It is October, my friends.
One of the hardest months for mental health in the year. Recently, I have been feeling it. Intensely. For about six or seven years, I have been walking through life with mental illness. I have had some really good years, and some really bad years as well. As a Christian with mental illness, the journey can be harder than usual because of misconceptions and stigma around it.
During my journey through years of therapy and living with mental illness for quite some time now, I have learned quite a lot. One of those things is that sometimes you need extra help, and that is okay. Don't let anybody discourage you from getting better.
As a Christian, many times I have experienced people telling me that the reason I am depressed is that I don't pray enough and don't have enough faith. I am here to tell you that what those people are saying is a bunch of BULL.
Let's break this down. Their logic is that if you have enough faith, you can pray your illness away. They probably say this because Matthew 17:20 says, "He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."
While at first glance this would make sense, when you look more into this, it does not make sense when it comes to this issue.
Using this verse to say that those with mental illness don't have enough faith is silly. We have to also consider God's will. With the thought process that people with mental illness don't have enough faith to be instantly healed, is like saying people who break their legs don't have enough faith to just mend their bones, or that when someone's family member dies that they didn't have enough faith to heal them.
It doesn't always make sense, but sometimes God tells us no.
When our family member is terminally ill and God doesn't heal them, that doesn't mean you don't have enough faith. It means that for whatever reason, God has a different plan within the sickness of your family member. God does not always tell us yes.
We deal with death, illness, pain, and suffering because of sin in the world. When the fall happened and darkness fell, these things came with it. Unfortunately, we are all living in a world filled with darkness and are not immune to these things. God works through these things though.
God does not only work in the light, but he also works in the darkness. Sometimes you continue to have a mental illness because he knows that you will be able to help someone else with their battle in the future. In the darkness God is still active and moving. We may not be able to see how, but his plan is bigger and better than anything we could comprehend.
The biggest issue with the people who think that you can just pray the sad away isn't the blatant falseness of that ideology, but the way it makes their recipient feel. There is already a stigma around the discussion of mental illness, and this only perpetuates that.
When you tell someone that they do not have enough faith to be better, it makes them feel alienated and trapped. When people are alienated like that, it silences their voice and then they don't go to seek help. People should know that going and getting help is courageous. It is not an act of weakness but of strength. Humbling yourself and allowing God to heal you is anything but weak.
There are so many resources to get on the road to healing. Reach out. You are not unfaithful. You are not alone.
Doubt is not making you the way you are. Sometimes God has us in seasons of life to grow us in ways that other things could not. Even though you may not see it now, every hurt and illness has a purpose. Seeking help for things that you think that you are not equipped to handle is so brave. For getting up and existing today you are a ROCK STAR. Let's start the conversation about mental health. No more alienation. No more fear. No more hiding.
Let's bring our darkness to the light, and KICK MENTAL ILLNESS'S ASS.
If you are battling with mental illness alone, please take advantage of these resources:
