Discernment for Mental Health

Recently I have had some conversations about mental health that ended with mixed reviews. The christian community still seems uncomfortable talking about mental health. In my youth the “suck it up” mentality was rejected. Before, a belief that anxiety, depression or suicidal thoughts was a lack of faith prevailed in many church circles. Where we land today isn’t clear, but I would hope that we are logically somewhere in the middle.

The middle is somewhere between hormonal imbalance (a medical situation)  and emotional manipulation (a mindset situation). It’s the difference between willingness to be healthy and excuses for poor behavior. These issues are not just a lack of faith. That viewpoint can be damaging to someone who is in the middle of suffering. I remember in the midst of my darkest moments questioning my faith. I wondered why the mustard seed of faith that was supposed to be enough just wasn’t for me. 

What does the Bible say on the subject? Pray and give it to God. Give anxiety over our daily needs to God. Do not worry about life. Why? Because He cares. He will take care of you. Life is full of stress and it can be hard to navigate. Jesus knew this wouldn’t be an easy journey. Day to day worries He made a plan for and told us there is a peace we can have in the midst of the hard times. Mommas, we can do hard things! But what about when we should be fine and we just aren’t?

When the worry isn’t about the daily needs or the thoughts are pervasive enough to make one want to do something harmful, that is the time to seek help medically. I believe that christians need to ask for discernment in the advice we give others who are struggling mentally. The world isn’t going to become easier.

The next generation needs help navigating mental health. Going from one extreme to another didn’t help. It didn’t help to tell a whole generation to “suck it up” and it didn’t help to cave to every emotional want of another. There’s a difference between a health crisis and a problem with perspective. Jesus gave us perspective and the Spirit helps us find discernment. I believe we can find balance in 2025 to handle the topic of mental health comfortably. 

P.S. Matthew 6, Philippians 4, and 1 Peter 5 were referenced in this study. There are many references to specific emotional situations in the Bible. I encourage readers to always seek help there first because we cannot truly be healthy if we are not healthy spiritually.