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Sundar Singh: Our cross is his cross

The early 20th century, Indian Christian missionary, Sadhu Sundar Singh once said:

“From my many years experience, I can unhesitatingly say that the cross bears those who bear the cross.”

He knew what he was talking about.

A former Sikh, Singh converted to Christ as he was nearing suicide, and was both a relentless missionary for him, and relentlessly persecuted and completely rejected by his family and culture.

Through it all, he kept his focus on one thing alone — the person of Jesus.

John Stott writes that Singh once visited a Hindu college and faced a hostile lecturer, who asked him what Christianity could possibly provide that his former Sikhism could not.

“I have Christ,” he replied.

“Yes I know…. But what particular principle or doctrine have you found that you did not have before?”

“The particular thing I have found is Christ.”

Singh was an ascetic, who was repulsed by the Christianity of the West — not for its doctrine, but the lifestyle of its practitioners.

“It is of course true that people who live in India worship idols; but here in England people worship themselves, and that is still worse.

Idol-worshipers seek the truth, but people over here, so far as I can see, seek pleasure and comfort.”

Though a frail 40 year old, Singh took a final missionary trip to Tibet in 1929, and was never seen again, dying somewhere in the Himalayas.

July 14, 2018

“Tell of his salvation from day to day”

written by Christian Heinze

Frederick Buechner, writing in A Crazy, Holy Grace about our other kind of salvation — one, I think, depressed people often relate to very much on a day-to-day, or usually, a sleepless-night to sleepless-night basis.

The text is I Chronicles 16, the man is King David, and he is urging us to “tell of his salvation from day to day.”

Buechner:

“His song continues nonetheless and continued all his life…. every day, as David remembered, he had been somehow saved — saved enough to survive his own darkness and lostness and folly, saved enough to go on through thick and thin to the next day and the next day’s saving and the next.

‘Remember the wonders he wrought, the judgments he uttered,’ David cries out in his song, and the place where he remembers these wonders and judgments is his own past in all its brokenness and the past of his people before him.”

Think about that — “the next day’s saving.”

He will save us tomorrow, and the next, and even when we pass away, that’s when his saving is strongest.

And it will happen — but passing away is really more of a “passing into.”

Passing into what? Passing into Jeremiah 31’s scene:

“Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and on smooth paths where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child.”

So in reality, we can and should always talk about the “next day’s saving,” because Christ never loses his sheep. It’s our hope, sometimes very weak and fading, yes, but his promise. And thank God his promise always outlasts our hope.

July 12, 2018

STUDY: Less sunlight might mean more OCD

written by Christian Heinze

We’ve heard (lots) about the link between low sunlight and depression, (a recent study found that disruptions to the Circadian-Rhythms (bad sleeps) raises your risk for major depression AND bipolar).

Well, now you might be able to blame the clouds for some of your problems with another affective issue — obsessive compulsive disorder.

A new study from Binghamton University found that OCD prevalence was lower in sunnier spots than cloudy spots, and as in depression, the link seems to have something to do with a lack of morning light, the fact people with OCD are bad sleepers, and our Circadian clock.

This misalignment is more prevalent at higher latitudes — areas where there is reduced exposure to sunlight — which places people living in these locations at an increased risk for the development and worsening of OCD symptoms.

These areas subsequently exhibit higher lifetime prevalence rates of the disorder than areas at lower latitudes.

However, remember, we do know that there’s a structural component to OCD within our brains (abnormalities of cortico-striato-thalamic circuits, for one) that disposes us towards the disorder, and I’d wonder how this structural component is affected by lower sunlight.

Maybe it just makes things worse, and awakens the beast, and yes, OCD is a horrid beast.

So that’s OCD.

As for depression.

Here’s one reason it’s worse in the clouds.

“One Australian study that measured levels of brain chemicals flowing directly out of the brain found that people had higher serotonin levels on bright sunny days than on cloudy ones.”

The really interesting part?

In the study, it didn’t matter whether it was a warm, sunny day or a cold one. The key variable was sun; not warmth.

So what can you do, besides move?

Maybe a light therapy box, which you can pick up just about anywhere (here’s the Mayo Clinic on them). And here’s a nice resource reviewing the best boxes.

Or you could just listen to Van Halen, covering Happy Trails: “Who cares about the clouds when we’re together.”

(Van Halen often ended concerts with this cover of Dale Evans’ classic song).

Painting: John Constable.

July 12, 2018

Jordan Peterson on his depression (and what’s helped)

written by Christian Heinze

University of Toronto professor, best-selling author, cultural phenomenon etc etc, Jordan Peterson, on Joe Rogan’s show, talking about his life-long depression.

Here’s the transcript: (starts 4:35 in, but the whole 30 minute interview is interesting — particularly because Peterson says the carnivore diet has made a radical difference in his life).

PETERSON: I’ve had depression since I was 13, probably, and very severe, and I’ve treated it a variety of ways, some of them quite successfully. But it’s been a constant battle, and my father had it, and his father had it, it’s just rife in my family……How do you define it?

Well, imagine that you wake up and that you remember that all your family was killed in a horrible accident yesterday. [I would feel that] all the time.

ROGAN: You would feel that even if nothing was wrong?

PETERSON: Yes. It’s actually worse than that. One of the things Michaela (his daughter) told me was she thought,’Well, what’s it like to be depressed’? Well, imagine you have a dog and you really love the dog and then the dog dies. And then about 2 or 3 years ago, our dog died — it was Michaela’s dog, and she really liked that dog — and she said ‘That was bad, but it’s nowhere near as bad as being depressed.”

And I asked her, too, at one point when she was about 16, ‘Look you’ve got a choice, kid. Here’s the choice. You can either have depression or [her autoimmune] arthritis. Which one?’ [She said], ‘I’ll take the arthritis.’ Well, that was after she’d lost two joints. So it was no joke.

It’s no joke, man. There isn’t any — I wouldn’t say that, I wouldn’t say there’s nothing worse, because “worse” is a very deep hole — but it’s bad.

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Then he spends about 30 minutes talking about what’s been a remarkable help for the two months he’s been on it — a pure carnivore diet. I don’t doubt it’s helped Peterson, at all, but as Rogan asks, from whence come his vitamins? Peterson tries to answer that question, but he acknowledges it’s sort of an experiment. (And by the way, you can’t really take Vitamin C supplements on this diet because they’ve got corn starch and other things that violate it).

Later on, he talked about going off his diet briefly, and the return of his depression — or as he describes it — the “overwhelming sense of impending doom. Seriously, I mean overwhelming. Like, there’s no way I could have lived like that…. [lie] in bed frozen in something approximating terror. ”

I don’t think people without this condition have any idea of the sleepless sense of doom and terror. Here’s hoping the diet continues to help him.

There’s overwhelming evidence that diet plays a major role in depression (particularly, through its effect on gut bacteria).

July 11, 2018

Apps for depression and anxiety?

written by Christian Heinze

Business Insider has a fascinating read on 6 new (and improved) apps that can possibly help with your depression.

A couple fascinating ones:

a. Woebot, a free AI chatbot that asks you how you feel, and based on your response, provides appropriate cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

But does it actually work? Seems to, according to a research study.

Out of 70 college students who used Woebot, the majority said they saw a significant reduction in their depressive symptoms, unlike those in a control group who were instructed to use an e-book full of tutorials on depression.

b. Medibio, enthusiastically backed by Michael Phelps, who sits on its board.

The app uses your phone or smartwatch to monitor vitals and alerts you — before you often know it yourself — if you’re about to start feeling anxious or depressed.

The company is also working on a more advanced version of the app that could detect depression. Medibio presented that new version to the Food and Drug Administration last month.

Keep reading for more.

July 10, 2018

Kava? The Good and Bad

written by Christian Heinze

You’ve probably heard of one of the hottest supplements around right now — kava, which is an all-natural evergreen shrub whose roots you can ingest in tea, or capsules, or as a liquid supplement.

There are now almost 100 kava bars in the U.S., and people are increasingly turning to it as an all-natural way of relieving anxiety (and more).

So let’s take a quick look at the good and the bad.

THE GOOD:

The key active ingredient in kava is kavalactones, and numerous academic studies suggest this ingredient can help with symptoms of anxiety and insomnia, while protecting neurons from damage.

One of the most impressive research studies showed that 26% of patients with moderate to severe anxiety disorder showed complete remission of symptoms in a 6 week double-blind study, compared to only 6% of those taking a placebo.

Even better?

Research suggests it’s not habit-forming, and scientists haven’t found risk for the kind of bad withdrawal symptoms you can get from anti-anxiety drugs.

Then there’s the fact that, for many, it offers instant relief from anxiety.

One writer found it a “milder, prescription free version of a Xanax”, and another says it made them feel incredibly physically relaxed while maintaining mental sharpness. Something Xanax isn’t exactly known for.

In fact, that combo is what makes it so appealing for some. Since kava doesn’t directly affect the central nervous system, it doesn’t seem to impair your judgment (although it does affect your motor coordination and reflexes, so you should NOT drive on it).

Dr. Axe has a good rundown of some other potential benefits from kava (that still must be studied further). Among them: it might help fight cancer, it could boost the immune system, and promote better sleep.

In the good nutshell, kava is proven to reduce symptoms of anxiety, often does so immediately, doesn’t seem to have habit-forming potential (and the terrible withdrawal), is all-natural, doesn’t affect your immediate judgment, and seems to have other medicinal qualities.

What’s not to love?

Primarily, one very bad, but rare, potential side effect.

THE BAD:

France, Switzerland, the UK, and Canada have all banned kava.

Why?

It all comes down to the liver. There have been a number of reports of liver toxicity (a 57 year old woman died of acute hepatitis after loading up on kava supplements), and there have been a number of other users experiencing toxicity leading to liver transplants.

All of these cases were traced directly to kava consumption; not co-morbid conditions.

WebMD, which is not prone to hyperbole, actually deploys a CAPS LOCK, when discussing kava’s potential effects on the liver.

There are some BIG safety concerns about kava.

Particularly, kava consumers have to be especially careful if they’re taking other medications that affect the liver.

And a lot of medicines are broken down in the liver.

Healthline explains why this is bad.

“The liver enzymes that break down kava also break down other drugs.

Thus, kava can tie up these enzymes and prevent them from breaking down other drugs, causing them to build up and harm the liver.”

If there’s one consistent and proven warning out there, it’s that you should be extremely careful and talk with your doctor if you’re taking any other medication with kava that’s broken down in the liver.

Healthline goes on to add that, if you still want to proceed, you also need to be really careful choosing the appropriate supplement.

Avoid any Kava supplement (tea or otherwise) that boasts “proprietary blends.”

That’s because you have no idea how many kavalactones you’re getting, and very often, these “proprietary blends” skimp on kavalctones and fill the rest of the supplement with ingredients that can even be more harmful to the liver (and who knows what else).

Further, dietary supplements aren’t regulated by the FDA, so you really have to do your homework to find a good one.

The Verge bought 5 random kava supplements off Amazon, sent them to a lab, and found one of the supplements tested positive for a bacteria found in human and animal feces, while another included a much more potent kava, with worse potential side effects.

You also really need to talk to your doctor about how much kava to consume.

There have been reports of toxicity at 250 mg/day, and many supplements contain that much or more.

But beyond kava’s rarely dangerous effect on the liver, there are also other, potential side effects.

A massive review of 20 years of kava studies suggested weight loss, nausea, scaly skin rash, and higher Gamma Glutamyl Transpeptidase liver enzyme levels. And research has suggested that it could make depression worse.

Further, heavy kava consumption has been linked to neurotoxicity, cardiovascular and respiratory abnormalities, and other things you’d rather not get.

Now here’s the big caveat to the side effect caveat.

Nearly every supplement, when taken in large amounts, has potentially dangerous side effects. Vitamins too.

And you can have severe reactions to just about anything you ingest in life. Haven’t we heard of anaphylactic shock and fruits, nuts etc.,?

FOR CHRISTIANS:

A lot of Christians are leery of taking anything that instantly makes them feel good, which I don’t get.

Exercise raises levels of a neurotransmitter called anandamide, as well as seratonin and norepienphrine — all of which are instantly calming, relaxing, and make you feel good. And I haven’t heard many Christians complaining about that.

In trying to figure out the key variable, it seems Christians are leery of losing control of our judgment, but keep in mind, kava doesn’t seem to affect your judgment, so you can throw that one out the window.

So I don’t think there’s a moral case, at all, against kava. But that’s a separate discussion for a different day.

CONCLUSION:

Kava often has positive, all-natural effects on anxiety and doesn’t seem to produce dependence or withdrawal, which is awesome. And it’s an instant stress-buster, which is also nice. It also seems to have other medicinal properties, although more research is necessary.

But its potential effect on the liver is something to be very careful about.

Now you might say, “Well, prescription anti-anxiety medications also have potentially serious side effects.”

You’re right!

The difference is that anti-anxiety drugs are tightly regulated so you know what you’re getting, while the plethora of kava products out there aren’t, and who knows what you could be dumping in your body.

That’s one of the dirty secrets of the supplement industry. They often sell their goods as “all-natural” alternatives to prescription drugs, and in many cases that’s true.

But that’s only if the manufacturer is actually honest and transparent about what’s in the supplement. In reality, the “all-natural” supplement could be loaded with harmful “fillers” that make the “all-natural” label nothing more than a scam.

Still, properly prepared, manufactured, and ingested, kava does seem to be effective at reducing anxiety. However there are significant concerns about side effects.

Absolutely talk to your doctor before starting to use it, and don’t use it if you’re pregnant or breast-feeding.

MORE RESOURCES:

a. The NIH’s page on kava here.

b. WebMD on Kava.

c. Healthline on Kava.

d. The Verge: “Kava, with Caveats: Is this popular psychoactive tea bad for your liver?”

e. Forbes: “What’s behind the intoxicating rise of kava bars in the U.S.?”

f. Women’s Health Mag: “What is Kava and is it good for you?”

g. Dr. Axe: “Kava Root: Do the risks outweigh the benefits?”

h. Live Strong: “What are the health benefits of kava?”

i. Live Strong: “Negative Effects of Kava.”

July 10, 2018

“Into his gracious and puzzling hands we must commend ourselves”

written by Christian Heinze

Frederick Buechner, in his book, The Hungering Dark:

“Noah looked like a fool in his faith, but he saved the world from drowning, and we must not forget the one whom Noah foreshadows and who also looked like a fool spread-eagled up there, cross-eyed with pain, but who also saved the world from drowning.

We must not forget him because he saves the world still, and wherever the ark is, wherever we meet and touch in something like love, it is because he also is there, brother and father of us all.

So into his gracious and puzzling hands we must commend ourselves through all the days of our voyaging wherever it takes us, and at the end of all our voyages.

We must build our arks with love and ride out the storm with courage and know that the little sprig of green in the dove’s mouth betokens a reality beyond the storm more precious than the likes of us can imagine.”

June 19, 2018

World Health Organization gets serious about video game addictions

written by Christian Heinze

The World Health Organization announces that it has now listed “Gaming Disorder” as an official mental health condition.

The three criteria for getting diagnosed? “Gaming behavior” that pushes aside other activities to a significant degree, “impaired control over gaming,” and “an increase in gaming despite negative consequences.”

A couple caveats.

The American Psychiatric Association has yet to announce it as an official mental health condition, and there are some health experts who worry about over-diagnosing people who just like to play video games a lot (pretty much every kid, except the super celebrated ones who creatively play in the woods with open-ended toys, as mandated by popular podcasts on parenting).

The New York Post:

Some warned that it may cause unnecessary concern among parents.

“People need to understand this doesn’t mean every child who spends hours in their room playing games is an addict, otherwise medics are going to be flooded with requests for help,” said Dr. Joan Harvey, a spokeswoman for the British Psychological Society.

Dr. Leonard Jason tells the Chicago Tribune that it’s good to highlight the issue, but parents just need to know that only 1-3% of kids who love playing video games will actually develop an addiction.

“Those are the extreme ones, and those are the ones who, they’re basically doing gaming over other things in their life and it escalates. It basically gets them into trouble.

So that’s something that parents probably can pick up. For example, the kid comes home from school or doesn’t even go to school, games from school into the evenings and on weekends. A child is basically spending all their leisure time not socializing with others, not doing their homework, not doing their chores, but gaming.”

So does your kid have a gaming disorder? Do you?

My sense is that this is like Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart’s famous quip about pornography: “You know it when you see it.”

If a parent is trying to figure out whether their kid has a gaming disorder, the kid probably doesn’t. It would probably be crystal clear. Addictions are often clearest — not to the addict — but to the ones who love them. And remember, only 1-3% of kids who love playing video games are likely to develop a genuine disorder.

Nevertheless, here’s a good guide on helping someone with their video game addiction. With both video game addiction and treatment, there’s significant overlap with substance abuse issues, and just like with substance abuse, it’s important to get to whether there’s underlying depression, anxiety, or trauma at home that might be feeding into it.

In fact, Dr. Andrew Saxon, a professor of psychiatry at the University of Washington’s School of Medicine, tells the LA Times that those with gaming disorders are, indeed, more likely to also suffer from depression, anxiety, or ADHD.

That makes a lot of sense. Video games could be a way of retreating from a dysfunctional family, or it could be about creating a new life through video games because you’re so depressed and anxious about your real one.

There are actually even video game rehab centers now, and here’s a resource for picking out the best one.

Meanwhile, if you are personally struggling with it, limited data suggests CBT and counseling might help.

June 19, 2018

STUDY: Fixing your gut bacteria might really help your depression

written by Christian Heinze

Over the years, we’ve been learning more and more about how harmful bad gut bacteria is for our mental health.

We’re also hearing more and more about the role diet plays in our mental health (I’d bet the most common sentence on the interent is, “Instead, doctors suggest plenty of fresh fruit and veggies”).

And now a new study from the Joslin Diabetes Center makes the link complete — it’s precisely because of how diet affects our gut bacteria.

When researchers gave mice a high-bad-fat diet, the mice showed much more clinically-depressive behavior. However, when they gave them antibiotics to clear the bad gut bacteria, their behavior returned to normal.

Okay.

Now the fascinating part? Researchers then gave mice the antibiotics WHILE they continued to eat terrible food, and the mice’s behavior returned to normal WHILE they were eating the terrible food.

That’s because the bad gut bacteria was getting cleared out. It didn’t matter that their diet was bad, as long as their gut profile was healthy.

So clearly, the depression was related to one specific consequence of the terrible diet — the way it contributed to bad gut bacteria.

And it suggests that if you have a bad diet but somehow maintain a healthy gut bacteria profile (good luck with that), you probably wouldn’t be at a greater risk than average for depression.

So this suggests that gut bacteria, and not diet, is the driving factor (though, as I said, both are linked). The question is what’s the MAIN driver (the X variable, as they say), and it seems to be gut bacteria.

At this stage, the researchers have not specifically targeted which bacteria could be causing the neurochemical changes, or what mechanism may be generating the effects.

But it’s a compelling beginning and yet another piece of strong evidence suggesting the bacteria in our gut has a more profound effect on our well being than we ever previously realized.

The news media is endlessly speculating over why depression is on the rise, and there are lots of sexy potential explanations — more screen time, social isolation, social media, over zealous doctors who define a cry as depression.

All of these could definitely contribute, but the reality might be that our crappy Western diets are as much to blame as anything.

Studies like this really are part of this site’s raison d’etre.

The Christian church historically tends to tell Christians to pray their depression away, when in reality, they should say, “Pray your way to a good probiotic.” Or “pray your way to a better diet.”

How tragic that we’ve been pointing people to spiritual answers for physical, medical problems.

If your depression is related to bad gut bacteria, the way to pray might be, “Lord, give me the self-control to refuse the Oreo.” Or, “Lord, please help me find that Live Strong review of the best probiotics” (here you go).

As Dwight Carlson (hat tip: Amy Simpson) writes in his book, Why Do Christians Shoot Their Wounded:

“Most people consider it appropriate to call a roofer when the roof leaks, a plumber when the sink won’t drain…Though God could miraculously solve each of these problems, in most instances he doesn’t. IT has nothing to do with his ability or his sufficiency for the task. He is able to, but he chooses not to use that means.”

June 18, 2018

Hope? A new DNA test could make it easier to find the right antidepressant

written by Christian Heinze

CTV with some exciting news:

A new genetic profile test is bringing personalized medicine into the realm of psychology by determining how individual patients are predisposed to respond to more than 30 different drugs.

Some in the medical community think the test could change the way doctors help patients with depression, who often go through expensive and frustrating periods of “trial and error” with antidepressants before they find a drug that works.

A new genetic profile test is bringing personalized medicine into the realm of psychology by determining how individual patients are predisposed to respond to more than 30 different drugs.

Some in the medical community think the test could change the way doctors help patients with depression, who often go through expensive and frustrating periods of “trial and error” with antidepressants before they find a drug that works.

It is notoriously difficult to immediately pick the right antidepressant for someone with clinical depression, and the trial-and-error process can lead many to a) abandon hope and b) question the legitimacy of the entire idea of antidepressants.

(I’ve said this before — it took about five until I found one that worked. I was one of the cynical ones who was then amazed by what the right one did for me).

So why is it so hard?

Earlier this year, a huge new study in Nature Genetics found identified at least 44 different gene variants that contribute to raising the risk for depression — including thirty that were unknown as recently as last year.

That’s one of the reasons it’s difficult to find the right Rx.

However, the more we know about genes, the more precise we can be.

Each of the newly identified gene variants is essentially a target that could be addressed with a drug therapy, said co-lead study author Dr. Patrick Sullivan, director of the Center for Psychiatric Genomics at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. (Sullivan, along with several other of the study researchers, has ties to either pharmaceutical or genetics companies.)

…..Sullivan compared the study on depression and genetics to research that was done on cardiovascular disease decades ago, which has led to drug therapies that significantly reduce the risk of heart attacks and stroke. Most of the antidepressant drugs used today were discovered by chance, but now the search for new drugs can be “rationally driven” by biological discovery, he said.

I have had so many friends who genuinely need medicine, but swear it off after their first try at an antidepressant fails them.

“They don’t work,” they say, and continue living in misery.

That’s why it’s so important to get that first Rx right, and scientists seem to be on the path to getting there.

Christians need to pay attention.

If you’re living with depression — the damage to yourself, your family, and your walk with Christ is potentially significant. It’s not just about feeling better. It’s about taking care of your body, mind, and soul, so that you can better minister to other bodies, minds, and souls.

Painting: Wyeth.

June 12, 2018

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