The easiest part of my job as a psychologist is science. Neurology, biochemistry and psychopharmacology. But in my experience life’s greatest heartaches are not biological but spiritual.
Life is hard.
As the Apostle Paul wrote, “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the…spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12) Paul states the real battle is spiritual. The attack on our personal identity with God, the erosion of self-worth and the spiritual depression it causes in our life.
How erosive is sin? What is its impact? How does it affect the mind and body?
Imagine King David came to me for a psychological evaluation during one of his periods of depression. If we use Palms 38 as David’s reason for coming to my office, my clinical notes would look something like this:
Dr. David Zuccolotto is a former pastor and clinical psychologist. | Courtesy of David Zuccolotto
Dr. Zuccolotto: Hi King David. Can you tell me why you are here today?
King David: I am full of anxiety because of my sin.
Dr. Zuccolotto: What about depression or feelings of sadness?
King David: Yes. God’s hand has come down on me. It is almost too heavy to bear.
Dr. Zuccolotto: How are your energy levels? Any tiredness or lethargy?
King David: It’s bad. It feels like there is no health in my body and my strength has failed me.
Dr. Zuccolotto: Any problems with guilt?
King David: It’s crushing me! It feels like wounds that are festering.
Dr. Zuccolotto: What about other people in your life? Any feelings of humiliation?
King David: Definitely. I feel bowed down and lower than anyone around me. As a matter of fact my friends avoid me because of this problem.
Dr. Zuccolotto: Any physical symptoms?
King David: Like I said, I don’t feel healthy in my body and my back is filled with pain.
Dr. Zuccolotto: Any anhedonia?
King David: What’s that?
Dr. Zuccolotto: A feeling of no pleasure in life. Things feel hopeless.
King David: Well, I go about groaning most of the day, feeling feeble and utterly crushed. It’s like the light has gone from my eyes. Is that anhedonia?
Dr. Zuccolotto: That’s a yes.
DIAGNOSIS: Depression
What was the cause?
King David was decisive: “It is because of my sin.”
What can we learn from David’s experience of spiritual depression?
First, David’s depression wasn’t an isolated event. The psalms chronicle a long journey of King David’s highs and lows. Cycles of sin, anxiety and depression are a common theme. Life’s isn’t easy, even for the King of Israel and “man after God’s own heart.”
But whose to blame?
David acknowledged and accepted that he was the problem. He made no attempts to minimize or rationalize his guilt:
“I have become like one… whose mouth can offer no reply.” (Psalm 38: 13-14)
