All posts by Darkmyroad

depression, pharmacology

Antidepressant use doubles in US

2 Comments

Below you will find a link to an article that indicates anti-depressant use has doubled in the US:

Reuters AlertNet – Antidepressant use doubles in US, study finds

Here’s the quotation I found most interesting:

“The survey did not look at why, but the researchers made some educated guesses. It may be more socially acceptable to be diagnosed with and treated for depression, they said. The availability of new drugs may also have been a factor.”

What do you think? How taboo is it to be diagnosed with depression? Is it more or less so if you are a pastor or some other type of church worker?

stress

The Things in My Head

14 Comments

brain_full.gif

One of the things that I struggle with is how to not stress and freak out about all of the little tasks that run through my head all the time. It seems as the piles of tasks big and small continue to crop up and have a tendency to overwhelm me, so that I go into “shut down” mode and just stare at the wall for a while. Now where there is some benefit to staring at the wall, I don’t think that’s where I generally want to be as a pastor or a person.

So how does one Get a grip on all of the stuff of life so that they don’t fill your mind up? Overstimulation is one of the big causes of mood change for me, and there’s no doubt that if I am weighed down and anxious about the growth of the physical and mental piles building up, something has to give in the process.

So to that end, here are a few tips. I’ve gleaned some of these from David Allen’s book, Getting Things Done, and others I’ve picked up along the way:

  1. Write it down. God gave us paper and computers for a reason. There is absolutely no need to try and juggle everything in your head. Why waste energy on remembering WHAT to do when you could be actually DOING it?
  2. If it takes less than two minutes, just do it. This one has become completely liberating for me. My general mindset has been “if it takes less than 2 minutes, I can do it anytime.” The problem is, you don’t do it anytime, and so what really is a little pittance becomes a great mental debt.
  3. Don’t allow the tools to become the craftsman. This is really important for me, since I am by nature a techno-geek galore. It is very easy for me to sit and fiddle and tweak and stare and doodle on the computer, and forget that I have certain things to do. The tools are there for me, not the other way around.
  4. Schedule relaxation time. This is really, really hard. I can pack every waking moment with stuff to do, but if there isn’t built in time for playing with my kids, watching a movie, golfing, or whatever it is, then the little tasks become the sole reason for existence.
  5. In the same vein, schedule time for prayer and meditation in the Word. Sometimes I am tempted to use my freedom in the Gospel as an excuse for not praying. There are a lots of reasons why it is hard to pray (there’s a nice section in the book on this, btw), but if I schedule it so that this is a part of my identity as a husband/father/pastor, then it works its way in as a habitus that will have staying power.

That’s what I’ve got for right now. How do you stay ahead of the piles?

-DMR

depression

Two of Me?

2 Comments

Wow. What a great blog. Written by a pastor’s wife. GO CHECK THIS OUT NOW:

Two of Me?: “Today was a ‘normal’ day: me alone with my three kids. I played with the kids. I hugged them. We tickled and laughed. We even left the house for a small adventure. We made it through the entire day without anyone melting down into tears. That’s something to celebrate.

My husband came home with another tale of woe about church. I believe his introduction to the story was, ‘I don’t think things could get any weirder.’ I think he’s said that several times in the last couple of months, and yet the weirdness persists. I listened with attention and empathy.

I’ve fulfilled my roles of mom and wife well today, and that makes me glad. But under all of that is a strong, steady current of sadness and fatigue. Nothing in particular is on my mind to make me feel this way. It’s just there. It’s as though there are two of me, one is heavy, bolted to the ground. The other is happy and in the moment with people I love.

The happy me is inextricably tied to the heavy me, and that makes everything effortful. I think this might be a symptom of depression, and someday I hope I will have recovered fully and will be capable of feeling carefree. Right now, it feels like I have changed completely. Sometimes I think this weight will be with me every hour of every day from now on.

(Via On Being Mrs. Pastor.)

depression

Two of Me?

2 Comments

Wow. What a great blog. Written by a pastor’s wife. GO CHECK THIS OUT NOW:

Two of Me?: “Today was a ‘normal’ day: me alone with my three kids. I played with the kids. I hugged them. We tickled and laughed. We even left the house for a small adventure. We made it through the entire day without anyone melting down into tears. That’s something to celebrate.

My husband came home with another tale of woe about church. I believe his introduction to the story was, ‘I don’t think things could get any weirder.’ I think he’s said that several times in the last couple of months, and yet the weirdness persists. I listened with attention and empathy.

I’ve fulfilled my roles of mom and wife well today, and that makes me glad. But under all of that is a strong, steady current of sadness and fatigue. Nothing in particular is on my mind to make me feel this way. It’s just there. It’s as though there are two of me, one is heavy, bolted to the ground. The other is happy and in the moment with people I love.

The happy me is inextricably tied to the heavy me, and that makes everything effortful. I think this might be a symptom of depression, and someday I hope I will have recovered fully and will be capable of feeling carefree. Right now, it feels like I have changed completely. Sometimes I think this weight will be with me every hour of every day from now on.

(Via On Being Mrs. Pastor.)

book

Summer Ad

5 Comments
DMR-SummerAd.jpg

This is the ad that is appearing in various publications this summer. I think it’s nicely done, and gets at the heart of what it’s a bout pretty clearly. Let me know when you see it in print and where!

-DMR

book

The Book is in!

Leave a comment

I just heard from the fine people at LCMS World Relief and Human Care that the print edition of the book is now in stock!  They have over 2000 orders at this point, and so it’s going to take them a while to fill them.  I’m not certain how many are in the first printing, but I would urge you to place your orders now.  You may order up to 25 free copies either by telephone or online.

I’ve got a lot of things to talk about here, especially about so many wonderful conversations I’ve had in the past month.  But it will have to wait, since I’m supposed to be on vacation.

-DMR