Christian's Guide to Mental Illness (eBook)

1

What Is Mental Illness?

Before you read any further, think about the question posed by this chapter’s title and try to answer it.

It’s challenging, isn’t it?

Maybe you answered, “It’s a sin,” or, “It’s a weakness,” or, “It’s a sickness,” or perhaps even, “It’s not real,” or, “I don’t like that term.” But most likely, you said something like, “I’m not sure,” or, “To be honest, I really have no idea.”

Despite improved research and education, many of us are still confused, uncertain, or simply wrong about what we think mental illness is. Consequently, we shy away from the topic. Some blame and condemn those who suffer with it. Others, usually unintentionally, harm rather than help. The absence of sympathy and lack of understanding add additional layers of suffering to the problem, compounding the hurt and deterring people from seeking help.

This book will give you a better handle on mental illness and guide you toward more loving responses—emotionally, verbally, and practically. Our aim is to replace confusion, error, and misunderstanding with clarity, truth, and education so that we all can be more effective in caring for the mentally ill.1 In the next chapter, we’ll discuss the pros and cons of using the term “mental illness.” For now, as we begin to answer the question, What is mental illness?, we need to understand four foundational aspects of it.

Mental Illness Is an Old Problem

Mental illness was not part of the original creation. When God made everything, including the first man and woman, he pronounced everything “very good” (Gen. 1:31). Humanity was perfect in every way: physically, mentally, emotionally, relationally, vocationally, and spiritually.

Once sin entered the world through Adam and Eve’s choices, all humanity came under the divine curse together with the rest of the creation (Gen. 3:14–19). Every part of us became disordered and broken, including our bodies, minds, emotions, and souls (Rom. 8:20–22). Illness, including mental illness, was now a part of humanity. All depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, PTSD, personality disorders, and so forth, can be traced to this terrible turning point in world history. That’s how long mental illness has been around. It’s an old problem.

Some Christians believe that mental illness is simply a modern idea dreamed up by God-defying psychiatrists, soul-denying psychologists, money-making drug companies, and blame-shifting sinners. Church history says otherwise (as does modern medical research). To give just one example, mental illness was accepted as genuine and treated seriously by some of the greatest Christian experts in soul care that God has ever given to his church—the Puritans. In days of spiritual revival and reformation, these spiritual giants and geniuses had deep insights into the causes and cures of mental illness that we would do well to learn from today.2 Understanding this historical background together with some modern research on the brain (especially the physical changes that may occur) should help reduce the amount of shame and social stigma around mental illness.3

When sin invaded the world,
mental illness invaded our minds.

If mental illness has been around for so long, though, how come there’s still so little understanding of it or agreement about what it is? One reason is that it’s such a complex problem.

Mental Illness Is a Complex Problem

Some mental illness can have a relatively simple fix, but usually it’s a lot more complicated. That is because it affects, and is affected by, multiple parts of our humanity. A broken arm affects only a small part of our body, impacts only a couple of areas of our lives, and needs only one or two visits to the doctor. Other illnesses, like cancer, can affect the entire body and every part of our lives and require lots of professional help.

Mental illness is like cancer in that respect. To one degree or another, nothing can escape its reach. It especially disturbs our thoughts, feelings, and souls, which in turn worsens the mental illness and makes it extremely difficult to figure out what the problem is and what the solutions are. It often requires multiple appointments with various professionals to obtain the necessary help. It’s a complex problem that defies simplification.

Over-simplifying mental illness
underestimates mental illness.

“But, if it’s so complex, what should we expect in the lives of sufferers?”

We can expect a lot of complexity in the wide range of people who battle mental illness and in their wide-ranging experiences.

Mental Illness Is a Varied Problem

Mental illness is varied in terms of who suffers with it. Although there are some caricatures of who can become mentally ill, there is no one kind of person or personality that is more susceptible. Men and women, old and young, black and white, Type A and Type Z, successful and unsuccessful, believers and unbelievers, and so on; all kinds and types can suffer in this way. It can affect everyone and anyone. Although some families may have a greater risk of being affected due to genetics, no family is immune.

We will see the variety even more clearly in chapter 3 when we look at the different kinds of mental illness, and how statistically common it is. According to one source, in the course of a normal year, almost 1-in-5 American adults will experience a diagnosable mental health disorder, and that rises to 46 percent over the course of a lifetime.4

Mental illness is also varied in terms of the nature and severity of symptoms. Each category of mental illness has a range of symptoms associated with it, but what a person actually experiences is greatly influenced by their circumstances. This means that some are slightly impaired in their functioning, others are paralyzed, and most move backward and forward along this scale.

The timing and duration of any given symptom or onset is diverse as well. It can begin when everything is going well, or when everything is going terribly, or even many years after traumatic events. It can last for weeks, months, years, and can even be lifelong. Mental illness can be a one-off episode or something that is repeated. It’s a varied problem that defies stereotypes.

If we stereotype mental illness,
we’ll overlook mental illness.

“If it’s so complex and so varied, is there really anything that can be done to treat it?”

Yes, and it should be treated urgently.

Mental Illness Is an Urgent Problem

Although mental illness can be mild, it usually has serious, life-altering impacts. Many illnesses and problems impede portions of our lives, but mental illness tends to damage every aspect of our lives. It isn’t something that can be boxed up and limited easily. Unfortunately, and sadly, because of the far-reaching ripple effects, it can damage our marriages, our children, our careers, our bodies, and our souls. At its most devastating, it deceives people into wanting to end their life.

This is not something to be ignored. Mental illness rarely resolves itself. The deeper we sink into the pit, the harder it is to climb out of it. The longer it is ignored, the worse the consequences. Later in this book, we will look at some of the serious physical consequences of mental illness—the damage to our brains, bones, and other parts of our bodies if left untreated. It is an urgent problem that should be addressed today, not tomorrow.

Mental illness is a today problem,
not a tomorrow problem.

Summary

Problem: The ignorance, error, and confusion surrounding mental illness reduces our sympathy, desire, and ability to help, which only inflicts more harm on those who are suffering.

Insights: Mental illness is (1) an old problem, (2) a complex problem, (3) a varied problem, and (4) an urgent problem.

Action: Let’s educate ourselves about what mental illness is, so that we will respond to it more sympathetically and helpfully.

• Ask God to replace your prejudices, error, and confusion with truth, facts, and clarity.
• Listen to the stories of those with mental illness or read books they have written.
• Read medical research that is often published in simplified form in the media.
• Encourage sufferers to seek help speedily.