This is my first post in a series about mental illness and the church. I am a passionate mental health advocate and have written on the topic before.
To begin talking about mental illness I first want to define it and differentiate it from mental health.
“Mental illnesses are health conditions involving changes in thinking, emotion, or behavior (or a combination of these). Mental illnesses are associated with distress and/or problems functioning in social, work or family activities.” –American Psychiatric Association
Mental illness is a sickness in the mind. It can be chronic or it can be short-term.
“…{mental health is} a state of well-being in which the individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.” –WHO
Everyone has to take care of their mental health just like they would maintain physical health. I like to think of it as a spectrum. Healthy choices move us closer to mental health while poor choices move us toward unwellness.
When God created the earth He designed the Garden of Eden to be the perfect home for Adam and Eve. Genesis 2 tells of Adam and Eve having an unhindered relationship with God and each other. They felt no shame about their bodies, actions, or thoughts.
The original sin brought shame, jealousy, insecurities, mental illness, and broken relationships into the world. Adam and Eve felt shame and the need to cover themselves after they ate the fruit from the tree of good and evil.
Mental illness is a result of the original sin. Our bodies and minds are broken, living in a fallen world. 1 in 5 adults experiences mental illness in a given year.
The shame and stigma that people feel when discussing mental illness prevent people from receiving much-needed treatment. Every year 60% of adults experiencing a mental illness do not receive treatment.
Frequently, Christians as who struggle with mental illness, we hear that mental illness comes from sin. While we make choices that affect our state of mind and mental health, our struggles are not always directly related to our own sins.
In John 9:1-2 a blind man is healed by Jesus. Jesus’ disciples asked him whether the person or his parents sinned in order for this man to be disabled in this way.
In verse three the disciples are told, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.”
This is not the only Biblical example of suffering existing as part of a person’s testimony.
In 2 Corinthians 12:7-8 Paul talks about a thorn in his flesh.
In Jonah 2:5-6 (NIV), Jonah is destitute enough to say, “The waters closed in over me to take my life; the deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped about my head at the roots of the mountain.”
King David wrote psalms like:
–Psalm 42:6 “My soul is downcast within me.”
–Psalm 88 “You have put me in the lowest pit” “Darkness is my closest friend” “Is your love declared in the grave?”
Click on the references to read the passages directly. More posts for this series are coming! Stay tuned.
Posted In: Mental Health
