In Honor of Mental Health Awareness Month

Today, I realized that this month, May, is Mental Health Awareness Month and it got me thinking about the growing statistics surrounding mental health issues and suicides, especially within the church.  Before I start, I want to say right off the bat that I am not one of those people that will say that in order to get rid of depression, anxiety, or other mental health issues that one should “simply have more faith” because that’s just not true.  God has the power and the ability to heal people of any sickness whether it’s cancer or depression, but sometimes He’s got a different plan and desires to use that hardship for His glory and our good.  However, that doesn’t necessarily make the struggle that many people face with mental illness any easier.
In fact, let’s check out some statistics:
According to the New York Times, U.S. suicide rates surged to a 30-year high in the year 2014 and the overall rate rose 24% between 1999 and 2014, even among groups that had been seeing a stable or declining rate from the 1950s until then.  Almost 43,000 people committed suicide in 2014, compared to just over 29,000 in 1999.  (For more information, use this link https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/22/health/us-suicide-rate-surges-to-a-30-year-high.html)  It is also noteworthy that 1 in 5 adults (or more than 40,000,000 total) in America have been diagnosed with some form of mental illness.  In 2014, 11.1% of American youth were found to have some form of depression, a 2.6% spike from 2011.  (For more information on these kinds of stats, use this link http://www.mentalhealthamerica.net/issues/2016-state-mental-health-america-prevalence-data#Adult)

“But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).  Mental illness and resulting suicides are just as prevalent within the church as they are in the rest of the world.  These issues entered the world right alongside death and physical diseases, with the first sin and the Fall of humanity.  Oftentimes, in the midst of mental illness people can feel helpless and hopeless, but these thoughts, along with the feelings of loneliness, are lies that the disease whispers in the ear of those who are suffering from it.  These thoughts and feelings are caused by the disease, but they can negatively affect a person’s relationship with Christ as they steal the Christ-centered focus and put all of a person’s energy into trying to just make it through the day.  While it certainly won’t cure the disease lurking in the mind, it can offer peace for people to be reminded that Christ has given His children the ultimate victory over such hopelessness by the hope He offers through His cross.
Jesus Christ warned His followers in John 16:33 that “In this world you will have trouble”, but He doesn’t leave them with that.  In fact, within that same verse He promises that He came to give peace and that He has already overcome the troubles of this world on the behalf of His beloved.  This verse isn’t a cure for mental illness, but it certainly can have medicinal properties for those suffering through the effects of depression, anxiety, PTSD or many other mental issues.  Hebrews 2:14-15 and Hebrews 4:15 remind us that Jesus was fully human during His time on earth and is able to “empathize” with all of the struggles during this life.  He has destroyed death’s power over all of His children, and, therefore, He has also defeated the power of suicide over the lives of those who deal with such struggles that make it seem like things will never get better, because “neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  He has made us more than conquerors over anything that might attack during this life (Romans 8:37-39).

Another struggle that many people with various mental illnesses face is the fear of letting anyone know what’s going on in their lives.  There is often the thought that if anyone knew what was really going on, then people would look at them differently or judge them or act as though they’re some sort of freak or something to be pitied.  It’s really hard, but it’s also important to remember that God’s opinion is the only one that truly matters and He cares about the human race.  In 1 Peter 1:5, one of the first verses in the whole book, it begs us to “cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.”  God wants to take on the pain associated with this mental illness and turn it around for good to be used to encourage all of those around.
God commands in Deuteronomy 31:6 to “be strong and courageous...for the LORD your God goes with you” and promises that “He will never leave you nor forsake you.”  When mental illness begins to whisper loneliness and that there’s no one else facing this struggle and that everyone has left, just remember that there is One who promised never to leave and that He is the One who has never broken a promise to His people.

Humans are not asked to be perfect and handle sickness perfectly every time.  For those times when it’s not handled perfectly, there is grace that is offered freely by Jesus Christ.  1 Corinthians 12:9 makes it clear as day that, though it will never seem like it in the midst of the valley, these struggles are actually a blessing from God.  In this verse, God tells Paul, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."  This is after Paul had prayed many times for God to remove the “thorn in his side” (it is never clearly stated what this was for Paul, but for many, the thorn in their side may be their mental illness) and afterward, Paul was actually excited to be afflicted, because it meant that God could work through him more than if he had been whole.
I know that all of this sounds very pretty and easy and la-di-da.  You may even be thinking one of two things, depending on which perspective you’re coming from.  If you don’t struggle with mental illness, you may be thinking, “Well with this information, then why does any Christian struggle with these diseases at all?”  Or if you are one who suffers, then you might well be thinking, “Is there something wrong with me that I can’t see and apply these things when I’m in the middle of my disease?”  Well, like I’ve said many times throughout this post, none of this is a cure for mental illness, just a medicine, and it can be hard to remember in the middle of the mess.  People can’t heal themselves and shouldn’t be expected to.  I only mean to encourage those who are in the middle of it and hopefully help them see that, like Romans 8:31 says, if God is with them then nothing can stand against them, not even themselves.

Interesting and helpful articles:

Resources:
National Suicide Prevention Hotline
1-800-273-8255

US Suicide Hotline
1-800-784-2433

National Youth Crisis Hotline
800-448-4663

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