How Joyce Meyer Beats Depression

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Joyce Meyer is a famous Christian evangelist who has personally beaten depression. A fiery, wise woman with an  understanding of psychological and biblical principles, Meyer knows how to use the Bible to assist those with depression in a straightforward and practical way. She blends biblical truths with a self-help approach and is about strengthening self-esteem.

Joyce Meyer went through bitter depression, loneliness and anger after she suffered sexual abuse from her father. She  leads a large ministry helping other vulnerable people understand that the past doesn’t need to dictate the present or the future. She is a personal light for millions, holds the courage of her convictions, walks the walk and talks the talk. She often used candid self-reflection and humour in  her presentations.

Joyce’s essential message to beating depression is:

Personal responsibility

You need the will to get well to get well. You need to want to get well. It’s that simple. Don’t just blame external circumstances and events, sometimes you need to make the most of the change.

Hope

Joyce Meyer is all about hope, a better future and brighter distance. She knows and believes that the best for everyone actually lies in the future as long as they are growing along healthy lines. Really believing that the best is in front of you and not behind you is the essence of real hope, a quality essential to any real recovery.

Jesus Christ

Joyce Meyer is a Christian and advocates the personal saving power of Jesus Christ. The message of the Bible is to have a heart for the poor and lift up the weary, downtrodden and brow beaten giving them strength, hope and a future in Christ.

Let’s unpack this even further by focusing on a six-part series with Joyce and Dr Linda Mintle on beating depression and anxiety. This is a fantastic resource, so let’s go through these videos step-by-step.

Part One

So many people are unhappy these days, but some people have serious emotional problems and disturbances. A lot of people with depression don’t know what’s wrong with them; part of this is the stigma of mental health. People want to be in control of their lives. Even with growing awareness of depression there are still large swathes of the depressed community not getting sufficient treatment.

Depression is more than sadness, it’s when that sadness persists and becomes a long term problem. There is also a biological basis for bipolar.  Depression can be a reaction to events, like adjustment disorder for example.

All of them are joined together by persistent low mood and sadness. You can read about the different forms of depression in our specific section on depression types.

The classic signs of depression include limited concentration span, problematic sleeping and irritability, especially when these symptoms last more than two weeks and start to impinge on normal activities of daily life.

Another symptom of depression is anhedonia which is the inability to feel things and not enjoy anything. This can lead to a deeply suicidal state believing that nothing can get better.

Generally the first thing to do is to see if there could be a physical basis for the depression. There are cases of medically induced depression especially after cancer, major hormonal changes like menopause or an extreme reaction to a medication which can sometimes lead to psychotic suicidal ideation.

So the first step in treatment according to Linda is to look at the situation medically. Sometimes the basis can be medical rather than emotional or spiritual.

Part Two

Serotonin depletion is tied to depression. Adrenal glands not functioning properly because of long-term stress is a major cause for depression. Modern antidepressants are largely effective at addressing the chemical imbalances. Talk therapies can also be effective.

They discuss learned helplessness, which involves cognitive restructuring to get better. You need to teach yourself out of being helpless, do this and the feelings of hopelessness will lift. CBT is an example of a technique to use to get out of learned helpless condition.

Joyce Meyer notes that the Christian message is about being lifted from a sunken state. She advocates for the healing power of the Bible and the word of God to lift people up and change their lives.

It’s all about how we think about the world. If we think life is going to always be harsh and negative, these thoughts perpetuate depression. They are often inherited from the parents who didn’t address unhealthy, fearful and negative mindsets.

Negative thinking is a deep part of depression. The gravitational pull toward negativity is incredibly strong and to beat depression you need to fight against the inherent negative pull of the human condition.

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