Soon after starting this blog several weeks ago, one person e-mailed me and asked some questions regarding mental illness. They were great questions! Thanks to Alicia for asking these great questions. There have been others that have also asked questions as our ministry to the mentally ill has developed. What follows are three of the questions that have been asked and my attempt to provide what I hope is an acceptable answer. Let me place a disclaimer for this particular posting. I realize the answers that follow are rather simplistic. To adequately address these questions a much longer response would be needed, perhaps even a book. One of the things I hope happens here is that people will respond and add value to my answers. I do not have all the answers, but I know that together we will get closer to the answer than if I try on my own. So, here it goes.

Questions #1: Why me? Is this punishment for something I did wrong?

            Let me start by answering this question with an emphatic NO! Mental illness is NOT the result of you doing something wrong. Let me clarify: there are some things that we do that lead to illness. For example, cigarette smoking has been linked to causing lung cancer. Eating too much greasy, fattening food over a period of time can lead to heart problems. To my knowledge, there has been no cause and effect relationship established with mental illness.

            With that being said, I am aware that, for some, depressions and anxieties may be due, in part, by how a person perceives the world around him or her. For example, some depressed people see the world through a “depressive filter”. With this “filter” the reality of an event is skewed toward depression. Let me give you an example. A surprise birthday party may be thrown for a person, but because of a “depressive filter” they do not perceive the positive of the party, instead they focus on the negatives, “oh, I’m not dressed well enough for this party” or “they are only throwing this party out of pity for me”. An “anxiety filter” may cause a person to see the danger in everything. For example, I am afraid of birds. I know that sounds silly, but every time I see a flock of birds together, I am sure that they are going to attack me. The good news about these “filters” is that they can be corrected with a good therapist who uses one of the cognitive therapy techniques

            We all do live in a fallen world. God made the world perfect, but after the first sin committed my Adam and Eve our world became less than perfect. Because of this, illnesses affect many people. The form of the illness might be different (ie. mental illness, cancer) but they are illnesses nonetheless. The vast majority of the people on this planet will experience an illness once in their lifetime and probably more. God will use these illnesses to develop character in us and perhaps give us empathy to minister effectively to others. Maybe instead of asking “Why me?” we could ask “God what do you want me to learn through this illness?”

            Remember, no matter what you are going through, God is right beside you (see Psalm 23).

Question #2: When I am so depressed and feel too numb to pray and ask God for help, does He still hear me?

            I like this question because I think the answer gets at the heart of who God is. The answer is that God does hear your pray. You and I do not need to utter a word in order for God to hear us. God is all knowing. He knows everything there is to know, including the unspoken prayers of your heart. In fact, God knows the prayers you are going to pray and the needs you have even before you do! He knows the quiet, unspoken meditations of your heart, He knows the hurts and the anxieties you have, He even knows the ones you will have in the future and - are you ready for this - He is preparing a way for you to get through any situation. Praise God!!!

            God doesn’t need, nor does He want our rote, superficial prayers. He wants your whole self.

            If all you can do is cry, sob, or stare, let you heart speak to God. He already knows what it wants to say.

Question #3: How do I handle issues of stigmatization? Whom can/should I tell and when?

            Tough question. Let me start off by saying that stigmatization comes from the same place as discrimination. In both cases, we label people we do not understand (nor care to understand) and look down on them. May the Christian church repent of them both!

            Paul describes Christ’s anti-discriminatory, anti-stigmatization stance like this, “There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all one in Christ.” (Galatians 3:28; see also 2 Corinthians 5:16-18 and Revelation 7:9). In this passage, Paul addresses the three historic walls that divide and oppress: race, gender and class. He states that, in Christ, none of these exist and I say none of them should exist in the church.

            With that being said, just know that God does not stigmatize people for any reason; only fallen humans do. When you feel discriminated against because of your illness, just know two things: One, that person has no idea who you are as a person, and two, their discrimination is evidence of their fallen nature.

            Whom should you tell and when? To this question, I would say that you should have a trusting relationship with a person before you tell them about your mental illness. Trust takes time and it’s a two-way street. I have seen many relationship problems happen because someone gave information about themselves to a person they trusted too fast. Slow down and tell them when you are ready.

            I hope that helps at least some and again, I am hoping that more wisdom can be added by others so please – comment away!