Mental health affects everyone, just as physical health affects everyone. We all have a mind and we all have a body. Our thoughts affect our physical sensations, and our body influences our mental state. When we're tired, hungry, have a headache, we are irritable. When we're scared our stomach churns and we break out in a cold sweat. We are, each of us, a whole person, body, mind and spirit - and these cannot easily be separated.
We all have good days and bad days. We all 'feel depressed' sometimes - by which we probably mean sad, blue, downhearted. We all feel anxious at times - it's a natural reaction to stressors. We all have to find ways of dealing with our moods, whether it's by thinking things through, distracting ourselves, talking to a good friend or simply getting some sleep.
Sometimes we struggle to manage our moods and our emotions get out of control. We feel sad all the time; we feel frightened of situations that aren't dangerous; we stop seeing the world as it is because we're seeing it through a filter that distorts everything. Sometimes things happen to us that are very hard to cope with and our emotions are bigger and stronger and harder to contain. Sometimes sleep, distractions and friendships aren't enough and we need professional help. Below is a card we recently had printed for use in our church coffee house, with numbers to call to access that help.
It can be hard to do. We may feel that we're not ill enough to access help; that we should be able to cope by ourselves; that our employer or our friends or our church might find out and judge us. Unfortunately there is still a prejudice in some quarters (and perhaps in our own hearts) which says that while a broken leg might need a doctor, a broken heart can heal itself.
Well, it might do. But it might heal a lot faster with help. In my mental health struggles, I have experienced the grace of God most through other people: doctors, colleagues and friends. I pray that that might be your experience too.
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