It's All in the Mind

If you’ve suffered from a diagnosed mental illness or even if we just consider the times when we may have misread a situation or someone else’s motives then the following statements may have a ring of truth about them: ‘The mind is its own place and can make a Heaven of Hell, a Hell of Heaven.’ (John Milton) Or ‘There is nothing in Heaven or Earth but thinking makes it so’ (Shakespeare). Our thoughts and feelings are so powerful that they can affect our physical well-being. It is also true that when our emotional health is suffering often physical illnesses follow and… vice versa.

Throughout the Bible we are reminded by the example of a large number of personalities that God is not just interested in our spiritual welfare, but that he has created us to be whole beings, body, mind and soul. The Bible can be considered as God’s manual for the whole of our lives and so I want to focus our thinking by considering how practical the following verses are in helping us to live our lives so that we improve our mental health: ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.’ (Phillipians 4 v 6-8)

There are mental and emotional conditions which require intervention from expert medical services. If you are suffering from clinical depression or other emotional distress there are periods when simply being told how to improve your mental health just will not help. There is a need and a place for use of anti-depressants and other medications which can help bring emotional stability. The most common mental illness treated today is depression and anxiety. 1 in 5 adults in the UK will suffer from clinical depression at some time in their life. 1 in 4 adults with suffer from a mental illness in one year.

The most common causes of depression are life events such as bereavement, divorce and other life trauma. However, there are other types of depression which can last a lifetime due to very complex causes. If you have been suffering from the symptoms of depression for a period of time and it is interfering with your ability to live your life, then I would encourage you to seek the support and intervention of your GP who can best assess what treatments will help you. This is because there are conditions which need medication in order for people to become more stable and able to function effectively in their daily lives.

Very often Christians can suffer from additional emotional issues, related to feeling guilty for feeling low. Sometimes, the way churches and other Christians approach (or ignore) the subject of mental illness, is inadvertently unhelpful.

1. Learn to Adjust your Expectations

* Be kind to yourself – If you are struggling against a mental illness remember that healing takes time. It probably took some time for you to become ill and it will take time for medication etc. to work in improving things. Work within the limits of what you can realistically do. DO NOT JUDGE YOURSELF HARSHLY! (Even Jesus needed to rest – ‘But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.’ Luke 5:15-17)

* Life hurts - there will be times when it is hard going and you find yourself drained by just getting up in the morning. That’s ok it’s called being human. In Psalms David says (more than once!) ‘Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.’ Psalm 42:4-6 Accepting that it’s part of the human experience to feel this bad at times, hopefully will help lift some guilt.

Know that everyone has their limits and you can begin to accept that you are the same as everyone else. You may be tempted to give others a break when you demand far more of yourself. Sometimes good enough is good enough!

2. Take control of your thoughts

* Focus on the positive. Sounds obvious but is hard to do especially when you are struggling to concentrate. Don’t make a chore of it.
* Get creative – use the positive verses/statements, listen to cheesy pop music (really – I’m learning to love my inner Nolan Sister!!) have a long bath (banish children and others from the bathroom or the bathroom door!) Even if only for a short moment at a time focus all your attention on the good thing!
* Stop the Panic – Remember to breathe, Learn to listen to your breathing and slow it down.
* Live in the Moment – ‘Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift from God which is why it’s called the present’. The Bible tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow which means he has lived them all with us. We cannot change the past or the future, try to focus on the here and now.

Jesus focused on this in the Sermon on the Mount: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? ...” Matthew 6:24-34 When you find yourself grieving about things which have happened or worrying about things which haven’t happened – use your breathing or focus on something around you such as sounds, children, animals, a picture – anything of interest, to bring you back to the here and now.

3. Make Friends with your Emotions

* God made us emotional beings – they’re a natural part of our make up.
* Emotions are useful - they tell you that you are alive
* Emotions actually don’t last as long as we think – they come in waves and can be survived.

Above all, remember that your faith in God does not depend on your emotions, but on the eternal work of Jesus. So, no matter how down you may get, ‘there is no pit so deep that He is not deeper still’. (Corrie Ten Boom – The Hiding Place)