Mental illness and the church
The Internet Monk is blogging this week about an especially difficult subject: mental illness, and how Christians do and should respond to it. His post “Is there such a thing as mental illness?”, and the comments below it, are well worth the read.
There’s a great deal of ignorance, confusion, and fear in Christian circles surrounding this issue. Where Christians in the past have been all too quick to blame depression and other types of mental illness on weak faith or Satanic influence, I suspect they’re more likely these days to try to ignore it—as a few wrenching testimonies in the Internet Monk post demonstrate. I grew up in a fairly close Christian community and never heard any talk of clinical depression, bipolar disorder, or other mental illnesses, although I learned years later that several friends and even family members had serious bouts with mental illness. This silence on the issue, and our reluctance to talk about medication and counseling outside the church, must make life very difficult for some of our suffering brothers and sisters in Christ.
The unease about mental illness is understandable, to an extent—anyone who’s lived through serious depression or knows somebody who has can tell you that it’s a harrowing experience that doesn’t lend itself well to inspirational stories or pat resolutions. I have often wondered if the church’s difficulty with the issue has its roots in a gnostic, unbiblical belief that our minds are completely separate and disconnected from the rest of our bodies. We readily acknowledge that our bodies can be afflicted by physical maladies, but we tend to imagine that our minds can be influenced only by God, Satan, and our own willpower.
What’s your experience with this issue? How has your church responded to instances of mental illness in your community, and was it a positive experience? Is the church finally getting a handle on the challenge of mental illness?
Yes there is mental illness as well as we all live in a “fallen world” as we have all fallen with Adam. We are redeemed through the 2nd Adam, or the Christ. God never wanted us to go from him but that was our choice through Adam. Free will brings disorder and with that illness of various diversities. I am a clinical therapist trained in Adlerian psychotherapy. I am employed as the Access Coordinator for an inpatient psychiatric unit with a med-surg hospital. I evaluate and find help for psych patients in the ER. I conduct clinical group therapy. I am an ordained Presbyterian (PCUSA) minister and I can tell you first hand, “yes sir, there is true mental illness in many and various forms.” Genetics play a tremendous generational part. You have over 3 billion switches in your DNA and through fallen creation any one or a series of malfunctions can contribute to Bipolar Disorder Type I or II, Schizophrenia, Clinical Depression, etc. Forturnately there is help through psychotropics (medications) and directed therapy. The church must support and not run from what it has trouble perceiving. “We have all fallen short of the mark…” We will help our brothers and sisters in their suffering and I challenge you to be aware and do the same as God has gifted you.
Thank you for talking about this subject. Yes, many believers are suffering in silence.