Is it okay for a Christian to get Counseling?
Mental health has always been difficult to talk about, especially in religious situations. Somehow we talk about a lot of other things that used to be taboo, but mental health is still difficult. Mental health issues, and emotional issues are disorders, not an indication that something is terribly wrong with your soul, or your spiritual journey. Thankfully the stigma around mental health issues has been shifting as people are becoming more open with their struggles.
Mental Health issues in the Old Testament
Struggles with mood have been with us since the beginning. People are the same no matter the culture or time they live in. The Old Testament gives us examples of people who seemed to struggle with depression, anxiety and even Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
Elijah staged a show down for the people of Israel to decide who to follow: Baal or the God of Israel. After hours of watching the prophets of Baal work feverishly to get their gods to respond to them, he called on his God to send down fire from heaven and his offering was consumed. After that he killed the prophets of Baal and became exhausted. He asked the Lord to take his life (1Kings 18:17-19:4). We can tell from his language that Elijah was despondent and depressed. The Lord takes care of him with food, water and sleep. There is no judgement for his depression.
Job lost his entire fortune and then his children. He got the news of one after another: when one messenger finished another one came in: it was trauma after trauma. He curses the day he was born (Job 3:1), he speaks of nightmares and visions, he wastes away (Job 7:13-16). The nightmares and visions can come as a result of PTSD as people try to make sense of their trauma. His lack of appetite is a symptom of depression.
Many women can relate to Samuel’s mother, Hannah, who struggled with infertility for years before giving birth to him. In that time it was a stigma to not give birth to a child, so she must have felt that pressure of feeling like there was something wrong with her in addition to the anguish of wanting a child and not having one. We’re told her rival (the second wife) would provoke her so that Hannah wept and wouldn’t eat (1Sam 1:7).
Are Mental Health Issues a sin?
Depression causes us to pull away and isolate from other people. We don’t feel like we’re good enough, but that’s not the truth. We have to realize that it is the depression talking. Anxiety causes us to worry whether we’ve planned well, or are we making mistakes again telling us there is something wrong with us. Emotions themselves aren’t either good or bad, they just are. It is part of our human experience. Often they help us figure out what else we should be thinking or doing. If we use our emotions to change for the better then the emotions have served their purpose.
Mental health issues are caused by a number of different factors ranging from genetics, hormones, physical illness and trauma. These things are out of our control. Some are organic in nature which is why prescriptions seem to help. They provide something that the brain needs. God doesn’t judge those whose serotonin levels are low any more than He judges those who have low blood iron. In our quest to alleviate our symptoms there are things we can do. There are multiple articles now on how gut health helps affect your mood, though there is more to study. Here is one from Hopkins Medicine. It has been said that you are what you eat; that may be truer than we thought.
How to Help Yourself or Someone else
Moving toward health isn’t an easy path, it requires a commitment to take practical steps by the person who is suffering and those who want to offer support. Think of tangible ways to help. Sometimes during grief people will say “let me know what I can do” which sounds helpful, but if you’re depressed, you probably aren’t going to reach out. If you want to help, tell someone what you can do for them, bring them groceries, make the call, and take them for an outing.
Talk about what’s going on. Emotional vulnerability is uncomfortable, frankly life is often awkward so have those uncomfortable conversations—with care and acceptance. Create a safe place for others to express what’s going on without fear that they’ll be judged. If you’re the one dealing with these issues find someone who will listen compassionately. These disorders are not signs of weakness, wrongdoing or attention getting.
Recognize that sometimes our first response isn’t helpful. Often people have the tendency to try to make a person cheer up – counteracting negativity with positivity. This stems from an understandable fear that someone may go too far “to the dark side”. However, the “look on the bright side” kind of statement doesn’t help someone achieve a proper perspective, it rarely helps balance it out. Rather than helping it makes the other person feel unseen and unheard. What does help is acknowledging that there is a full truth, with both uncomfortable and pleasant aspects to our lives.