Mental illness surrounds us. 1 in 4 people suffer from some form of it. Personally, I have severe anxiety, and I suffer from depression. I am not saying this for sympathy, but because I want to talk about mental illness and the way it is portrayed in the Church.
The Church stigmatizes mental illness: it is our personal fault that we suffer from it—a result of our personal sin and our character flaws. In regard to these opinions, the Church is partially right—yes, mental illness is the result of sin. However, it is not due to individual sin, but rather to collective sin.
Mental illness came into the world in the same way as pain in childbirth: as a direct result from the Fall. Yet, Christians do not condemn mothers who cry out in the pain of birth; instead they reach out to these mothers and comfort them. Furthermore, Christians stand by their side and celebrate when the painful process of birth is complete. So I ask you, why is that not the case with mental illness? It comes from the same place; why can’t we work in the same way?
Instead of providing support, Christians cast aside those who suffer from mental illness. They are the ones that Christians cannot and should not have to deal with. The Christian community wants them out of their lives and out of their congregations until they are ‘healed’. Many of the church leaders I have encountered will refer someone to someone else who can help a little more—which is good, there is no problem with that. But it is problematic when these church leaders then wash their hands of the person until they are ‘normal’ once again. Abandonment is not the answer; people dealing with mental illness need someone to talk to and someone to go to battle with them.
What is wrong with the Church?
As Christians, we are supposed to comfort and support those who are struggling; we ought to be the ones they can feel comfortable reaching out to. We should be there for them. We came to Christ because we know that we are broken. He is there for us, and if we are called to be Christ-like, should we not be there for those who reach out to us when they are broken?
As Christians we should be fighting the secular world to stop stigmatizing mental illness instead of the other way around. I saw something on Facebook the other day that really made me think. It was about Eeyore in Winnie-the-Pooh. “He’s basically clinically depressed, [but] he still gets invited to participate in adventures and shenanigans with all of his friends. And they never expect him to pretend to feel happy; they just love him anyway, and they never leave him behind or ask him to change.” A.A. Milne gets it. Nearly a century ago. In a time when any sort of mental illness was ignored or justification for imprisonment in a psych ward, he understands what people need. The new Pixar movie Inside Out is the same way. At first, Joy (that’s Christians) wants to change Sadness because she doesn’t fit in with how Joy thinks she should act. Yet, by the end, Joy is just there for Sadness, giving comfort and understanding in light of differences. This is what we should be.
Something else I saw on Facebook: a meme that says “1944: 18-year olds storm beaches, jump from planes, charge into almost certain death; 2015: 18-year olds need a safe place. Because words”. This was not the first time I had seen this. Almost every share and every like came from a Christian. 2015 is not the same world as 1944. If we were in a situation where we needed 18-year olds to storm beaches, believe me, I would be right up there with them, fighting for something I believe in. But we aren’t. We have a greater understanding of mental illness, and words do indeed hurt. Words can spark thought trains that lead to very bad places—I know because I went through it.
The Church doesn’t seem to understand that mental illness is through no fault of the individual. It’s brain chemistry—we cannot control it. But the stigma remains. Let’s try to change that.