Mental Health: A Biblical Exploration

 The first in a series of articles by Tom Fairman 

Introduction

Mental health is a prominent issue for our times, ranging from anxiety and depression to schizophrenia and suicide and it is hard to find someone whose life has not been touched by depression or suicide, whether themselves or someone close to them. The statistics are staggering: between 4-10% of people in Britain will experience depression in their lifetime (Mental Health Foundation, mentalhealth.org.uk) and suicide claims 18 lives every day in the UK (CALM, thecalmzone.net) to highlight just two. Yet the response is incredible as well. From excellent charities such as CALM and the Mind and Soul Foundation as well as high profile social media campaigns raising these issues, we are beginning to understand and support people in their darkest times.

From a Christian perspective, mental health can pose many problems. St John of The Cross emotively writes in his Dark Night of the Soul about the distance one can feel from God and the difficulty this places on a believer. The struggle is to keep moving forward, reaching out for God in these time so we can begin to understand more deeply our need for Him through His absence. This has rightly been interpreted as a solitary , spiritual struggle, one in which we persevere through prayer and penance, holding on to the hope of salvation. This can be a vital part of our spiritual journey, similar to a desert testing that Jesus endure before beginning his ministry. 

The problem arises when there is an extrapolation from this suffering to the suffering that occurs when there is a mental health issue present. The distance from God, lack of light and the solitary suffering seem to feel familiar, seems to suggest either a testing of our faith or of a sign of weakness of our faith. Therefore it seems logical that we need to be holy and fight through, with prayer, fasting and penance until the sun breaks through the clouds in this situation as well. This I believe is an incorrect connection to make. A mental health issue such as depression is not part of a spiritual journey any more than having a broken leg or financial difficulties are. They are part of life and the storms that life brings. They can present opportunities for lessons and spiritual growth, but are not part of a healthy physical or mental life. They are abnormalities, situations were something has gone wrong. To say that a broken leg is given to help us appreciate our legs more when they are mended is ludicrous. Therefore to say we have to suffer mentally in this way with this absence of peace and joy to bring us into a greater appreciation of the gift of peace and contentment complete warps God's nature, as it equally does to suggest it is a punishment or result of something we have done wrong. 

The Paschal mystery teaches us the nature of death and resurrection that is present in all aspects of creation, but that does not mean we should accept this suffering as something that has to be endure individually. A common misconception is that it implies a spiritual deficiency; therefore it is not something that can just be given to God, to pray it away. Also it is unhelpful to link it automatically to spiritual demons. The Bible is full of healing that are linked to the casting out of demons, but that we would not argue against the effectiveness of medicine combating some of these illnesses today (Luke 9:40-44). On the other hand, one of the most effective descriptions of depression that exists today is the Black Dog video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiCrniLQGYc). This links depression to a figurative black dog that changes and effects lives in different ways at different points. This video is not suggesting the black dog is a real demon, but is using symbols and metaphors to speak of a deeper truth, which expertly gives us a lens to understand some of the healing described in the Gospels. It is therefore wise to revisit these passages of demonic healing rather than disregarding them as a product of a backward time. From this understanding, we need to appreciate a holistic approach to understanding ourselves, using metaphors and signs, to more deeply understand mental health. 

Therefore from a Christian perspective, we need to have another way to look at mental health and the way we may sub-consciously treat it through our lens of faith. The Theos thinktank has present a comprehensive study of techniques and research into the treatments of mental health issues and in particular depression and severe depression, leading to suicide (Christianity and Mental Health: Theology, Activities and Potential, Ryan, 2017). Ryan highlights the effective and excellent work that is being done by secular health professionals and Christian ones too. However he suggests there is a lack of biblical language to help describe these issues and provide a greater depth to our understanding.

It is with the preceding arguments that I would like to offer a biblical exploration of these issues. The Bible was not written as a journal or diary to accurately preserve events on a day to day basis. It is book written across thousands of years, by many different human authors who were divinely inspired. The purpose of each individual section differs from telling the story of the birth of a nation, to prophecies of coming events, to prayers to be prayed by the people, to describing the life of a man called Jesus synoptically or figuratively, to letters written to teach and guide believers in the new Church. Therefore although cases of explicit mental health issues as defined thousands of years after it was written are almost non-existent, I believe there are many metaphors in the lives and stories presented in these pages that can offer us some insight and wisdom to help understand these issues. As such, I have used anonomised examples from my life set alongside these Biblical examples to provide a structure for this exploration and draw out the parallels that exist.

Before I begin to delve deeply into these metaphors, I want to offer a few words of warning. I am not trying to create a complete understanding or look for cures to these issues. There are fully trained professionals who offer excellent help and more intelligent people who understand the deep rooted psychological issues better than I can. My humble intentions are to try to create opportunities that allow people who have been touched by these issues to connect with a language and with examples that could describe their wounds in the same way that sacred scripture speaks into so many other aspects of our lives. Sometimes there may be signposts for ways forward and these are offered as ideas to be challenged and discussed. Please forgive me if there are times when I miss the mark, but I pray this is of benefit in some small way. 

How long, Yahweh, will you forget me? For ever?

How long will you turn away your face from me?

How long must I nurse rebellion in my soul, sorrow in my heart day and night?

How long is my enemy to domineer over me?

Look down, answer me, Yahweh my god!

Give light to my eyes or I shall fall into the sleep of death

David, Psalm 13:1-3