Mental Illness is Not an Offensive Topic
Depression and Anxiety.
Honestly, these words bring so much tension to a room. These two words usually make people stop what they’re doing and pay attention. There is so much intensity to these words. In our culture right now, these are two words that are incredibly popular topics to speak on.
I have found that whenever I write or talk on the topic of depression or anxiety, people respond in either 2 ways:
Incredibly thankful that I am bringing light to the topic
Incredibly defensive.
I believe there are a few reasons for these responses. But before I start, I want to preface that I am speaking this completely out of love and for the purpose of love. I am not writing to condemn or point fingers. Rather, I want light to break into the dark places of our hearts. God’s victory to be accessible to anyone who chooses it, so I want to remind people of the victory that we can walk in through His name.
There are a few reasons that people get defensive talking about mental illness:
People have taken on the mental illness as apart of their identity.
Within this generation, I believe identity is the biggest issue people struggle with. People are constantly looking at something, someone, a group to be associated with, certain skills, degrees, or whatever it may be to give them a title or identity. Have you noticed when you go on Twitter or Facebook, people will speak about having Anxiety or Depression in such a casual way?
They will repost posts or retweet tweets about these mental illnesses in a serious or “comical” way because they feel like they are apart of a group of people larger than themselves that also struggle. It’s like a group of struggling people huddling together and making light of their struggle through humor. But people latch onto it because at least they feel known.
But what happens when someone speaks truth about their illness instead of enabling/ joking about it? What happens when I let someone know they can step out of that darkness and into light?
People get angry. They put their hands out and say, “how dare you belittle my struggle?” “How dare you say that God is strong enough to break off what I have struggled with my whole life?” “You don’t understand what I have been through.”
The reality is that people latch onto their struggles because sometimes struggling is more comfortable than being vulnerable. Sometimes hiding is easier than showing up. Sometimes the dark is more appealing than the light. John 3:19
People like having a reason to be the victim.
Life is hard. Simple as that. Life is full of hardships, trials, and tragedies. It’s easy to get into the mindset of “why me” and develop the victim mentality. Especially with any type of sickness, physical or mental. Hear me out: I am not belitting any type of struggle. I understand how hard pain is and cannot fathom how much people have struggled. But here’s the deal: we cannot let these offenses affect and overtake us. We are not victims, we are conquerors through Him. Romans 8:37, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”
I think that because people have built up depression and anxiety to be this scary monster, people think it’s a disease that ruins us. We think it over takes us and we are powerless. But if we claim to be Christ followers and believe in Jesus, where is our faith in the power that the cross has?
Colossians 2:10, “and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;”
1 Peter 3:22, “who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven, after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to Him.”
1 Corinthians 15:24, “then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power.”
God has given all authority to Jesus. He conquered death, sin, and all principalities on earth. That same spirit that was in Jesus and was resurrected, was given to us in order for us to complete the great commission. So no, I will no longer walk as a victim, but a victor! I am victorious because Jesus conquered death. Jesus said, “It is finished” and I believe Him.
People don’t know the true power that Jesus carries, so they assume they have to handle it themselves.
This one is a bit of a combination of both 1 and 2, but I wanted to go more in depth. It’s an interesting thing talking to people about this and hearing them get defensive because of the unbelief of their heart. I remember the first time I talked to someone about mental illness and what she said blew my mind. She was a theology student and was wanting to get into ministry and she said, “Sometimes God just isn’t enough to beat mental illness.”
My jaw dropped and my soul was saddened. But the more I post about this topic, the more I see that this belief within Christians is incredibly popular. Friends, God IS enough. He is more enough than antibiotics, therapy, meditation, group counseling, or any type of treatment you can think of. You do not need anything else except Him. Now, I used to be very close minded about medication. To be honest, I still don’t think it’s wise for someone to take medication. But I will say that is MY conviction for myself and will never condemn or judge anyone for taking medication. Many of my family members take pills for their mental illnesses and whether or not I would do it, I support and love them 100%.
Let me share a few verses with you that I think is important pertaining to this topic:
James 1:4, “And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”
Psalm 23:1-3, “The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.”
Psalm 34:10, “The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.”
If I can encourage you in any way, it would be with the truth that IN JESUS and WITH JESUS, you lack nothing. He has given us His spirit. He has given us the power and authority that Jesus walked while He was here on earth. Which means we are not a victim of our circumstances, but we are victorious over them because of Jesus.
I believe that Christians don’t talk about mental health enough. We don’t talk about the feelings and emotions involved. I also believe that we are too grace focused and not enough truth focused. I believe people NEED empathy, love, and comfort. But I also believe that truth is what sets people free. Truth is what will empower and equip people to walk in the power that God has given them. This is to empower you not to walk in fear of what you may struggle with, but walk confidently in His name that gives you strength.