Working through Depression and Anxiety
By Joe Noto, M.A., L.P.C.
What has been the most depressing event you have faced in your life? For me it was watching on television the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City on September 11, 2001. My full time job at the time was that of an elementary school counselor in Battle Creek, Michigan. It was hard to imagine that human beings could plan and carry out such an evil event. Reflecting back, it is hard to believe that we witnessed an event that had more casualties in one day than what we experienced on December 7, 1941, with the attack on Pearl Harbor and the start of World War II.
I have worked for Meier Clinics in Battle Creek, Michigan, for the past ten years and have talked with many individuals who suffered from depression and anxiety. In our first session, I ask my clients what they believe their concerns are and what they would like to accomplish during our counseling sessions. After they state their concerns, I ask them why they chose Meier Clinics. They usually respond that they did so because it is a Christian clinic. I then ask them to tell me whether or not they are a Christian and many respond that they were raised by parents who took them to church. I have talked with many individuals who have just spent time in church but don't have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
This past summer I worked with a young lady who said she was a Christian but lacked true self-identity. I shared with her that if she was a Christian, she had an identity and that was her identity in Christ. One of the tools we use with our clients is published by Gospel Light entitled Ministering the Steps to Freedom in Christ. This handout covers three specific areas; I am accepted, I am secure, and I am significant. It references scripture verses to statements such as, "I am God's child (accepted), I am a citizen of heaven (secure), I am God's workmanship, created for good works (significant)." It is hard for us to relate to these statements because we see ourselves as sinners and not worthy of these wonderful words of encouragement. I believe one of our goals as Christians is to pursue God and realize that he is forever pursuing us.
When clients doubt this love God has for them, I ask them to take some time and list the blessings and miracles in their lives. This little exercise seems to be most effective when I have clients in a group and they begin to share these life events. I am always amazed how God has blessed these individuals. I then ask them to list these events on a piece of paper that they will be able to keep with them in their daily planner, Bible, or devotional. My goal is for them to be able to have something at their fingertips that they can look at if they are at a time where anxiety is building or they feel themselves slipping into that valley of depression. They need to remember that God has blessed them in the past and, unless they have received some sort of word from him that the blessings have stopped, he will continue to bless them in the future. We must never forget Proverbs 3:5-6,
"Trust in the Lord with all of your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."
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Joe Noto is a Licensed Professional Counselor at the Meier Clinics in Battle Creek, MI. He is a 30 year veteran of the U.S. Air Force and worked for 30 years as a teacher and counselor in the public school system prior to joining Meier Clinics.
