On Mental Illness

The other day I Facebook-posted this article, and the positive benefits that being in nature has on brain chemistry.  I know firsthand that my trail running not only gets my cardio going and releases endorphins, but the simple act of being in the deep green rain forests of British Columbia itself helps mental and emotional health. 

From the article, How Walking in Nature Changes the Brain: 

"Brooding, which is known among cognitive scientists as morbid rumination, is a mental state familiar to most of us, in which we can’t seem to stop chewing over the ways in which things are wrong with ourselves and our lives. This broken-record fretting is not healthy or helpful..."

Many of my (often Christian) friends who live with depression, bipolar disorder, or are just prone to introspection get stuck in exactly this place and struggle to change their way of thinking. 

A couple of my Christian Facebook friends just wanted to throw a little Jesus at the problem thinking it will all go away.  “That's what Jesus came to set us free from! In a nut shell he has come to set us free from ourselves!”  True dat. 

But it’s not that simple. 

Ray Dillard used to say that to every difficult question, there is a simple, wrong answer. 

It’s not as simple as adding Jesus, taking the Jesus pill, just having more faith, finding a deeper repentance. 

We’re “fearfully and wonderfully made,” alright.  God appointed the means as well as the ends. And there are times when depression, bipolar disorder and other forms of mental illness require treatment that may include hospitalization and medication, sometimes for life. 

Personally, I hate meds.  I am prescription medication averse.  I am a MayoClinic junkie, and I will always seek natural and alternative treatments before trying pharmaceuticals.  The average 50 year old American male is on four medications.  I’m well into my fifties and am medication free, despite my doctor suggesting a couple of non-essential prescriptions for minor matters.  No thanks.  I eat right, exercise a bunch, I practice (secular) yoga, use acupuncture, massage therapy and recycle. 

But don’t tell the person living with mental illness who is praying their heart out for a sound mind they just need more Jesus.  There’s a time and a place for pharmaceuticals, for psych unit hospitalization, and for patience, love and acceptance by the Christian community.