By Nancy Virden (c)2025

Relational dysfunction. Inability to be how you want. Emotional rollercoasters. Chaotic lifestyle. Abnormally (for you) low motivation. Indecision. Your mind races obsessively over something. You have unwanted repetitive behaviors. You see, feel, or hear things that are not there. Irrational fear. Self-hatred. Low sense of self-worth. Suicidal thinking. Attempted suicide. Addiction. Difficulty coping with life’s stressors. When others in your life are asking you to get help.

All the above and more are good reasons to seek professional mental health help. If you are a Christian, try to find a Christian, state-licensed therapist or doctor. The Holy Spirit is our counselor, nevertheless, he often leads us to the right people who help us best.

Avoid settling for what some call “Bible-only” or “Nouthetic Christian Counseling”, not because these counselors are ill-intended, but because they have little to no training in psychiatric care. They are similar to pastors whose good intentions fall short of understanding how to apply scripture to specific mental health cases.

For example, how could Malachi 2:16, often taken out of context, sound to the abused partner? Abused persons tend to be compliant until they cannot take anymore. Their sudden departure or complaining about the spouse’s behavior is judged as irrational because the abuser has fooled everyone else. “‘For I hate divorce!’ says the Lord, the God of Israel.”  Marriage counseling is not the approach to take for couples when one is an abuser. Separation and divorce (and I am not discussing remarriage here) are appropriate when someone is psychologically or physically damaged due to abuse.

To someone with untreated ADD, the oft-quoted, “He who does not work shall not eat,” may seem unfair. Serious, untreated ADD makes one incapable of long-term follow-through. Will the nonstate-licensed counselor know to recognize the disorder and support or require treatment? No. They are not diagnosticians.

Admonitions in general are not helpful so much as encouragement and hope. I found hope in the practical strategies taught in professional talk therapy. It opened me to reality and showed me how to follow the road to recovery and healthy thinking. These strategies (as described in my free e-book, The Difference-Maker) work and are biblical.

The phrase “sound mind” in 2 Timothy 1:7 does not condemn those who struggle to hold onto clear thinking or emotional stability. This fallen world of sin has harmed our bodies in myriad ways, including our brains. Disorders are recognized as abnormal because they disorder our thinking processes and often our relationships. For example, major depression is not merely a choice that can be warned away.

Of course, pastors and unlicensed counselors can offer biblical advice, listen, and pray. That is vital! We believers need honest conversations about sin and its consequences. Sharing applicable scripture, and offering emotional support in tough times is a pastor’s duty and gift. It is not an inferiority that their advice falls short of psychiatric help; no one can be an expert at everything.

With that said, psychiatric issues need psychiatric specialists like a heart attack victim needs a cardiologist. If you or a loved one have tried to conquer the problems and willpower is never enough, find out what professional psychiatric care can offer you. For me it has been the difference between unhappiness and a satisfying, fulfilling life in Jesus.

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

Ephesians 1:16b-17

 I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God.

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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