Five Truths to Change Your Views on Mental Illness

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Why read a post about mental illness?

  • Demographics. Nearly a quarter of the U.S. population will meet criteria for some mental illness this year.  Mental illness touches everyone’s life.
  • Friendships. Maybe you want to support friends who are suffering.  Or you know that increased understanding means a decreased chance of hurting someone you care about.
  • Personal Impact. You want to reduce your own chances of experiencing mental illness or cope better with the situation you are in.
  • Charity.  Perhaps you are someone who wants to “Speak the truth in love.”  The more you know, the better you can reach and relate to someone who struggles with mental health.

Whatever your reason, here are five points that might shift your views on mental illness:

1. Mental illnesses are part of the spectrum of common human experience.

I can’t speak for you, but I know I experience anxiety quite often.  I remember anxiety over speaking in high school or asking someone on a first date.  Now I feel anxiety when others evaluate my work, or when I have to confront someone I care about. I am sure you have worried about some aspect of your life: “Will we have enough to retire?”  “Will the principal judge me if my daughter wears mismatched socks and shoes to school?”  “Is there something wrong with me if I see the dress as white and gold?”   Anxiety and worry are human experiences, but for some they are debilitatingly intense or pervasive. Read More →

Grace-fully Supporting a Friend with Mental Illness

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clasped_handsYou know someone with a mental disorder.  Even if you don’t know it yet.  Whether family, co-workers or acquaintances, we’ll call them “your friend.”  Since you are reading this, I know you are a caring and compassionate person who would like to understand and support your friend.

Mental illness makes many things very difficult, especially relationships with others.  I bet you have felt that with your friend.  Maybe they have been labeled with major depression, and find it hard to respond to your invitations or enjoy activities with you.  Maybe they have issues with anxiety and their worry is so intense that you find it difficult to relax with them.  Maybe they carry the label of bipolar disorder, and their manic energy and obsessive enthusiasm occasionally leaves you in the dust and overwhelmed.  Maybe they sometimes seem to lose touch with the ordinary world, and meaningful communication appears impossible.  But whatever the problem, you can feel their suffering, and you do not want to give up or walk away.

So how can you help someone with a mental illness?   Read More →

What Not to Say: Unhelpful Views on Mental Illness

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photo by Andrew Mason CC

photo by Andrew Mason CC

“Its all in your mind.”

“Its just a chemical imbalance.”

“You just need to turn it over to God.”

All of these are statements that have been made about mental illness.  They tend to be made particularly often to individuals whose disorders have not impaired their reason, who still appear “normal”.  Those struggling with anxiety and depression may be especially likely to hear views on their mental illness like the ones above.  What might the impact of each statement be for an individual who struggles with mental illness?  Lets break it down. Read More →

My Soul Looks Back and Wonders, “How I Got Over.”

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 Msgr. Charles Pope is the pastor of Holy Comforter-St. Cyprian, a parish community in Washington, DC. He attended Mount Saint Mary’s Seminary and was ordained in 1989. Msgr. Pope writes thoughtful, relevant, (near) daily blog posts for the Archdiocese of Washington, DC, which can be read here. His pieces are frequently carried by New Advent and Big Pulpit.

 Monsignor graciously agreed to contribute a personal piece detailing his own journey to psychological and spiritual healing through the process of overcoming anxiety and depression.

 

Pope250When I was growing up older folks often spoke of a “mid-life crisis.” Hitting forty was usually the critical period they had in mind. These days I’ve noticed it hits a lot sooner. Maybe it’s because we live in a “youth culture” that forces the questions of aging and being successful a lot quicker. Maybe it’s just the stress. But these days, there’s just something about the mid-thirties that hits a lot of folks. I was no exception. My mid-thirties were difficult years for me—years filled with anxiety and self-doubt.

Read More →