With arms held high, amidst the crescendo of the song’s chorus, those around me filled the church with lyrics of worship. I stood there, silent, downcast, incapable of even lifting a note from my heart. What I once believed to be an artifact of my past arose again and confronted me while I stood there silently: depression. Despite my best efforts in that moment, my heart knew the truth of God, but I did not feel it. What did I do wrong? I had daily quiet times, weekly Bible studies, and consistent discipleship. As tears began to form in my eyes, I begged God, “Not again, please.”
Faced with this old foe, I ran to the shelter of someone whom I trusted the most. Yet what I experienced turned my cut into a wound. As I shamefully admitted my relapse into old experiences, the other person whom I trusted seemed to dismiss my pain as a symptom of school stress and spiritual isolation. Worst of all, I developed the feeling that my experience was a direct result of a lack of faith. Was I being faithful enough? This question was unfounded, and worse, deprived of truth, yet it revealed a striking revelation about depression in our current Christian culture: many of us have made mental health a taboo topic and created a stigma surrounding those who suffer from mental illness. To truly help our brothers and sisters in Christ who suffer from mental illnesses, we must actively challenge these stigmas and open up the broader dialogue to the light of the gospel.
A study from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) found that approximately 1 in 5 adults in the U.S.—that is 43.8 million people—experience mental illness in a given year. A similar number, around 18.1 percent of U.S. adults, experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives. Unfortunately, these numbers do not decrease within the walls of churches. Based on a LifeWay research study on 1,000 senior Protestant pastors, over 75 percent indicated that they knew someone who was diagnosed with clinical depression. If mental illness is this prevalent, why is it still a taboo topic among contemporary Christian circles?
“You are probably not being faithful enough!” “Just surrender your mental illness to God.” “You must have done something to cause this.” To many Christians struggling with their mental health, these responses form a formidable barrier to any empathetic understanding. Rather than feeling supported or cared for, people end up feeling ashamed for suffering from something that has no immediate explanation. Struggling with mental health is not due to a lack of faith. Herein lies perhaps the greatest stigma, the one that forms the basis for many others. “Pray more. Repent more. Trust more.” These “encouragements” turn into a marks of shame for someone suffering and further alienates them from the surpassing grace of God.
The Bible is filled with stories of people who were faithful yet suffered great affliction. Perhaps the Old Testament’s crowning example of this was in the book of Job. Job was an upright and blameless man (Job 1:1), yet a few verses later, he lost everything: his house, his livestock, and even his children (Job 1:13-18). The rest of the story is filled with Job going back and forth with three of his “friends” who attempt to understand why Job lost all that he had. They accuse Job of sins he never committed, perpetuating lies that he was unfaithful to God and was punished as a result. Sound familiar?
What’s even worse: in today’s contemporary Christian culture we tend to point to Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament to validate our misperceptions toward mental health. For example, in response to a friend struggling with anxiety, one may supply Matthew 6:25: “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, not about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” While this verse is important, by instantly firing it back, we are ignoring both the context of the verse and our friend’s struggle. Looking at Jesus’ words in Matthew 6, He is using “anxious” in a totally different context than we do in our contemporary culture. Jesus is talking about worrying, specifically worrying about the future, not directly about the disorder we define today as anxiety.
If we accept the idea that mental illnesses are due to a lack of faith, then we implicitly accept the inverse idea that strong faith prevents us from experiencing mental illness—that faithful actions are rewarded with good health. This idea is simply contrary to the gospel. Jesus does not require us to be of sound physical, emotional, or mental health to come to Him. He says a few chapters later, “Come to me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28). The truth is that those Christians who suffer from mental health are no less faithful than those Christians who does not suffer from mental health. You can be a regular volunteer at your church, a consistent member at Bible study, or even the pastor of a church but still struggle with mental health. That is okay. You are just as deserving of Christ's love.
To the Christian struggling with mental health, you are not alone. In no way should you feel ashamed that you are experiencing deep pain, something that many others cannot fathom. Nor should you feel that a lapse in faith led to your pain. God remembers us in our most distant moments, constantly pursuing our hearts and minds to mend our pain. There is also no shame in seeking help from an experienced mental health practitioner. Similar to how God provides medical doctors to aid us in healing from our physical wounds, God also provides therapists to aid us in healing from our psychological wounds. Most of all, remember that God cares deeply to restore the light in your heart.
To the Christian not struggling with mental health, you are essential to the fight against mental health stigmas. If you acknowledge that there is not a link between a lack of faith and mental illness, then part of the fight has already been won. You should encourage those who are suffering from mental health to seek medical attention from experienced practitioners. Encouraging others that there is no shame in admitting one’s own need for help is a crucial part of genuine compassion. Lastly, simply being present in someone’s life is an important part of fighting against mental illness. Even if the person begins distancing themselves, pursue them in friendship more than ever. Show the love that Christ showed to you.
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9 (ESV)
Jonathan is a senior at Florida State University studying Economics and Political Science. He is a lover of coffee, candles, and Christ. As a 2w1 on the Enneagram, Jonathan hopes to one day unite his passion for economics with his faith by working on public policy to help first-generation immigrants receive an education and learn English regardless of their background. In this particular season, Jonathan is learning what it means to find true contentment in Christ.
*If you are in serious need of help, or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, please call 1-800-273-8255 to reach the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline
*Additional articles on mental health and Christian stigmas:
https://relevantmagazine.com/article/having-mental-health-issues-doesnt-mean-youre-a-bad-christian/ https://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2018/april/church-and-mental-health.html https://www.geneva.edu/blog/uncategorized/stigma-mental-illness https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/brick-brick/201405/the-stigma-mental-illness-is-making-us-sicker