This post is going to be a little different. Today I want to share with you a bit of my own testimony dealing with mental health and how I’ve found a balance when using my faith to heal. I started feeling depressed when I was 10 years old. Fourth grade Read more…
Mental health is an increasingly common issue among young people. Since I was first diagnosed with moderate-severe depression, the state of your mental health has become a MUCH more popular conversation between friends, music/art, and social media. Everyone seems to be struggling with something, and that is SUPER REAL! With the increase in mental health conversations, people of faith have been more inclined to pray for people suffering with anxiety, depression, ADHD, and more. There has been a very polarized reaction from people receiving those prayers. Alongside those reactions, the Catholic Church isn’t super loud-spoken about their stance on mental health. Many feel alienated from the Church by the attempts to pray for them and the teaching that “God made humanity in His image and likeness.” So let’s talk about it: what does the Catholic Church actually hold on mental health? Why is it worth it to pray for people struggling with mental health?
The Lord created man in His image and likeness. What does that mean exactly? He made us so perfectly according to His plan that he recognizes a bit of Himself in each of us. In the same way that we are called to be Christ-like, we are reflections and physical proof of God’s love for us. No matter the struggle or the imperfections we see in our lives, God knows us and calls us good and beloved anyway. Simply, God created us because He loves us. He doesn’t want us to suffer in this life. We were made for far more beautiful things than to suffer. This is a realization I had to learn to combat my mental illness. But it begs the question, if God loves us so much and made us so perfectly according to His plan, then why give us mental illness at all?
The Catholic Church believes that God is not a puppeteer. He doesn’t interfere in our everyday lives to keep us on the straight and narrow. He also knows how our lives will turn out, so He knows that throughout our challenges, we will be ok! This certainly isn’t comforting, I know I wrestled with this for a while in my early faith life. God created us as physical human beings residing in a tangible world. Because of this, and because of man’s fall in the Garden of Eden, we experience death and illness and pain. God may have had a set plan for us in the beginning of time, but He also takes into account how this world will affect our lives and hearts. So, His plan shifts a little. We will still end up where we need to be, but God has taken into account the imperfections and temptations the devil throws our way. That gets pretty meta to understand, I know, so let’s uncomplicated it. The Lord knows how we’re going to suffer, and He’s prepared for it. Because of this, He doesn’t give us anything we can’t handle! You may be telling yourself that it’s unfair that you have to suffer with a certain thing, I sure did! A LOT! The reason we have suffering in this world, other than the product of original sin, is because we have salvation waiting for us. There will come a time where we will be able to put the heaviest cross down and finally stand up without the weight. There is a beauty in suffering as well. The challenges we go through in our lives help us become stronger and more aligned with who we’re meant to be. So when it comes to dealing with mental health, why do some people turn to prayer? Does the Catholic Church “believe” in mental health? Can you really pray the sad away?
Let me first start by saying that there is no one quick and easy fix to mental illness. Each person’s case is unique, and what might work for one person may be the last thing another person needs. The Catholic Church actually has a really beautiful sentiment pertaining to mental health. The stance starts out with a quote from Pope John Paul II which says, “It is good that you exist.” The Church upholds the belief that every human life has an inherent dignity, no matter what afflictions or imperfections a person may have. Just as we are our brother’s keeper, we are called to stand by the sick in any capacity. We’re called to nurture each other and care for each other. There is no imperfection or affliction that can deny someone love and respect. So yes, the Catholic Church supports people with mental illness, and in fact encourages they be supported and cared for. The Church sees and understands the importance of having a healthy mind just as much as a healthy body. Our faith actually calls us to be advocates for mental health, to help each other when needed, and not to abandon anyone, especially in their suffering. Jesus lived among the sick and ministered to people who were seen as unclean. He is a perfect example of how we as Catholics should love our neighbor and take care of each other. But the Church’s past few popes (Popes John Paul II, Benedict XVI, and Francis) have expressed a need that aligns with Jesuit vow of service, caring for the whole person. Just as we are called to support each other in physical, tangible ways, we are also to care for them spiritually. This is where prayer comes into play. It’s important to pray for the sick, because we alone can’t work miracles. We have been given the gift of medicine and technology, but mental illness attacks the soul just as much as the mind and body. By praying for each other, we are aiding in spiritual healing. It also helps encourage the afflicted to pray and turn to God in moments of suffering. Again, God doesn’t want us to suffer! In fact, He took ALL human suffering and sin on His back and sacrificed Himself so that we might know peace and salvation! God wants us to turn to Him in times of need. He loves us so completely and perfectly that He wants to sit with us in the suffering and heal us. He is all powerful, but He is also gentle and patient. The only way He will meet us in our suffering is with an invitation. He won’t force His love on us. Instead He waits for us to turn to Him with arms wide open ready to receive us. This is what the power of prayer can do for those suffering with mental illness, and how worth the suffering it is!
I want to leave today’s post with my own experience in this topic. I was one of those people who made my depression my entire identity. I absolutely hated when people told me, “I’m praying for you,” because I didn’t understand the importance of it. I think I told people to keep their prayers and that I didn’t want them. I was convinced that the Church denied anything about mental health because it wasn’t clean or glamorous. This was a time in my life when I despised the Catholic faith, well before my conversion. I didn’t experience the power of prayer till my junior year of high school on a retreat called Kairos. What helped me understand the power of prayer was understanding God’s love more. I realized how incredible it was that He died for my sake, and loves me so perfectly that He chose to put me on this earth and bless me with the life I have. This initial experience is why I find serenity in prayer. This might sound a little crazy, but I truly believe that mental illness is the devil’s most powerful tool to use against us. When I have my worst depressive episodes, I fully turn away from God. I despise myself and everything I am. I don’t want to do anything or be with anyone. This self-loathing and isolation is exactly what the devil wants from us. His whole mission is to take us from the Lord. Mental illness is the perfect tool for that because it first attacks the mind, but that trickles down into the body, our passions, our relationships, and our spirituality. I’ve wondered why I feel so much better after I’ve prayed, and it’s because prayer is the easiest form of warding off the devil’s hold on us! Thehe Lord has taught us a way out of this despair, and that’s through prayer. He taught us how to speak with Him and be in communion with Him here on earth. He basically gave us a retreat into His love and mercy, and He will never turn us away.
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