By Nancy Virden (c)2024

“Grant that we will love you with all our hearts, souls, and minds, and love our neighbors as we love ourselves, even our enemy neighbors. And we ask you, God, in these days of emotional tension, when the problems of the world are gigantic in extent and chaotic in detail, to be with us… in our moments of joy and in our moments of sorrow, until the day when there shall be no sunset and no dawn. Amen.”

–Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.

Experiencing life with or without a mental disorder is not a question of willpower. Mental disorders happen commonly and result from a variety of complex factors. Child abuse, drug abuse, a predisposition, false beliefs about oneself, a birth injury, other types of abuse, trauma, and more all may bring a mental disorder into play. No one can accurately claim to be above having a mental disorder because of personal strength, willpower, or better character than someone else.

In fact, from personal observation, it seems that people who insist on stigmatizing mental health challenges are less likely to share their stories from an emotional point of view, to be aware of what they are hiding, and to show empathy because they avoid their own emotions. They may be stuck and unable to relate. People who believe stigmas about mental health are usually not active in healthy emotional self-care and in fact report problems without a solution.

Anger often seems to fuel one’s rationale for such false beliefs. “All psychiatrists do is push pills on you,” is a dismissal of the fine art and science of the study of human behavior and the medical qualities of mental health. It is also based on a basic misunderstanding of the role psychiatrists play. In the same manner, “It’s a wonder we have survived so far” as a mockery of people who today talk openly about needing professional support, is a proud, look at me, I’m ok, and I’ve been through bad stuff exercise in narrow-mindedness and lack of knowledge about history.

I could go on, for there is so much stigma; we are decades away from mental health being accepted as a health issue. The absence of stigma, replaced by facts or at least openness to new information, is a goal we all need to reach. That requires learning, but why learn if one is certain? The answer to that is humility; accepting that we do not know everything about any subject, let alone one as complex as this one.

God, who does know all truth, teaches us to love our neighbors, even those whose problems we do not understand. Love is a great motivator for growing in knowledge and understanding. Imagine how beneficial our words of encouragement could be if not wrapped in condescending untruths.

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

Luke 11:35: “Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness.” 

(Jesus was speaking here of spiritual light, or insight concerning who He was, but it applies to all kinds of knowledge, too. Do we want the truth?)

If you are feeling suicidal, or concerned about someone who is, in the U.S. call 988, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. For a list of international suicide hotlines, go here.

If you are suicidal with a plan, immediately call 911 in the U.S. or go to your nearest emergency room. In the EU call 112. (For other international emergency numbers, go here ). Hope and help are yours!

Always the Fight Ministries (ATFM) has been displaying compassion for those fighting mental illness, addiction, or abuse since 2012. Nancy is the founder and voice of ATFM and openly shares her emotional resurrection from despair. 

NOTE: Nancy is not a doctor or a mental health professional, and speaks only from personal experience and observations. This website is not intended to substitute for professional mental or behavioral health care.

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