i know this is a touchy subject and i too have been very indesicive about the matter
psychological diseases - are they foreal? some are and some aren't
i've interned on a psych ward before and have interviewed many of the patients
i've met depressed clients, schizophrenic clients, bipolar (manic-depressive) clients, PTSD clients, ADHD and Autistic clients, and i'm sure there are many people who i haven't met and are probably off the wall
so many things you can label yourself and shift the blame on that "disease" instead of dealing with your own problems
many of these patients of whom i have had a chance to open up a conversation about eternal things did not have a personal relationship with christ (and i'm not saying even christians cannot develop these issues)
but i will say that the mind has a power over the body on an enormous scale, you said something about the chemical imbalances of the brain causing depression, may i suggest to you that it is not the physical changes causing the psychological changes but rather the psychological causes changing the physical? what i mean to say is that scientists may claim that chemical imbalances such as serotonin and dopamine imbalance are causing the brain but could it be that the scientists are wrong? i mean, scientists are still men ofc, and they have been wrong in the past, i.e. the world being flat, bleeding people would cure their illness
but i'm going off in another direction again, what i'm trying to get at is the relation to physical and psychological properties of a person, for example, when you are angry, your body goes through a series of changes, #1 your blood pressure rises, #2 your heart rate increases, #3 adrenaline is pumping, #4 hunger is subsided, a whole slew of things that humans dont even know about yet
another thing is, chinese monks who have learned through the use of meditation to slow their heart rate down or even stop their heart rate, they can go through an inconsiderable amount of cold weather, hot weather (walking on hot coals), pain, feats of strength in a long peroid of time, the mind does have a huge influence on the body and how it reacts
so could it be that the depression (sadness) be causing the chemical imbalances instead of the chemical imbalances causing the depression?
and another thing that rubs me the wrong way is the use of medicine, like they need something else to be addicted to or use as an escape goat...
as previously mentioned before by jonnydangerouz, he did not like the use of medicine, instead of making him better it actually made him feel worse...
many of the drugs they use to treat psych patients do exactly that by altering their chemical balances
it's even been stated that some drugs (INCLUDING ANTI-DEPRESSANTS - drugs meant to cure depression) can increase the risk of suicidal ideation which is the end stage of depression
the drug companies are making huge amounts of money making these drugs, prescribed by "mental health doctors" who are also making huge amounts of money just to "cure" your "problems"
and yes even christians can get sick, christians shouldn't refuse medical treatment - it may very well be that God is using that medical treatment as his healing hand, God works in mysterious ways
but may i suggest that mental illnesses are not physical illnesses, a patient with cancer is not the same as a person with "alcholism"
and ofcourse someone with alcholism or schizophrenia or depression is gona reject that they're really not sick.. if you were using something as a scapegoat to your actions and thoughts would you confess it so easily?
do i get sad? yes, have i had some deep ass shit happen in my life? yes, am i checked into a mental instutition? no, i'm dealing with it
as for the issue with getting counseling, is it ok? i'd say to a degree it is, you should get help from someone, someone who does care, and someone who will try to do all in their power to help you
there is a matter of what that counsellor's or "doctor's" methods are, and as far as i've seen in the clinical setting, those psychiatrists only speak to their patients maybe 10-15 minutes a day at most and prescribe medications, i mean after all... if everyone is cured of their mental illness... would they have a job? ofc not... so do they care if you ever are cured?... prolly not