I used to think most of the depression people experience was a matter of choice. Used to. I still believe that may be the case . . . SOMETIMES. But brain damage, cortisol levels and severed neurotransmitter paths are a reality; and these can completely obliterate one’s ability to choose. Trauma, chronic pain, Lyme disease are among the things that cause physiological conditions that can’t be denied any more than you could deny a broken arm, a torn meniscus or a pulmonary embolism You CAN certainly choose (that is, if you’re able to keep your wits about you at all) to count your blessings, to fill your mind with Truth, and to avoid “negativity” But you can’t choose to make neurotransmitters fire that trauma or disease have rendered incapable of firing. You can choose to “walk by faith, and not by sight,” IN THE MIDST OF the feelings (Colossians 3:1-4). But you can't choose to feel a feeling when there just ain’t no “there” there.
