Please welcome author, speaker, and board-certified clinical neuropsychologist with more than 25 years in the diagnosis and treatment of medical and mental disorders, Dr. Michelle Bengtson.
While we have yet to meet face to face for that long-awaited chat over a cup of coffee, Michelle and I have gotten to know one another through our author connections over the years. I am honored to count her as a cherished friend and prayer partner. I know her as a woman of great insight, wisdom, and strong faith. It is a privilege to introduce her to you, my readers.
The Interview...
Why did you choose to write about the topic of depression?
Depression will be our
greatest epidemic worldwide by the year 2020. Yet whether it is world hunger,
cancer, or any other catastrophic event, difficulties and hardships never quite
have the same impact on our hearts as they do when we go through them ourselves.
The same was true for me when I went through depression.
As a neuropsychologist,
I have been diagnosing and treating patients with depression for over 20 years.
I had great empathy and compassion for their suffering when God called me to
write a book about overcoming depression as a resource that would extend beyond
the four walls of my private practice to those who couldn’t make it into my
office for help. But then He revealed that there were too many books already
written from a doctor’s perspective and that I needed to share my own story. At
that point, my story amounted to growing up in a home with a mother who was
depressed my entire childhood, as were her sister and her mother. At that
point, I had also suffered my own bout with severe postpartum depression after
the birth of our first son. Little did I know that after surrendering to God
and telling Him that I would write this book for Him and willingly share my
story, I would go through one of the most difficult times in my life and a
most severe case of depression.
Going through the
valley of depression, I tried all the treatment recommendations I had suggested
to my patients for years, only to find out that while they helped, they weren’t
enough. This led to the inevitable question, “Why?” and “What is the missing
piece? What is the real answer?” What God then showed me in the journey through
my own valley of depression was that as long as we treated physical or mental
disease but didn’t address the spiritual component, we were really only putting
a band-aid on the issue, and we could never really expect real healing to come.
Once I started
applying God’s truth to my situation, freedom came, and I knew I had to share
what I had learned, both from the perspective of the doctor who treats
patients and also as a fellow sojourner.
What is one lesson
that you hope readers will walk away with after reading Hope Prevails?
If you will allow me
the liberty of sharing two lessons: 1) Our feelings cannot be trusted, but God
can. 2) In our darkest days in the valley, because of Him, there is still
always hope.
What has been one of
the hardest things about holding onto hope in your own life?
Our feelings are the
outward manifestation of the thoughts we believe, and when our thoughts do not
line up with God’s truth because we have unknowingly believed a lie, then our
feelings will lead us astray and away from the hope that God offers. That is
why we must take every,, every thought captive and make sure that it
lines up with God’s truth. When we do that, hope does prevail!
What is your favorite
Bible verse about hope and why?
Without a doubt, my
favorite verse about hope is Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for
you, declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you, and not to harm you, plans for a
future and a hope!” I have held on to this verse for nearly three decades through
moves, through cancer, through miscarriages, through the MOST uncertain of
times. It has lent me such hope and comfort because even when I cannot see a
way, even when I do not know how things will get better, I can put my trust in
my unfailing God who does know the way, who does see the finish line. HE knows
the plans He has for me, and He promises that those plans are good. It gives me
such peace despite the chaos of my circumstances!
What is one of your
favorite lines from Hope Prevails?
Honestly, there is no
way I can choose just one. It would be hard to choose just one. It would be
hard to choose even one per page. As I re-read the book as a reader and not the
author, I get inspired as I hear the words God speaks to my heart to encourage
me, and it’s my prayer that He does the same thing for everyone who reads it.
“I’m here to tell you
the secret is out: even Christians get depressed. Unfortunately, Christians are
often the ones who most feel they must hide their pain and pretend that nothing
is wrong.”
“If you want freedom
from depression, you have to decide you are ready to dispel some myths and lies
and replace them with truth—God’s truth.”
“The enemy isn’t only
concerned with strong-arming Christians. He seeks to separate believers and
nonbelievers alike from God. Both Christians and on-Christians often
unknowingly open the door to the devil through the things they do, say, or believe,
allowing the “roaring lion” to enter and wreak havoc in their lives. This is
where the spiritual roots to depression start, but it’s not where they end.”
“We are destroyed when
the enemy knows more about the roots of depression than we do. We cannot fight
effectively until we understand what we are fighting and have the weapon to
engage in battle.”
“Jesus is the only one
who has the authority to speak about our worth.”
“While we may feel
broken and wounded in our despair, God promises to heal those places in us.”
If you were sitting
across from a woman who is struggling physically, mentally, and spiritually
right now, what would you say to her?
I’ve been there. The
reason for our struggle may not be the same, but I’ve been in the place where I
wasn’t sure I wanted to go on. I’ve been in the place where I wasn’t sure I
could. I’ve been in a place where all I could whisper in my prayers was a
feeble, “Help.” But what I learned through that time was that God always meets
us there in our desperation. And truly,
it is in our weakest times that we get to see Him do His greatest work. And
there is NO shame in admitting we need help. The Bible even encourages us to
ask for help when it says, “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell
you great and mighty things, which you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). And to
“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you” (1 Peter 5:7).
What has been one of
the most challenging aspects of writing this book?
Hope Prevails really
draws attention to the spiritual aspect of depression and how the enemy of our
soul seeks to steal our joy, kill our peace, and destroy our identity, in
the book I share how we combat the enemy’s attacks to take back the joy that
Christ died so that we could have. I can promise you that the enemy has NOT
been pleased about the writing of this book, so the most challenging aspect of
writing this book has been the near-constant attack from the enemy that my
family and I have endured in seeing this project to publication.
The very day that
“Hope Prevails” released, my husband was diagnosed with cancer. I don’t think
that was a coincidence. It was like the enemy was saying, “Do you REALLY think
hope still prevails?” I’ve said many times that when you write a book, your
conviction to your message will be tested. But as long as I have breath, I will
declare that Hope Prevails!
What has been one of
the most rewarding aspects of writing Hope Prevails?
Without a doubt, I can
say that the most rewarding part of writing this book has been hearing from
readers that it has helped them experience freedom from the chains of
depression that have kept them locked up in despair for so many years. It’s
time that we say “No more!” to the rule and reign of the enemy’s influence in
our lives and stop it in our generation so that our children and our children’s
children will not have to suffer!
Is it true that that
is why you wrote the new Hope Prevails
Bible Study?
That’s exactly right!
Many readers wrote to me and asked, “When are you going to write a Bible study
to go with “Hope Prevails?” At first, I responded by saying, “I don’t write
Bible studies.” But then I really felt the Lord nudging me, as if He was
saying, “You don’t write Bible studies but I do, and I’ll help you.” So in
response to reader requests, I’ve written and published the new companion “Hope
Prevails Bible Study.” I wrote it very intentionally so that if you haven’t
already read “Hope Prevails,” it doesn’t matter, you can do the Bible study
anyway, but if you have read the original book, it will make the Bible study
just that much richer. I also wrote the Bible study so that someone could go
through it on their own, or it makes a perfect study to be done in a small
group like in a church Bible study or through a counseling group.
Michelle, where can we find your books and find out more about you?
Hope Prevails: InsightsFrom a Doctor’s Personal Journey Through Depression is available on Amazon or
at Barnes and Noble or Christian BookDistributors or
most major book retailers.
The Hope Prevails Bible Study is
also available on Amazon or Redemption-Press or many major book retailers. 
I blog regularly on my website, www.DrMichelleBengtson.com and you can find me on all major social media channels:
For a Free eBook
on How to Help a Depressed Loved One, click here: How To Help a Depressed Loved One eBook
For more helpful information about what you need to know
when you have a depressed loved one, read here: 10 Things to Know if You Have a Depressed Loved One
For more about what not to say to a depressed loved one,
read here: What Not to Say When a Loved One is Depressed
while here are suggestions about supportive things you can say to a depressed
loved one: What to Say When a Loved One is Depressed
Michelle, thank you for these wonderful resources! I know my readers will benefit greatly from your wisdom and expertise.
If you have questions, or comments for Dr. Michelle, please leave your comments below. I know she would love to hear from you.
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