There’s a great article by Elliot Anderson at Leadership Journal about ministry to people suffering from mental health problems. Going by the statistics, plenty of people in your church congregation are struggling with depression, addiction, and other mental health issues. Elliot lays out some great practical advice for doing ministry in this environment, including how to recognize when somebody has gone off medication or needs special attention.
It may take an trained, experienced therapist to help somebody overcome a serious mental illness, but lending basic love and encouragement is something any church leader can do:
Key to addressing this issue is creating an environment where it’s okay to admit you have medication and mental health issues…. Mental health is a reality, and so is mental illness. We all know people with phobias and disorders. In fact, we are those people.I try to reduce the stigma by referring to standard mental health issues like depression and addiction in my messages. I use dramatic stories I’ve read as introductions or illustrations. And I try to communicate that mental health issues are not spiritual failings. God heals in many ways, including regular, carefully regulated doses of mood stabilizing drugs. And God can use these conditions to draw people closer to himself.
Would somebody who is suffering from mental illness feel comfortable in your church, or would they feel pressure to hide their problems? If you’ve suffered from mental health issues, was your church a help or a hindrance to your recovery?
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December 13, 2007 at 17:54
As a whole, my church has been wonderfully supportive regarding my struggles with mental illness. But I don’t seek out support/prayer from just anybody. I’m a quiet, shy and contemplative person, so having someone shout demands to God to heal me does more harm than good. I shut down, and the Holy Spirit would need a 2×4 to reach me.
I also avoid volunteering for ministries/projects if I know that certain people are leading. Some leaders seem to believe that their leadership position, charismatic gifts, life experiences, Bible study, etc. gives them a license to practice therapy. In fact, it was after I stopped working with a “Christian therapist” that I have had the most success in dealing with my issues and additional diagnosis of Bipolar II.
December 13, 2007 at 22:42
I think we not only live in an age of Zoloft, but an age of over-prescription. I know there are very real and physical causes for what are called “mental illnesses”. But I also believe that if the Church were doing its job well enough, depression wouldn’t be at seemingly epidemic proportions. As I see it, it’s not an issue of making a comfortable environment for medicated persons to reveal their prescriptions, it’s maintaining a spirit of confession with a close group of believers who can share and aid in one’s struggles.
And as far as over-prescription is concerned, yes, if you go to a doctor with claims of mental issues, of course he is going to boil it down to a physical remedy. My question is, “are people grappling the with spiritual ramifications in their lives, and the lives of close ones, to tell the difference between chemical imbalances and the poison of sin?”
To those who suffer from medical conditions affecting the mind, my heart goes out to you. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have anymore problems controlling my inner life than I already have.
December 14, 2007 at 08:40
I am not on any medications for depression or anything but I’ve always felt melancholy and depressed about life. In one way or another, all human beings suffer from some form of mental illness simply because we’re contaminated by the sinful nature.
I believe, for me, that the problem is rooted in unreal expectations of what life is and how it should meet my needs. Disappointment and disillusion leads to depression. Accurate Biblical instruction would help Christians understand that we are living in a fallen world and why should we be surprised by it’s inability to satisfy our needs. And I know that I am very ME-oriented. I need to be more Biblically admonished that I am part of God’s creation, not the center of it.
Concerning the church environment…in my own I see a larger awareness of the human frailties of each other and so more patience and understanding. There’s a thin line between that and enabling each of us to just say ‘well that’s just how I am’. We need to want to become more mentally healthy by training our minds to view life through God’s eyes and learning to apply His Word to all our situations.
December 14, 2007 at 09:37
This is a HOT topic, especially if you or a loved one suffers with “mental issues.” My wife went through “hell” with depression before we were married. We prayed and prayed and also worked with a lot of medicines and therapy. Even today, even with the “best meds”, she still suffers unreasonable fears or anger. As a child her father molested her and her sister. His friends would also have a “feel” now and then if she met up with one of them outside the house. Her dad also tried to shoot himself while drunk, after an abuse session. The family covered it up and NEVER discussed it. Her mother asker “Do you want your father to go to jail?”...putting the blame squarely on the victim. My wife STILL wonders if she really “wanted it” and led him to do it. When her parents got divoriced, the mother blamed my wife for it. This kind of mental trauma, based on my understanding of biochemistry, can lead to physical changes in the brain which leads to altered production of hormones and other essential chemicals.Think of soldiers who have experienced horrific war scenes. The brain is so complex. memories. Personality. My wife has three personalities IMO. Regular, happy girl/mom. Scared..scared of Father God, bad girl that can’t be loved (think of the father’s abuse/mother’s blame), and ANGRY lady, angry because she was robbed of something and no justice ever came about. This story is much too complex for this place. Recently, at a womens prayer session, a young lady who works at a counseling center, began praying that Satan would be bound so the people at the center would be free. It was the same old “devil is the real cause” of mental problems mantra. I guess if you have only had an outside view of this issue you may feel the same. But once you really get into it you will find you can’t just read a book, say a prayer, and be healed. For those who say it just the devil…can Satan be controlled by medication? If mental issues are just Satan, why are not most of the world’s people “crazy”? Think about it.
December 14, 2007 at 16:48
Jim, you’ve done great in pointing out a very harmful over-simplification. That the devil is to blame for all of the problems in the world. But let’s all think about it, think about the people you know. I even think about who I am. Does the enemy really need to much help?
I don’t doubt the liar part in the world, but most of everything anyone does in this world is done for the same basic reason that I get a Snickers bar sometimes: “I think (x) it will make me happy.”
Jim’s wife’s issues are not the cause of her own sins, but the sins of others. I can’t dare to prescribe what she can do to be free of the ramification of that sin, nor am I suggesting she quit medication. I am really just commenting on Jim’s final statements.
Can Satan be controlled by medication? Jim and I believe wholeheartedly not! With a duelist world view significantly separating the physical and spiritual realms, such a question is clear and cutting rhetoric (my favorite kind). But let’s rephrase the question, can medication undo what sin does to the soul? Can medication sanctify?
Exorcism may not be the answer for Jim’s wife, but one mustn’t count out faith entirely.
December 14, 2007 at 17:42
Thank you Jim, for saying what I didn’t have the courage to state so bluntly !
Of course Satan has a role, because this is a fallen world, and the sin of abuse is a weapon of Satan. But there is so much more to human nature than just sin. We are fearfully and wonderfully made creations of God, not of Satan. A wonderful elder in my church makes comments like this to me whenever I am struggling, and it is worth more than 10 thousand people trying to cast out whatever sin they think I’m hiding behind medication.
December 18, 2007 at 12:03
I suffer from bipolar disorder and would love to get some support from my church, but I know people would join it so the could get dirt on other people, as horrible as it sounds. (We are all familiar with the gossip veiled as a prayer request concept.) Therefore, I keep to myself and tell only a few individuals who I trust.
I was lucky enough to have a Christian therapist who took a more clinical approach to my treatment. I was lucky in that aspect and am sad to see her retire.
Our brains get sick just like every part of our body. Mental illness is just another thing that can go wrong in our bodies. I feel that there needs to be more understanding of this concept in the church and that most of of the time depression and mental illness is not the cause of sin. For more information, I recommend this web site.: http://www.christian-depression.org/