The shocking events that have unfolded this week with the suicide of actor Robin Williams, have stirred up many controversial conversations on depression, mental illness and suicide. What makes depression, bipolar disorder, addiction and suicide so difficult to understand? How can we understand the relationship between spirituality and psychological well-being?
Depression, or Major Depressive Disorder, ranks among the more common medical illnesses, affecting up to 6.9 percent of the population. It is more than just an emotional state, although it most certainly involves significant changes in a person’s emotions and feelings. The disorder affects the whole person: emotions, thoughts and physical health. We must attempt to understand depression from all biological, psychological, spiritual and social perspectives.
The relationship between mood disorders and the spiritual life is complex. More than a hundred research studies have examined the relationship between religion and depression. And while the majority of the research suggests a positive correlation with religion and mental health, this becomes a protective factor of mental health and not a conclusion that having faith will prevent mental illness. The causes of depression are complex and there are many faith-filled individuals who genuinely struggle with overcoming depression. The presumption that a spiritual cure will suffice without consideration of natural factors would be damaging to the person as a whole.
What is the driving factor that leads a person to such despair that he takes his own life? Within severe forms of depression, the person could experience psychotic symptoms, which are separations or breaks from reality. These could include hallucinations and delusions, which can require immediate psychiatric attention. The tragedy of suicide runs contrary to the natural moral law that is inscribed in the heart of every human being. As Christians, we know that suicide strikes at the heart of the gift of life and goodness. However, many suicidal individuals truly believe that suicide is the only means to end the suffering they are experiencing. This so-called solution is a lie, but one that becomes easier to believe when in the depths of depression. Depression can destroy a person’s capacity to reason clearly and severely impair his judgment.
Is suicide ultimately a free choice? Every human person, created in the image of God, has the natural right to be free and responsible for his acts. Freedom makes man responsible for his acts to the extent that they are voluntary. The Church acknowledges that “grave psychological disturbances, anguish, or grave fear of hardship, suffering, or torture can diminish the responsibility of the one committing suicide” (CCC, 2282). In moments of serious depression or psychotic states, the person’s rationality and freedom may be severely impaired, which will diminish one’s ability to make a free and rational choice. On an objective level, the act of suicide will remain wrong, but the person’s culpability may be diminished or even nullified due to varying mental states. Thus, the intensity and duration of a person’s struggle with mental illness can figure into the tragedy of a suicide. A house can be well-built on a solid foundation, but still fall under the constant force of a hurricane.
There are many cultural factors of depression; Saint John Paul II comments that “the spread of depressive states has become disturbing. They reveal human, psychological and spiritual frailties which, at least in part, are induced by society. It is important to become aware of the effect on people of messages conveyed by the media which exalt consumerism, the immediate satisfaction of desires and the race for ever greater material well-being. It is necessary to propose new ways so that each person may build his or her own personality by cultivating spiritual life, the foundation of a mature existence” (Address to the 18th International Conference Promoted by the Pontifical Council for Health and Pastoral Care, 2003).
We should not despair of the eternal salvation of persons who have taken their own lives as a result from depression. The Church continues to pray for persons who have taken their own lives and experience great suffering. We should pray, join together as a community to spread awareness of the signs and symptoms of mental illness and share with others that there is hope and healing for those suffering.