Thicker brain sections tied to spirituality:

[+DieChecker]

This is absolutely true, but people should always also avail themselves of the best medical and professional advice they can find or afford.

I agree. Most Christians can be convinced that God created the field of medicine and so all medications come down from God. Turning your back on modern medicine is just idiotic. Those who instead insist only on prayer probably need to be reminded of what Jesus said when being tempted by the Devil in the desert.

Luke 4:12 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “It is said: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”

Meaning, be smart, and don't just do stupid things trusting in God to keep you from being killed.

[SpiritWriter]

Or should I say: "can be" rigourous, this is not always true based on what we are dealing with. And none of that is to discredit current medicine, but I would not put it first on any of my lists.

[Frank Merton]

My commiserations Frank, but also I cant help liking this post and your honesty.

Thanks but I was being sarcastic: I am old and short and fat and I don't have sex because I would feel I was betraying my wife who is still very much alive to me, but let me assure you Prozac does NOT diminish one's libido as has been charged. I just wish it did.

[Mr Walker]

Thanks but I was being sarcastic: I am old and short and fat and I don't have sex because I would feel I was betraying my wife who is still very much alive to me, but let me assure you Prozac does NOT diminish one's libido as has been charged. I just wish it did.

Well thank god mine is a lot less than it was when I was a teenager, or I would be in all sorts of trouble. I think evolution/nature gets it about right most of the time.

[Professor T]

http://ca.news.yahoo...-191414460.html

Very interesting. Another reason that Spirituality and Religion are not bad for you.

Yes, very interesting, but this artical makes a lot of assumptions, the biggest being an utter failure to to clearly define what is religion vs' what is Spirituality. IMO there's a lot of belief systems that are religious & Spiritual in context that can cause depression and other mental illnesses.. such as the preachings of some religions that call everyone sinners destined to burn in hell, or some spiritual beliefs such as the existence of demons, evil eye, curses, ect... It's come to one very cool conclusion that I think is very important though, that being that one's belief systems Spirituality/Religion has an effect on mental health.. Good or bad.. The study can't prove much either way, except that Spirituality/Religion has a very important role to play in the overall quality of our lives..

[Frank Merton]

The concepts of evil and sin are depressing and designed to control people through guilt and bind them to a priestly class. We fall short of what we should do all the time; that is instinct overcoming the will, and only we can fix it.

[Professor T]

Good and Evil are concepts that exist as a by-product of belief and circumstance..

My own short bout of depression was brought on by a chemical imbalance, but I am of the impression that it was helped along at the time by an utter lack of having any religious or Spiritual belief.. At the time of this bout of depression was was reading the Witches of Eastwick.. And I tell ya, there's **** in that book you do not want to be exposing yourself to while your defenses are down.. Depression, anxiety and hypertension are physical, are things one can cope with.. But there's no way to cope with having a very large entity hiding in your shadow while your mind is being feed on negative thought streams and suicidal tendencies..

Ultimately though, that bout of depression ignited a spiritual spark in someone who was heading down a dead end street, so, I'm thankful for that.. My spiritual flame burns nicely now..

Edited January 1, 2014 by Professor T

[PinkIsMyFavoriteColor89]

I am not a religious person personally, but I could see how someone's beliefs could keep them from suffering from depression

[Professor T]

or keep them bogged down in it and keep them from overcoming their depression..

Either way, one's religious or spiritual beliefs plays a very significant role.

[AlienDan]

Well of course, when one holds the delusion that they're going to be ok even if they're not, how can they not be less depressed. Simple psychology.

Edited January 3, 2014 by AlienDan

[Mr Walker]

Well of course, when one holds the delusion that they're going to be ok even if they're not, how can they not be less depressed. Simple psychology.

True and a good reason to believe. But also, believing you are going to get better is better for your physical health than believing you will not get better.

[PinkIsMyFavoriteColor89]

or keep them bogged down in it and keep them from overcoming their depression..

Either way, one's religious or spiritual beliefs plays a very significant role.

I agree in that sense too. I think one of the big reasons I don't believe is because of the things I've gone through, seen, etc..

[The Cycle Of Life]

This study is with in this subjects first steps so to speak. Once they differ between emotion & feeling they will understand the difference between having belief & having faith. Its not a belief in something that gives purpose but having faith in something, its not knowing about something rather than the understanding of why that something is. This will rusult in the religious & anthioust showing that they have the same purpose of life from their seperate beliefs.

[regeneratia]

Oh wow, spirituality can helo you but vitamins can't, right?

[regeneratia]

http://ca.news.yahoo...-191414460.html

Very interesting. Another reason that Spirituality and Religion are not bad for you.

I don't know what you mean about thicker brains. Our brains flex and flow in the interstitial regions, which is how they eliminate brain function metabolities. Stands to reason, that thickness measured while the interstial spaces are not accounted for leads to faulty impressions.

[Mr Walker]

Oh wow, spirituality can helo you but vitamins can't, right?

There is more scientific evidence that belief can help a person, than there is that taking vitamin supplements can. In reality we need both natural vitamins and natural spirituality to live healthy and happy lives.

[LostSouls7]

I used to be depressed because I cared what society and the church thought of me...

I used to think finding love was all there was to life...

I'm a bit older and wiser. I don't like organized religion. But I like harnessing my own energy

to get things my way. I also love nature.

I am a lot happier now. Now I get paid to be creative and be the real me.

I've made real friends, who care about me for who I really am.

But holding back who you are.. to try to please society and the church..

I can tell you that is a cause for depression.

I have no master. So I have betrayed no one!

thank you

[Marcus Aurelius]

I enjoyed reading this article and the subsequent posts. I appreciate all the different perspectives, especially those who have had personal experience with depression.

Speaking for myself, I too have had a lot of experience with depression. In fact, I just recently had to undergo a full blown psyche evaluation and had to meet with a psychologist as part of my ordination process for the ministry. I came in as a high depressive. I ranked JUST below what they would consider to be a clinical depressive. Had I been just slightly higher they would have recommended me for further therapy and perhaps medication (which that I would have refused, and I will highlight why in just a moment). I KNEW this was going to be the case and I knew I was going to have to talk about it.

I don't want to bore everyone with a long personal history, suffice to say that I have dealt with depression and melancholic tendencies for as long as I can remember. When I was younger, high school age and just beyond, it made me confront the reality of suffering, both my own and that which I saw in the world. After being raised Christian it made me a philosophical atheist. I began to think as many before me have; if God was good and all loving...why was there so much suffering? And moreover, why was He letting ME suffer? Here I'd been praying to this supposedly loving God for years for relief and I found none. It occurred to me that I was not praying to some unseen being, rather, I was praying to dead air, to nothing, void. I thought I might as well be calling on the Tooth Fairy as much as Jesus Christ because the Tooth Fairy would be just as likely to answer.

After several years of being a rather outspoken atheist I had some personal experiences that brought me back to my faith of old. It was during this time that I gained a lot of perspective with regards to my own depression. I realized that much of my suffering was due to my own ego attachments, and my attachments to perceived outcomes...i.e. that if I pray to God for X but I am given Y, then surely a personal God does not exist. In short, I had wanted God to be my own personal blessing dispenser. I put my prayer coins into the machine and if that bag of chips doesn't drop I either blame the machine and kick it or I walk away in frustration. This had been my view of God. Job is actually one of my two favorite books in the Bible because it showed me how wrong my own thinking was. When Job asked God why he suffered, He didn't give him a specific reason or answer. God instead told him how He governed creation; basically showing him that the reason for his suffering was BEYOND his own limited understanding. I accepted this personally. I accepted the fact that sometimes I am going to suffer and I will never know precisely why because it is beyond my own understanding.

But I can say this: a few years ago when I suffered a terrible personal crisis, I ran to God rather than from Him. I adopted a "though You slay me, yet will I trust in You" kind of faith and God restored me and healed me.

During the interview, the psychologist asked me if I'd ever given any thoughts to taking anti-depressants. I told him how many years ago when I'd been suffering from panic attacks that the doctor had put me on an anti-anxiety medication and an anti-depressant. I took them for a few weeks, and again, just speaking from my own experience, I did not like the results. My mood swings were more wild than they had ever been. I felt manic, like I was losing control; indeed, I did not feel like myself. I stopped taking both medications and replaced them with spiritual disciplines. I started taking daily prayer walks and meditation. I never had another panic attack.

One other brief thing about medications. I am very happy to hear from those of you who have had positive results with them. I sincerely believe they can help some people, but not all. I have quite literally lost two close friends to suicide as stemming from them. The first friend had been on them for many years and his doctor felt it was time to ween him off the drugs; and when they did he lost control of himself. It was as if he could not function without the anti-depressants. He took his own life. My second friend was going through a painful divorce and he was put on an anti-depressant as a means to temporarily help him cope with the trauma. Overnight there was a complete change in him. He was like a zombie. He wouldn't talk, he wouldn't eat. He just stared off into space. It was unreal, I'd never seen him act like that in all the years I'd known him. And a few days later, he took his own life. So I would urge anyone on here who is taking them or is contemplating taking them, please do be careful. If you do some research you will find that there has been A LOT of deaths linked to these things. If you ever start feeling radical changes in your mood you should probably stop taking them or consult your doctor immediately.

Personally, I do not feel like taking drugs should ever be the first line of defense in this case. I say this because we seem to live in a society that wants to tout drugs as an answer TO EVERYTHING. If you are feeling this, take this. And I feel the motivation behind this is not to help the populace at large, but is instead a form of profiteering from our perils. These pharmaceutical companies are making billions of dollars. They want your money, not your well-being. Like I said, I was having severe panic attacks but prayer walks and meditation worked far better for me than the pills.

In closing, the psychologist asked me "if you could pray to God and ask Him to permanently remove your depression and your depressive tendencies knowing He would heal you, would you do it?" I told him no. I quoted my favorite verses in the entire Bible to him, Romans 5: 3-4: "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings; because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character; and character; hope." I have carried some heavy crosses in this life, but I am thankful for them. If it were not for those crosses that I've carried, I would not be the man I am today. C.S. Lewis once said "pain is God's megaphone to rouse a deaf world." Indeed, God has used my own pain to rouse me from my spiritual slumber; how could I be anything but grateful?

Edited February 20, 2014 by Marcus Aurelius

[freeman88]

Ugh this article is blown out of proportion. Of course people who have religion in their lives are going to be less depressive. You have this invisible entity for the most part that you believe controls every aspect of your life. People who do wrong to you will be punished, and you will go to heaven or some form of afterlife where all your desires will be fulfilled. I mean the catholic church all you have to do is confess your sins and they are forgotten. A life without regret and the certainty that you will one day be immortal in a sense i assume can make you feel pretty damn good about yourself. Does it have anything to do with ``thicker brain regions``, or whatever the hell that means. NO. Idiotic to say otherwise.

[+DieChecker]

Oh wow, spirituality can helo you but vitamins can't, right?

I've read that a lot of mineral vitamins are actually mostly useless. Natural suppliments are actually much better, but in many cases Americans get the vitamins they need from their food... if they are eating the right food.

I don't know what you mean about thicker brains. Our brains flex and flow in the interstitial regions, which is how they eliminate brain function metabolities. Stands to reason, that thickness measured while the interstial spaces are not accounted for leads to faulty impressions.

Can you post a resource to the fact our brains "flex and flow"? I've always read that our brains are mostly static, as far as density and cell structure, it is mostly just the junctions between the cells which change.