Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life: Practical Wisdom from Richard Baxter by Michael S. Lundy with an introduction by J. I. Packer.
As we’ve already noted, Richard Baxter understood that there was often a physical cause in depression and recommended medicine in such cases. But he also recognized that there were often spiritual causes of depression. For example, he mentions:
1. Most commonly some temporal loss, suffering, grief, or worry that has affected them too deeply.
2. An excessive fear of common if nevertheless dangerous situations.
3. Too strenuous and unremitting intellectual work or thought, which has confused and strained the imagination too intensely.
4. Fears, too deep or too constant, and serious, passionate thoughts and cares about the danger of the soul.
5. The major predispositions to it are a frailness of faculty and reason, joined with strong emotions .
6. In some cases, melancholy is ushered in by some heinous sin, the sight of which those guilty of it cannot bear, once their consciences are finally awakened.
Depression, Anxiety, and the Christian Life: Practical Wisdom from Richard Baxter by Michael S. Lundy with an introduction by J. I. Packer.