Mental illness and psychiatric disorders have been around for centuries. They are not, as some may suggest, a product of the modern world or, worse, a misinterpretation of human nature based on a secular world view of looking for excuses to aberrant behavior. No, mental illness has always been around in some form although it is usually not met with the same sympathy that physical illnesses will be met. This is even noticeable in the bible where instances of Christ curing the mentally ill are usually connected in some way with demonic possession: First is a man who couldn’t speak when Jesus met him. (2)
Some believe that he is also blind. (3) Two thousand years ago, those around him believed that his problems were caused by demons. As we think today, any number of causes might leave a person unable to speak. One kind of mental illness is disturbance of cognition – the ability to organize, process and recall information. Dementia or Alzheimer’s disease is one form of this. It may occur in depression. Short-term memory is one of the first functions to be affected. Also affected is attention, concentration, higher intellectual functions.
Language difficulties may range from mild word-finding problems to complete inability to comprehend or use language. We don’t know why this man was mute, but Jesus cast out the demons. (Day) As one can see, a ‘double standard’ has always been present towards sympathy and understanding when it comes to the perception of mental illness and physical illness. A great deal of the problems with public perception towards mental illness is the very inaccurate assessment that “there is nothing wrong with” the person who suffers from a psychiatric disability.
To many, illnesses of a psychiatric nature are not legitimate and derive from character flaws and weaknesses of the individual. Since a mental illness is not tangible in the manner that a physical illness which can be clearly seen, there will be a dismissive attitude on the part of the public. Sadly, this attitude can sometimes carry over to spiritual counselors who might be dismissive as well due to the possibility of being insensitive to issues of mental health.
If a person appears to have a mental health problem that is seriously impairing his/her ability to carry out the ordinary functions of daily life, the pastor may feel overwhelmed and ill-equipped in dealing with the situation. Sometimes clergy distance themselves from people with mental illness because they realize the problem can be long term. To become involved with this person may mean a lengthy commitment. Perhaps this person will never be cured. (Pathways).
In order to reverse this trend, pastors and spiritual counselors must recognize that mental illness is a serious issue and those seeking to counsel must absolutely seek training in the field of mental illness so as to not speculate on a diagnosis. By approaching spiritual problems from a solid basis in psychology as opposed to flippancy will lead to helping an individual overcome spiritual problem that might derive from how mental health issues might stunt spiritual growth. People are not unconnected collections of physical and mental and spiritual things.
Rather, they exist holistically. Every part is connected to every other part. Sure, the leg bone is connected to the hip bone – but the ‘body bone’ is also connected to the ‘mind bone’ as well. It’s all one thing from the perspective of the person who is suffering a mental illness problem. (Dombeck) Again, the basis in overcoming the problems of mental health issues blocking spiritual growth are found in removing the prejudicial attitudes towards mental illness and instilling an understanding that mental health problems are just as serious as physical health problems.
By helping institute parity between the two, inroads to developing spiritual health will be the result.
Bibliography Day, Jackson H. (2003) “Mental Illness Awareness Sunday. ”Retrieved 8 February 2007. http://www. gbgm-umc. org/grace-hampstead/031012. htm Dombeck, Mark. (2005) “Unmasking Mental Illness. ” Retrieved 8 February 2007. http://www. mentalhelp. net/poc/view_doc. php? type=doc&id=5911&cn=5 Pathways to Promise. (1999)”The Pastor’s Promise. ” Retrieved 8 February 2007. http://www. pathways2promise. org/family/pastorandperson. htm.