Mental Illness and the Church's Reaction

I'm reading a book right now called Finding Alice and it's the story of a college student from a religious family who, during a stressful senior year and a nasty breakup, develops schizophrenia.

Whoa. Schizophrenia. Is it okay to talk about this? What should good Christian people think about mental illness?

One overhears many things while working at a Christian campground, and these things (and the opinions attached) cover the entire spectrum of Christian affiliation. Even though this is a Christian Reformed campground, we also get Protestant Reformed, United Reformed, "plain ole" Reformed, and some other denominations that are farther on down toward the liberal side. Just the other day, I was selling candy to some children whose mothers were discussing a girl in their church who had been sent away to a rehab facility for her depression. I thought this news was odd, mostly because I know several people who function day-to-day with depression and, with the help of medication or therapy, come out all right. Some days are harder than others, but they have a support system to hold them up through the rough times. I listened a little while longer (and this has been the only time in which I've been thankful that kids have taken so long to choose their candy), and this is what I heard:
Woman 1: "She was sent away?"
Woman 2: "Yes. Well, can you blame them? They didn't want everyone knowing their daughter was (whispered) depressed. I certainly wouldn't want that to happen to me."
Woman 3: "Well of course not. What would people say? I mean, we're supposed to pray for those that are sick, but bringing this kind of thing up as a prayer request just reflects badly on the whole family, you know?"
Woman 2: "Exactly. This is just the best solution all around. I hope she gets better."

I had to excuse myself. It's no wonder mental illness has such a stigma attached to it. I could not believe these women. However, if they were raised in a family that behaved this way toward mental illness and had never experienced it firsthand, can I really blame them for having these opinions? Almost every church that I have ever attended has approached mental illness in one of three ways:
1. Since the symptoms are not physically manifested, it doesn't really exist. It's just an excuse for people to be grumpy and upset. We can't see it, so let's pretend it's not real.
2. Mental illness is the result of demons possessing one's body and soul. The person who is mentally ill is allowing these demons to possess them and they need to pray and believe with their whole being that God will expel them and heal them. It is a direct sign of spiritual warfare and the affected person has become the battleground. Perhaps they are being punished for not being faithful enough, but we can't know the mind of God. They must overcome their feelings of (depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, addiction, compulsion, insert illness here) in order for God to come into their lives and rebuke the devils from where they have taken root.
3. This one saddens me the most, and unfortunately, it's the approach I've seen in far too many churches in my short 21 years: Mental illness happens when a person is not being a good enough Christian. Anxious? It's because you're not trusting God enough and searching for His peace. Addicted? It's because you aren't letting God provide for you and He should be all you need. Depressed? It's because you're not taking advantage of the joy that God gives us. You just need to trust God! You wouldn't be feeling this way if you did some more devotions, read your Bible more, prayed longer, and attended more church functions.

It should not be like this. Christians should not be making other Christians feel guilty for experiencing emotions that have been labeled "un-Christian." As far as I can tell, every emotion ever felt by the human race was created by God (we are made in His image, after all) and therefore, NONE of them can be un-Christian. Do we look down on those who are diabetic or have heart disease? No. Do we put the blame on those who are confined to wheelchairs, telling them that they weren't reading their Bible enough? No. Do we tell cancer patients that they are sick because God is punishing them? NO. Then why on earth do we do this to people who suffer from mental illnesses?!

The difficult thing is that it's all happening in the mind of the person who is affected. Depression doesn't leave a rash. Schizophrenia doesn't make your limbs shake. For the most part, it all takes place in the person's head. This makes it incredibly difficult for the person who thinks they might be mentally ill. They second-guess themselves. They rationalize. They compare themselves to those who are healthy. And then, because of the stigma placed on their condition by society (and, unfortunately, the church), they deny, deny, deny.

Let's swing back around to depression in particular because 1) it's the one I know the most about and 2) it was the subject of the conversation that sparked this whole post. It's probably one of the most under-diagnosed and over-rationalized diseases on the planet today. Why under-diagnosed? Because people are proud and don't want to admit that their lives are less than the perfection they project on the outside. Plus, the church alternately claims it doesn't exist and writes it off as a symptom of bad Christianity. Why over-rationalized? Because society doesn't understand it. Depression is not "feeling sad." 'Depressed' as an emotion could mean feeling sad, but 'depression' as a state of being is a whole lot more complicated. It's more like...standing in a hole that is just a little bit deeper than your height. You can see out the top, but you can't climb out. You can see everyone else having fun and being happy and living normal lives, but you can't join them. This can manifest itself in any number of ways, from feeling sad to lying on a bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to even move.

When a physical illness brings a person down, the reaction is pity and sympathy. When mental illness brings a person down, the reaction is "snap out of it." You can't tell a diabetic to "snap out of it" any more than you can yell at their genetic code to prevent them from having diabetes in the first place. It's the same with mental illness of almost every kind. They are built into our genetic material and "snapping out of it" simply isn't an option. Personally, I hate it when someone tells me to cheer up or look on the bright side and remember all of God's blessings. I'll let you in on a little secret: the depressed person is often incapable of cheering themselves up. But it doesn't mean that we are forgetting God's blessings or ignoring His presence in our life. Believe me, God's blessing is what gets me through the bad days.

Here's what the church can do: minister to those who are mentally sick and help them find healing. Don't imply that their condition is their fault, don't tell them their faith isn't strong enough, and don't turn them away. I firmly believe that mental illness can be more dangerous than physical illness because we don't know enough about it and we try to diminish its power.

Overcoming the stigma is the first step toward healing.