One of my close friends — and fellow St. Louis Cardinals fans — is a wonderful Lutheran pastor who suffers from clinical depression. Earlier this year, he published a book titled “I Trust When Dark My Road.” The book (which you can download for free here) allows the reader to look deep into the heart, mind and soul of someone suffering mental illness. Many Americans, myself included, have depression or other related problems. And even for me it’s somewhat difficult to think that it afflicts pastors — as if wearing a stole somehow protects you from the problem.
So I was very grateful to see USA Today run a Religion News Service story about pastors and depression. It begins with the sad mention of a 42-year-old pastor in North Carolina who committed suicide in September:
Those who counsel pastors say Christian culture, especially Southern evangelicalism, creates the perfect environment for depression. Pastors suffer in silence, unwilling or unable to seek help or even talk about it. Sometimes they leave the ministry. Occasionally the result is the unthinkable.
Experts say clergy suicide is a rare outcome to a common problem.
But Baptists in the Carolinas are soul searching after a spate of suicides and suicide attempts by pastors. In addition to the September suicide of David Treadway, two others in North Carolina attempted suicide, and three in South Carolina succeeded, all in the last four years.
Being a pastor — a high-profile, high-stress job with nearly impossible expectations for success — can send one down the road to depression, according to pastoral counselors.
That’s one of the things I picked up from Peperkorn’s book as well as my personal knowledge of similar situations. Depression can be caused or exacerbated by a dizzying array of factors, but stress and being overextended and over-obligated can be big triggers. This story gets at that, looking at how some of the personality profiles that are common in clergy (being people-pleasers, for instance) can lead pastors to have major frustration with themselves. The story pretty much focuses on evangelicals and the south, but it gets a wide array of perspective in there anyway.
The president of a pastoral counseling center in North Carolina says that a pastor is like a “24-hour ER” who is supposed to be on call to everyone all the time. As a pastor’s kid, I can vouch for the unbelievable frequency of the 2 AM phone call or 4 AM doorbell. The same guy talks about the isolation and loneliness and lack of social support as well. Again, all of these things ring true for many pastors.
The article notes the frequency of depression in the general population (one in four women and 12 percent of men experience it at least once during their lifetime, according to the AMA) and says psychologists agree that it’s at least as prevalent among clergy. Then we learn about how few sufferers actually get treatment and how even fewer clergy do.
What makes the article so great, in my view, is that it looks at how theology might compound the problem for some pastors. One man is quoted as saying that clergy don’t talk about their depression because it violates their understanding of their faith:
[David] Treadway, pastor of Sandy Ridge Baptist Church in Hickory, was the exception. He told his congregation he was in treatment several months before his suicide. Still the shock was hard to absorb, co-workers said.
Rodney Powe, worship pastor at the church, said he only now understands depression is a mental illness. Christians who don’t experience depression trivialize it, he said. “We just say, “Come on, get over it. We have the hope of Christ and the Holy Spirit.”’ …
Society still places a stigma on mental illness, but Christians make it worse, [Matthew Stanford, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at Baylor University in Waco, Texas] said, by “over-spiritualizing” depression and other disorders — dismissing them as a lack of faith or a sign of weakness.
I don’t know why I do this, but I read some of the comments to this article and grew disheartened. (Still, USA Today comments are not as bad as Washington Post commenters. Not sure why the Post has such bad trolls on their stories but I recommend you don protective gear before diving into that commenting pool.) People suggested that maybe pastors were killing themselves because “they come to realize that they’ve been wrong all these years,” needed to preach less morality or came to realize they couldn’t “impress people” anymore. Someone quoted Scripture to accuse people suffering from depression of being bad Christians and others also tried to argue that depression has no medical component and only a spiritual base.
The article talks about the “career” costs to seeking treatment but also how it’s becoming a bit more acceptable to get treatment. I would hope that more stories such as this that engage that hyper-spiritualization of the disease might help improve the situation for other sufferers.
The one thing I was left wondering about was how denominational support structures come into play. In other words, if you have a bishop or district leader to go to or a health plan that covers treatment for depression, does that help more than if you’re at a completely independent church?
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Comments (10) |
October 30, 2009, at 2:04 pm
Mollie,
First I’ve also noticed that fetid swamp commenting pool you noted.
One thing that was a glaring omission to me when I read
It took me one minute to find this:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/851330
So it seems to me that there is a great opportunity here for a counselor, perhaps even a clinically trained pastor, to use lessons from the Bible to help depressed pastors.
October 30, 2009, at 4:19 pm
Thanks for the link to the download. I’ll get it and read it.
I still find myself skeptical at times about some of the claims to clinical depression that I’ve encountered. But I am much more slow to cast doubt. At my family’s urging I went to see my doctor for a physical. I’d been increasingly moody and irritable, and I’d been having a lot of stomach and headache problems. I find myself clenching my stomach muscles almost constantly, and gritting my teeth so much that my jaws ache. (enough that it’s sometimes difficult to eat a sandwich!)
The doc immediately concluded that I’m overstressed and he prescribed Zoloft. I gave it a shot, but it didn’t seem to help me, and I’m in the middle of ramping it down again. But what is a person to do? There are 60 people (part and full time) on the staff of my church. Our large preschool and elementary school have fairly strong enrollments, but constant financial woes. There is never enough time to do everything - or, it seems, to do anything right. Instead of the once-relatively-restful practice of visiting and counseling, days and nights are filled with meetings and phone calls. Planning 6 months ahead should make my life easier, but instead it makes me constantly tense, borrowing worries from the future.
And then the district calls and would like some help with a committee or a funding campaign. One of our local helping agencies needs someone else on their board. And the church high school or college wants our help in their fundraising. Another invites me to a “free dinner” at which I will be pressured to donate, and to enlist my congregation in their worthy cause. “Pastor Appreciation Month” came and went again.
Pardon my pity party. Many people have more stress than they can manage these days. And the troubles do not change my understanding of Christ’s victory over death in the least. I know that my life is in his hands.
It’s just that some days, like today, I think it’s finally going to happen that I’ll get to Sunday morning and have nothing to say.
October 30, 2009, at 4:24 pm
I strongly recommend the wisdom of our ancestors on this: Omega 3 Fatty Acids (cod liver oil) pills and a one hour walk every day. Other exercise helps, but the walk takes you out in the sunlight and gives you exposure to Vitamin D.
October 30, 2009, at 4:31 pm
One additional thought (though I’ve droned on too long already): it may be that pastors have an especially hard time in dealing with depression because they are actors. You cannot care for someone else if you are depressed or overwhelmed with your own problems. When people come to you with their concerns, you can’t tell them your own. You have to smile, and be concerned, and listen patiently. This is not all an act - it’s not false. It is sincere caring. But it isn’t exactly the truth about the pastor’s own internal life.
When others ask me how I am, what am I to say? Is it the task of the sheep to bear the shepherd’s burdens? If I share that I am sick to death of my work today and would rather be far away, can they then bring their troubles to me?
But I sometimes wonder if acting healthy and happy deepens the depression into despair.
October 30, 2009, at 5:11 pm
“nobody you know” - thank you for your posts - they were no way too long. You’ve illustrated very well the situation so many find themselves in. I hope the hosts will permit me to use a modified round as a prayer in answer:
May the long-time Son shine call you.
His love surround you.
And His pure light within you.
Guide your way on.
One note: most regular doctors are not equipped to handle what you are facing but there is help out there. May God grant that you find the help you need.
October 31, 2009, at 12:01 am
“Nobody you know” - Perhaps, as our pastor did upon accepting the call to our congregation, you need to remind your congregation that you’re a sheepdog, not the shepherd. Remember, you’re just one of the animals. The Shepherd has given you an important place, but you still need to be cared for by the Shepherd. Sounds simplistic, but the perspective change for you & the congregation can be huge.
That said, your mental health needs still have to be met, and I hope there is someone nearby who can help. I tried several drug therapies about 20 - 25 years ago. I find that a ‘through the wilderness’ understanding is much less ‘foggy’ and hurts more, but doesn’t last as long. (dysthymia sufferer, myself, so the lows aren’t as bad as other depressions, they just hang on.)
October 31, 2009, at 2:34 am
I also read the article from which you quote, and was saddened by the comments. The lack of compassion or even basic civility in our society today is disturbing, as is the continuing stigma surrounding depression.
As a pastor with a history of depression, I can attest that many Christians still don’t comprehend that it is (at least in my case) due to a chemical imbalance in the brain, not a lack of faith, and that for some of us antidepressants are as essential as insulin is for some diabetics.
You ended your post by asking, “If you have a bishop or district leader to go to or a health plan that covers treatment for depression, does that help more than if you’re at a completely independent church?” I would answer by saying that health insurance that covers mental health treatment and prescription drugs is essential, because otherwise most pastors could never afford to get help. However, few, if any, pastors are likely to seek help from a bishop or district superintendent, out of fear that it will adversely affect their careers. Would you go to your boss for personal counseling, or even admit to him or her that you were having problems coping with the demands of the job?
Thankfully, there are now some treatment centers specifically for clergy, as well as life coaches and consultants that can provide an objective, independent perspective and help pastors cope with the unique stresses of parish ministry. There are books like the one you mentioned. There are support networks in which pastors help other pastors. See my website for clergy, http://www.betruetoyourself.com, for details on monthly “Caring Clergy Community Conference Calls” and a list of books and other resources that I recommend.
October 31, 2009, at 8:39 am
Jerry,
Thanks for that interesting quote and link about Job. Another Biblical resource are the many “lament psalms.” However, as many pastoral and liturgical writers have pointed out, American churches are unlikely to read or consider these emotionally honest psalms, even though they are the most common type of psalm. Ancient Hebrews seem to have been more comfortable with the idea of depression than contemporary American Christianity.
November 1, 2009, at 3:31 pm
Depression is indeed a treatable illness — and one thing clergy can do in parishes is help parishioners realize that there is no shame in being depressed. Having spent a lot of time working in congregations, I’ve found that while there is an “acting” component to preaching, parishioners made deep connections with me when I was most honest about my frailty. People still recall those sermons — and I still have to confess to having done the things they heard me preach about. That being said, I don’t think there an answer for everyone (except holding on to Christ) — we have to find our own therapies. Imagine how many clergy would avoid alchoholism and affairs and other behaviors if they admitted they were as human as their sheep.
November 7, 2009, at 12:08 am
Thank you so much for raising awareness of the great need that our undershepherds have in caring for the sheep. An important topic and one worthy of our collective wisdom at every level.
P