Is depression in a Christian demonic? If so, why? Was David not suffering from depression? Why do Christians take medication for other ailments yet depression is considered demonic?
There are several cases of believers having depression in the Bible and in each case, it had nothing to do with demons. As you mentioned, King David suffered from depression. We read in Psalm 31:9-13, “Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in trouble; My eye wastes away with GRIEF, yes, my soul and my body! For my life is spent with GRIEF, and my years with SIGHING; my strength fails because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. I am a reproach among all my enemies, but especially among my neighbors, and am repulsive to my acquaintances; those who see me outside flee from me. I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind; I am like a broken vessel. For I hear the slander of many; fear is on every side; while they take counsel together against me, they scheme to take away my life.” If this doesn’t describe the state of one who was depressed, I don’t know what does. His mental and emotional state was so bad that it affected him physically. What caused David’s depression? We see several causes in David’s words: his ENEMIES who sought to kill him (verses 11-13), his NEIGHBORS & ACQUAINTANCES who shunned him (verse 11), and even his OWN SINS (verse 10). We read nothing of demons in his description of his depression.
The Apostle Paul experienced depression. In 2nd Corinthians 2:4, 12-13 we read, “For out of much AFFLICTION and ANGUISH OF HEART I wrote to you, with many tears…. Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ’s gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord, I HAD NO REST IN MY SPIRIT, because I did not find Titus my brother.” Paul’s “anguish of heart” and “having no rest in his spirit” led to tears and forsaking an opened door of service. Such is the case with depression, for depression causes one to be so absorbed mentally and emotionally with their distress, that they are unable to function normally. Paul was dealing with problems in the church at Corinth and until he received word from Titus that those problems were solved, he was depressed. Yet here too we read nothing of demonic possession (or oppression) causing his depression.
Two more notable cases are Elijah and Jonah where both men were so depressed, they wanted to die. “But he (Elijah) went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers” (1st Kings 19:4)! “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live” (Jonah 4:3)! In both these cases their depression was not due to demonic activity; it was caused by their REPUTATION as a prophet being REJECTED. They were so focused on what “people thought of them” and this led to their mental and emotional breakdown.
As we have seen from Scripture, there is no reason whatsoever to attribute depression in a believer to demons. Some have pointed to the mental disorder known as “Schizophrenia” (which is characterized by hearing voices, irrational thoughts and speech, hallucinations, delusions, and paranoia) as being caused by demonic possession. But a true believer today is “indwelt by the Holy Spirit” and a demon could never live inside a body where the Holy Spirit lives. 1st John 4:4 declares, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them (evil spirits…see verses 1-3), because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” Besides that, those afflicted with schizophrenia do NOT have conditions that are normally found in cases of demon possession, such as 1) a negative reaction to the Name of Jesus Christ; 2) super-human strength; and 3) supernatural knowledge. There are believers who suffer from this dreadful disease, along with other mental disorders like DEMENTIA and ALZHEIMER’S, but none of these are to be associated with demonic activities. (DO) (611.3)