In late May, my pastor, Bishop SD Carter, began a mental health series at our church, Vision of Breath with Life Ministries in Columbus, Ohio. The series will extend through June and has a similar theme to last month’s National Alliance on Mental Illness’ “Take the Moment” campaign, which focused on support for family caregivers and mental health providers.
Carter’s aim is to address the stigma that often accompanies the topic of mental health in religious communities. “For many believers who don’t suffer from suicidal thoughts, depression or anxiety, it’s hard to understand the bottomless pit felt by those who do struggle with these devastating emotions,” Carter explains. “While church members suffer from feelings of anxiety and depression from time to time, those who have been diagnosed with a mental illness face unique challenges.”
Carter began the first session with statistics from studies cited by the National Institute of Mental Health and the World Health Organization. More than one in five U.S. adults live with a mental illness, according to a 2021 survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration posted on the National Institute of Mental Health’s website. The World Health Organization projects that one in four people worldwide will face a mental health problem.
As people in our church pondered these numbers, I brought up a cultural perspective of how mental health was perceived in the African-American community when I was a teenager. I remember the false perception that many Black people had weathered trauma, disappointment, and setbacks from years of racism and discrimination and therefore weren’t resilient and strong enough to succumb to mental illness. I wonder now how many Black adults in my community during my youth in the 1980s hid the pain they had in their lives and struggled with feelings of hopelessness. At the time, mental health wasn’t a topic frequently discussed in churches or even schools, but thankfully, this is changing.
While discussing the Bible’s spiritual encouragement regarding God’s promise of salvation and healing for mental health issues that rage within the soul, Carter also effectively addressed one of the main harmful views some churches hold about receiving therapy. “Many well-meaning Christians say that we don’t need counselors because we have God, the Great Counselor,” Carter pointed out. “This is an unfortunate misconception and is harmful to think that we don’t need doctors or therapists. God works through people who are trained in these fields.” Carter emphasized that if you need professional treatment for a mental health issue, you should never be ashamed and that you should always prioritize your mental health. She then opened up and shared that she had received counseling from a therapist while working as a hospice chaplain. “I needed therapy on how to deal with feelings of sadness and fear,” Carter said. “I cared deeply about the people I was praying for and their families. I found joy in my work, but it was still hard to see so much death and the loss of some of my relatives added to my grief. I knew God wanted me to be honest about all I was going through. I had to turn to the church. I had to turn to my family and take steps toward greater freedom and health.”
One of the final points Carter made in the session was that talking is crucial to getting mental health support. This resonated with me because throughout my life, I have tended to avoid communication when dealing with conflict situations. I thought silence was a coping mechanism, but now I know it’s a harmful response. Talking to a trusted friend or trained counselor can be extremely beneficial as it can help reduce frustration. “Speaking about how you’re really feeling can help others share their struggles as well,” Carter says. “Everyone struggles with something. It’s part of being human. We need our feelings to be understood and to be listened to.”
Dr. Jessica A. Johnson is a lecturer in the English Department at The Ohio State University, Lima campus. [email protected]X: Follow her at @JjSmojc To learn more about Jessica Johnson and to read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com
Photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash
