We need to help each other, Church.
I don't think I would shock anyone by saying that mental health awareness in the church has been severely lacking since the beginning. We've made huge strides towards an open, supportive system in society with the invention and popularity of social media, but we still have a long ways to go. I believe the church should be at the forefront of this movement. Not everyone claiming my same faith agrees.
To illustrate, allow me to share an experience I had this spring as the result of social media and Christianity. I sat on this particular story for more than a month to be sure that I could tell it without anger because it really got to me. My Instagram page is about 50/50 photos of family and friends and posts about mental health/faith. That is entirely intentional. While I never want to exhaust people with real reflections on what it is like to live as a Christian with mental health issues, I also see the value in normalizing the conversation about these struggles. It's not for everyone and that is fine with me.
In this particular instance, I had written about a long moment of frustration with my anxiety. Darker than I usually write publicly, but nothing disturbing. While I was at work the next morning, I received a message from someone who used to be close to me at an earlier point in my life. This person urged me to pray about finding the root of my anxiety, which they suggested was likely unaddressed fear or conflict between me and God. Depending on what you believe, reading that either made perfect sense to you...or it made you very upset. I think you can guess which emotion I felt.
I won't talk any further about the conversation that followed because it ended pretty neutrally online and I found no closure in it. But I will say that it led me to a discussion with my small group leaders that night about the lack of education about and care for people with mental health issues in the church. I've been mulling over both the initial confrontation and the following encouragement from my friends ever since then. So now let's talk.
It deeply concerns me when I see believers in Jesus connecting any type of physical or mental struggle with unresolved sin. Supposedly we are all on the same page about grace and forgiveness, so I won't even give this idea enough time to be fleshed out. There is a definite stigma associated with anxiety and depression (I'm focusing on these two because I don't have the education to talk about any others with proper authority), and we as a body of believers tend to avoid the necessary conversations as a result. There is no excuse for this complacency, friends.
I'm not even talking about just the most severe cases. Not everyone with anxiety or depression takes medication to manage it or seeks therapy to process it. Many will never be diagnosed or officially treated for anything. That doesn't make any experience less legitimate. And as long as there are believers who make statements like the one sent to me, we still have a long ways to go.
Now for the "so what?" This isn't just me talking about mental health to normalize it. I'm not trying to scold anyone for not speaking up or reaching out. I am, however, looking to start a conversation about ways we as a body can support each other well. Praying for each other is great. Checking in with each other in addition to praying is better. Listening to another person's story is important. Helping them find a safe place to process or even just exist during the darkest moments is crucial.
This is an easy post to write compared to the last one, but it's just as important (and also can be related, so yeah Pride). I want to encourage you, followers of Jesus like me, to not only be a safe place for someone but also to know you can find your own safe place. The more we are open with each other about our experiences, the better we can love each other. Besides, how can we serve well if we are carrying our burdens in silence?
Love ya, babes. Click a link if you need to, and know you are seen.
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/
Top 100 Mental Health Resources Online
To illustrate, allow me to share an experience I had this spring as the result of social media and Christianity. I sat on this particular story for more than a month to be sure that I could tell it without anger because it really got to me. My Instagram page is about 50/50 photos of family and friends and posts about mental health/faith. That is entirely intentional. While I never want to exhaust people with real reflections on what it is like to live as a Christian with mental health issues, I also see the value in normalizing the conversation about these struggles. It's not for everyone and that is fine with me.
In this particular instance, I had written about a long moment of frustration with my anxiety. Darker than I usually write publicly, but nothing disturbing. While I was at work the next morning, I received a message from someone who used to be close to me at an earlier point in my life. This person urged me to pray about finding the root of my anxiety, which they suggested was likely unaddressed fear or conflict between me and God. Depending on what you believe, reading that either made perfect sense to you...or it made you very upset. I think you can guess which emotion I felt.
I won't talk any further about the conversation that followed because it ended pretty neutrally online and I found no closure in it. But I will say that it led me to a discussion with my small group leaders that night about the lack of education about and care for people with mental health issues in the church. I've been mulling over both the initial confrontation and the following encouragement from my friends ever since then. So now let's talk.
It deeply concerns me when I see believers in Jesus connecting any type of physical or mental struggle with unresolved sin. Supposedly we are all on the same page about grace and forgiveness, so I won't even give this idea enough time to be fleshed out. There is a definite stigma associated with anxiety and depression (I'm focusing on these two because I don't have the education to talk about any others with proper authority), and we as a body of believers tend to avoid the necessary conversations as a result. There is no excuse for this complacency, friends.
I'm not even talking about just the most severe cases. Not everyone with anxiety or depression takes medication to manage it or seeks therapy to process it. Many will never be diagnosed or officially treated for anything. That doesn't make any experience less legitimate. And as long as there are believers who make statements like the one sent to me, we still have a long ways to go.
Now for the "so what?" This isn't just me talking about mental health to normalize it. I'm not trying to scold anyone for not speaking up or reaching out. I am, however, looking to start a conversation about ways we as a body can support each other well. Praying for each other is great. Checking in with each other in addition to praying is better. Listening to another person's story is important. Helping them find a safe place to process or even just exist during the darkest moments is crucial.
This is an easy post to write compared to the last one, but it's just as important (and also can be related, so yeah Pride). I want to encourage you, followers of Jesus like me, to not only be a safe place for someone but also to know you can find your own safe place. The more we are open with each other about our experiences, the better we can love each other. Besides, how can we serve well if we are carrying our burdens in silence?
Love ya, babes. Click a link if you need to, and know you are seen.
https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/national-helpline
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/
Top 100 Mental Health Resources Online
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