Christians with mental sickness.

Mental sickness among Christians.

Christians have broken bodies. A Christian’s body is just as fallen and weak as any other person’s body. That means they can have heart attacks, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and, yes, mental illness. Their brains can break, their chemistry and electricity can malfunction, their hormones can be imbalanced, and so on.

Christians live in a broken world. Christians are not shielded from the effects of living in a fallen world. We have accidents, we are abused, we are wronged, we are lied about. People hurt us, some intentionally, some unintentionally. We see and hear sad and painful events and stories that traumatize us. We lose loved ones. Our families break up. Trauma has been shown to change the shape, size, and functionality of the brain and other bodily systems that are related to how we think and feel.

Mental illnesses such as depression have been documented and studied for over 2,000 years. While today’s understanding of mental disorders is far more robust and accurate than early theories, some outdated ideas are still echoed in certain circles, such as the belief that conditions such as depression result from wrongdoing or can be managed simply by thinking happy thoughts.

We hope you are beginning to see that Christians are just as human as everyone else and therefore suffer and get stressed like everyone else. But you might wonder, does mental illness ever come to believers as a result of personal sin?

These misconceptions and myths surrounding mental illnesses can cause many Christians to fear judgment and may prevent them from seeking treatment. Unfortunately, just as neglecting physical health services can have serious long-term consequences, untreated mental disorders can lead to more significant problems.

The idea that mental illnesses don’t exist is one of the biggest roadblocks to seeking professional help. While this stance isn’t present in every church, it’s widespread enough that many Christians living with depression or anxiety can recount a time when they shared their experience with a trusted friend, pastor or priest who told them that mental illness wasn’t real or was a strictly spiritual matter.

Mental illnesses are complex and influenced by a mix of situational, environmental, biological and chemical factors. While there’s still much to be explored and the exact symptoms of a given mental illness may vary slightly from one person to another, the criteria for diagnosing disorders such as anxiety, depression and obsessive-compulsive disorder are clearly defined and well-established.

Ancient Greeks attributed depression to demons and imbalances in the body. In the Dark Ages, theologian St. Augustine held that it was a punishment from God and can only be cured through atoning for sins, which often meant steep fines or corporal punishment. In the 17th and 18th centuries, many believed that depression could be fixed by applying logic and reason to faulty thinking.

Today’s mental health professionals have a much more robust understanding of illnesses. However, theories that connect disorders such as depression and anxiety with sin or a lack of self-discipline are still integral parts of the framework that many base their personal beliefs regarding mental illness on.

The fact is that mental illness is real and has a measurable impact on the brain’s ability to function normally. While it may impact someone’s faith journey, its root is biological, not spiritual.

Some Christians have a particular difficulty with experiencing and dealing with mental health illness. They don’t recognize it as an illness. Although they would accept that Christians can get physically sick, they seem to think that Christians should not get mentally ill. But they seem to forget that all human beings, since the Fall, are living in a broken world, with decaying bodies, trapped wills and disturbed minds. There is no more reason for a Christian to think they will never experience mental illness than there is to think that we will never get sick.

Is it wrong for a Christian to get depressed? Isn’t the joy of the Lord supposed to be our strength? How can we sing about peace and joy if at the same time we are feeling so depressed? Does that not indicate something wrong with our Christianity? Not at all. Not unless you want to dismiss the Bible. Jesus was overcome with sorrow, Paul knew what it was to struggle against the ‘fightings within’, and we even have a book of songs (the Psalms) that frequently express the deepest sorrow, angst, and fears.

What can we do to help? Accepting the fact of mental illness does not mean that we do nothing – or we are just stoical about it. We will do what we can to avail ourselves of help and to help those who are struggling. Mental illness hits in many different forms. Eating disorders, depression, bi-polar, and personality disorders amongst others. We should make use of the medical help and professionals that we have available.

However we also have two great advantages that others do not have. Firstly, we have the church. Our churches should yes I said should be places where the mentally ill are welcome and where they find and receive support. The community of the Lord’s people can be a great help. We should follow the example of Jesus Christ in his strong, kind, gentleness. The bruised reed he does not break. The smouldering wick he does not snuff out. Churches should be refuges, places of healing which offer hope, peace, and restoration – whether in this life or in the life to come.

Then we have the great advantage of prayer. We come to One who was broken for us – who was tempted in every way just as we are. “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds” (Psalm 147:3). A Scottish theologian from the 19th Century, ‘Rabbi Duncan’, put it beautifully – “There is no pit so deep that Christ has not gone deeper still”. One of the greatest problems we have when we suffer from mental illness is that we feel we are alone, and that well meaning as they are, others cannot understand our situation because they have not experienced it. Christ has.

One other thought – if mental illness is “a condition which causes serious disorder in a person’s behaviour or thinking” is there not a sense in which all of us suffer to some degree from mental illness? Whilst it is not technically mental illness, it is nonetheless the case that sin has caused disorder in every single person’s behaviour and thinking. We all need to be renewed in our minds and healed in our spirits.

Many members, one body.

“But now indeed there are many members, yet one body . . . And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it” (1 Corinthians 12:20, 26).

No one with a mental illness should feel like he or she doesn’t belong in the Body of Christ. As members of that body, we have a responsibility to one another—to suffer with those who suffer, and to rejoice with them in their victories.

The first steps to dismantling the stigma of mental illness within the boundaries of the Church begins with us. All of us.

Let’s do our part to create an environment where all, no matter their struggles, feel safe and equipped to fight their battles.