(gentle music)

- For Ryan Casey Waller,rock bottom happened

when he was leaving a Sunday service

and he was completely drunk.

If you had asked him how hewas doing just the day before,

he would have said, "Fine."

But after that Sunday disaster,

Ryan couldn't deny it any longer.

He suffered from depressionand he needed help.

(tender music)

- [Reporter] Ryan Casey Waller is

a licensed psychotherapist,lawyer, and pastor.

He also suffers fromdepression and anxiety.

In his book "Depression,Anxiety, and Other Things

We Don't Want to Talk About"

Waller not only shares hisstruggles with mental illness

but he also examines theintersection of biology,

psychology, and spirituality,

reminding us all that hope starts now.

- Ryan Casey Wallerjoins us now via Skype.

Ryan, thank you for being here.

- Thank you so much for having me.

- You are a pastor and a psychotherapist

who's also struggled with mental illness.

You know, a lot of people deny that

any of that is happening in their lives

because they think it's shameful

and they don't seek help.

What led you to seek help?

- I sought help becauseultimately, my pain got

to the point where I needed to.

You know, oftentimes withdepression and anxiety,

what can make it sodifficult is we don't know

when the pain is going to end

and so when it gets bad enough,

we begin to not be able toimagine a future for ourselves.

And I was really at thatplace the first time

my depression came around.

It got so bad that I couldn't envision

what life was gonna look likeif I had to go on dealing

with the kind of painthat I was dealing with.

And so it was at that point that I thought

I really need to avail myselfto what else is out there.

And that was the first time that I sought

the care of a therapistand then ultimately,

also the use of medication.

- You know, this pandemicthat we're in has isolated

people for long stretches of time.

Has that exacerbated themental health crisis?

- Oh, it absolutely has.

You know, one of the worstparts about suffering

from depression and anxiety is that

your brain tells you that A,nobody has ever felt as bad

as you've felt, and thatB, there's nobody that

can understand how itis that you are feeling.

And what's happened during the pandemic,

as we've been pulled apart andseparated from one another,

anyone who was already experiencing some

of those feelings, if they don't have

a strong support network orother people around them,

those feeling have only intensified.

And for people who havegone into the pandemic

not already strugglingwith their mental health,

many of them have begun toexperience these same feelings

of feeling isolated and not connected.

You know, one of the primarythings we know that we need

as human beings isconnectedness to other people.

It was the only thing in thebeginning of the Bible that

God said wasn't good that man was alone.

So we desperately need one another.

And so it's absolutely madethese issues more difficult.

- You talk about the three tools

in your book that helppeople who struggle:

therapy, medication, and other people.

How does all of this workand why so important?

- Yeah, it's so critical,especially for Christians

because oftentimes, we feellike if we avail ourselves

to the resources in themental health community

that's somehow an indictment of our faith

that we didn't believe enough.

And what I want Christians to know is that

mental health suffering is just

like any other kind of suffering.

You know, God doesn't promiseto relieve our suffering

but to fill our sufferingwith His presence.

And so one of the ways that we can do that

if we are struggling, is to avail ourself

to these three tools.

They're not gonna work foreveryone, but in most cases,

one if not all three are gonna be helpful.

So the first is psychotherapy,to availing yourself

to a professional, to go andto sit down with a therapist,

somebody who's trained to listen to you

to diagnose, to understandwhat's going on,

and then serve you in a way that is only

in your best interest.

So there's therapy and there'stremendous benefits to that.

Then there are also casesfor which depression

and anxiety are biological.

And so for many people,just the introduction

of some kind of psychotropic medication

can significantly reduce thesymptoms that they're having.

Now hear me out, thereis no medication that

can cure mental illness, but oftentimes,

when we combine medicationwith psychotherapy,

we can see a dramaticreduction in the symptoms,

you know, improved health.

But then thirdly, andthis is often overlooked,

is the value of a really good community.

An addiction psychiatristtold me once that

if he can just get his patientsplugged into a community

where they know people and they are known

by others, then half the battle is won.

We're talking about peoplewho are seriously ill.

I said, "You're telling me that the people

"who have a life and death addiction,

"they have a significantbetter chance at getting better

"if they just have a friend?"

And he said, "Yes, that'sexactly what I'm telling you."

So I often encourage people,if you're struggling,

avail yourself to a therapist,see if that's help to you,

talk to your doctorpotentially about medication,

and find a communitywhere you can know people

and they can know you soyou can not face this alone.

- You know, sometimes, Ryan,when someone if physically ill,

you can see what they're struggling with

and so your compassionand your understanding

just automatically come.

But often with mental illness,

I think people feel frustrated.

What can those of us who know someone

who's struggling withdepression or mental illness,

how do we help them handle that?

- Yeah, that's a great question.

The best thing that we cando is simply not be afraid

to ask the question and doit in a non-judgmental way.

So if you sense thatsomeone is struggling,

ask the, "Are you feeling depressed?"

Don't be afraid to evenask, "Are you considering

"hurting yourself?

"Do you want to die?"

A lotta times, we are frustrated because

we don't ask the questions

because we're scared if we do,

we don't know what to do if they say yes.

Just be there.- We've run out of time

so I'm gonna send people to your book.

It's "Depression,Anxiety, and Other Things

We Don't Want to Talk About."

It's available nationwidewhere books are sold.