By Nancy Virden (c)2025

If humans are given a choice to vote for change, complain for change, or take on a leadership role and make change happen, most choose to complain. Many vote and complain. It is human to seek the shortest, easiest, and most comfortable routes. Careers, families, religions, dinners, appliances, technology, politics, friends, and household chores are often selected and maintained according to what is least challenging.

This is why stigma (opinions without facts) thrives. It is easier to judge than to think matters through, so most people settle for simple conclusions. Judging gives us a sense of certainty, and we feel more in control. Biases play an enduring role here. If one prides himself on his resilience and emotional stamina, he will be more likely to cast dispersions on those who struggle in those areas. The problem is not a struggling person’s lack of character or spiritual maturity; it is the pride of the one who refuses to learn what influences and needs are behind a person’s mental health or ill-health.

Bipolar disorder is my challenge, not a ticket to blame and demand. My obligation is to live as one who represents Christ. He called each of us to repent and to turn from wrongdoing. We are to love from the heart. Do you see the complexity in that?

People experiencing mental illness can be introverts, extraverts, willful, stubborn, teachable, and humble. Other things that people with mental disorders are:

Funny, serious, contemplative, reckless, restless, too tired, an A or B personality type, bossy, manipulative, kind and thoughtful, hard-nosed, biased, harsh judgers, energetic, empathetic, or carrying others’ burdens. They may be patient, tolerant, obsessive, demanding, in a tizzy, or following the difficult advice of professionals. If a willful, unteachable person has schizophrenia, he may choose to live on the streets even when he knows help is available. If a woman tends to be snippy when she is tired, she will be snippy when she is tired in the middle of a mental health crisis.

People with mental illness may also be evil. Mental disorders are not evil, and they do not cause evil. Evil is in the soul of a person, and mental illness does not define the soul. Who we are at our core is who we are in an episode. Bad habits will continue. Faith will continue. Our actions may defy logic and play out differently than usual because we are dealing with desperate pain or some other kind of irrational thinking. It is important to not confuse behaviors with the disorder itself.

Emotions are not thoughts, and thoughts are not emotions, although they appear to go hand in hand. Emotions are our response to our thoughts. We have some control over what we choose to think. That is why I teach resilience skills. Once we learn to practice healthy thinking, we will experience better mental health.

So, when ignorant people try to blame emotionally unstable people for not having enough faith, belief, trust, praise, Bible reading, church attendance, or wisdom to count as God-fearing Christians, it is The Accuser in action.

God knows the deepest details of our being. He understands why our neurons react as they do. He knows our thoughts and will lead us to the help we need to finally grasp His love. He put in place an ideal plan for running a marriage and for family relationships, and for the church to take care of its own. A fallen world and the sins or neglect of others to follow through can cause mental disorders in our children. No one can hold the “victim” accountable for that.

He knows why similar circumstances affect one person differently than another, because He created our individual nervous systems, our core sensitivities, and He made no mistakes. He has a plan for each person, and He is fully aware of the blockades we have experienced. Whether we can accept that a life complicated by a mental disorder is destined to bring Glory to God is a matter of belief in the power and wisdom of the Word of God.

-COMMENTS WELCOME

Today’s Helpful Word

1 Thessalonians 3:12

And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows.

Philippians 1:9

I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding.

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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