mental health

"You're blessed when you get your inside world--your mind and heart--put right. Then you can see God in the outside world." (Matt. 5:8, Message)

I think one of the hardest things about mental illness is having an overwhelmning sense of helplessness. Feeling like you have no control over your emotions. In a sense, you become a victim to your own mind. You don't want to be depressed or "crazy" -- but you don't feel like you have the power to heal yourself. Thus, the feeling of helplessness.

I'm not here to talk about what causes mental illness or how to cure it... I just know that mental health is of paramount importance to having a healthy, fulfilling life. It is nearly impossible to function when you are mentally ill. Mental illness can destroy your relationship with God and others.

For some reason, many people blame the mentally ill for their conditions. They say, "It's all in their heads; they're letting themselves feel depressed." Which, granted, may be true to a certain extent, at least in some situations. But, people who are mentally ill often already feel terrible about themselves. They don't need further reason to feel like they are failures. I believe that people who suffer from mental illness, particularly depression, have learned some negative coping strategies that they probably don't even realize. More than likely, they have a lot of negative self-talk and have a low self-concept. They need to be shown how to learn to love and accept themselves. Giving them the message that it's all in their head will not help them.

Mental illness and religion play a nasty cat-and-mouse game. Instead of finding hope and healing in the church, people with mental illness can actually feel more lost and even persecuted. It's funny... Jesus came here to reach out to the broken-hearted; the bitter; the depressed. He brought healing to people who had been rejected by others, had rejected themselves, or both. And yet, for some reason, the only socially acceptable behavior/emotion to display at church is joy and happiness. Don't get me wrong; I'm glad there are people who are happy and who come to church to praise God. But there are others who may be struggling and don't want to put on a happy face just to "fit in". They need a place where they can hurt, and hopefully be loved and cared for. Otherwise, they'll just stop coming to church because they feel like hypocrites.

I think that is why being in a small group and actually having relationships with the people you go to church with is so important. I also think it is important for Christians to stop being such good actors. We are real people, with real struggles, and not all of us have reached perfection in our relationship with God. I think we need to be honest with ourselves and to be sensitive to people who may need more from church than just a social gathering.

Wow, I wasn't expecting to get on my soapbox. I guess I feel strongly about this. :)