1. I Pet. 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

2. James 5:16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

G. Let God give me a new direction for my life.

1. Get involved in the lives of other people!

III. Conclusion