Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
Depression, Faith & Sex

Depression, Faith & Sex

Last updated on: April 20, 2010 at 10:41 am by Guest Contributor

Depression, Faith & Sex 2010-04-20T10:41:15+00:00 Guest Contributor

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Another post for this week’s Religion & Sexuality theme, from Monica A. Coleman at her Beautiful Mind Blog:

The camera pans to a living room. Dark hues mute an anguished woman’s face as her body blends into the couch. Quiet, sentimental music crescendos. Voiceover: “Are you depressed?” One last shot at the blank, bleak face. Not two seconds later the world is technicolor, the music upbeat. The woman runs in a field, flying a kite, her body bursting with energy. Her children run beside her.

The voiceover returns: “Depression hurts.”

Little pills solve that problem.

Makes me want to throw my TV out the window.

There are a lot of things that bother me about these commercials. The thing that irks me today is the picture of depression. It’s solved so easily. And so quickly. The woman is on the couch for 10, maybe 15 seconds. Before you can reach for the remote, she’s okay. No, not just okay, she’s great!

I know they only have 30 seconds, but this image is worse than sit-coms that solve real problems in 22 minutes.

In real life, depression lacks drama and the simple arc of a hero’s quest.

That’s why there aren’t any movies about depression. Wait, you might say! What about Girl Interrupted, Wilbur (Wants to Kill Himself), Mad Love and On the Edge? I’d like to suggest that those movies aren’t really about depression. They’re about the institutions, the groups, and someone else’s reaction to someone’s suicide attempt. They aren’t about depression. Wanna know why?

Because depression is boring. It would be an hour and a half of the camera focused on someone lying on the couch, flipping channels on the television. Ennui lacks dramatic tension.

By its very nature, depression is isolating. Even if you’re around other people, you can feel completely alone. More often than not, depressed folk don’t want to be around other people. Because there’s so little to say; it’s so hard to explain. There’s no clear identifiable reason for the listlessness. Sometimes I want to be around other people, but I can’t summon the energy to get dressed and leave the house. It cuts us off from the world.

If there is any thing inherently evil about depression, this is it. Yes, evil. I’m loathe to use the word “evil” and depression in the same sentence, but I think it’s appropriate here. If there is something to be fought in depressions, it is the isolation. It is the seclusion. It is the way the mind turns in on itself to make one believe things that are not true: That you are completely alone.

While I value my solitude and moments of contemplation, I think that the message behind the creation story of Genesis 2 underscores the words, “It is not good for humans to be alone” (v. 18). My Hebrew scholar friends tell me that “good,” does not connote moral assessment. Rather when we read about creation and “goodness” in Genesis 1 and 2, it refers more to functionality.

It is not good.

It does not work.

We do not function well on our own.

We need community.

And I don’t think this is a Jewish and Christian thing. My friend (and composer) Andre interprets the third of ten Buddhist precepts in the same way:

“Our species has a drive passed down for thousands of generations to connect and to create.”

We are called to connect and to create.

If you know Buddhism, you’ll pause. The third precept is usually translated as “Abstain from sexuality.” The Zen Center of Los Angeles translates it as “Do not be greedy. Do not misuse sex. Be respectful.”

Likewise, Genesis continues with the edict to Adam and Eve in verse 22: “Be fruitful and multiply.” These words are usually interpreted to promote heterosexual procreative, population-increasing sex. Whether you agree with that interpretation or not, I think it’s noteworthy that the call to community is wrapped up in sex.

Sex is one way that we connect, and it is, especially to ancient peoples, a primary way that we create.

I read the message this way: Connecting creates. The ability to connect with other people, with ourselves, with our land, with our God . . . has creative power. It creates community. It creates health. It creates change. It creates art. And in its optimal manifestations, whether pro-creative or re-creative, sex connects. Sex strengthens bonds of intimacy. (Which is why there’s a level of ironic cruelty in the fact that so many anti-depressants diminish the sex drive.)

I’m not suggesting people use sex to form all interpersonal connections. I’m not intimating that depression is solved by sexual intimacy. But I think that there is something as primal about the need for connection as there is about the human sex drive. And anything – including depression – that robs of us our capacity to connect and to create is against God’s vision for our lives.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

April 19, 2010

What's Emerging in the Church?

Next Post

April 21, 2010 In honor of Earth Day

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Advent Author Interviews Battle Over the Body and Blood of Christ Bearing Beauty Book Reviews Christian Education christian spirituallity christianity Christmas Church Church Leadership Contemplation Creation Care Death and Dying Death Penalty Disruptive Change Disruptors Series Easter Education Evolution and Faith Future of Progressive Christianity Gun Violence Health & Wellness Holy Week Interfaith Israel-Palestine Leading Differently Lent LGBTQ Living with Cancer Meditations on the Cross Mental Illness millennials Mimetic Mondays Monday Meditations Movie Reviews New Monasticism Pando Populus Parenting Patheos 10+1 Q&A Series PC(USA) Politics Pop Culture Practical Theology Series Prayer progressive christian Race Relations Reformation religion Religion and Politics Religion in America Rethink Church Social Justice Spirituality Spirituality of the Body Stump a Scholar Technology and Faith Thanksgiving Theodicy Trust Me Church Uncategorized Why I'm Still Christian Youth Ministry

Select a Month December 2025 April 2025 January 2025 September 2023 September 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 November 2021 October 2021 May 2021 February 2021 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 June 2020 May 2020 March 2020 June 2019 March 2019 January 2019 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which empire conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Babylonian Persian Assyrian Egyptian