This week is ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’, and whilst having such ‘named’ weeks does not of itself solve any problems, it does at least help people to talk about things which may otherwise be deemed unsuitable for discussions and raises awareness of these vital issues. Since 1 in 4 people in the UK will statistically suffer from a mental health illness over the course of a year, it is surprising that we find it so difficult to address these topics and for many Christians there is also the (often unspoken) feeling that it is not ‘spiritual’ to suffer from mental health problems in a way that people who are physically ill may not feel.
The Archbishop of Canterbury’s daughter (Katharine Welby-Roberts) has written about her problems with depression and anxiety in a moving blog post here. In it, she says ‘the point of mental health awareness week is to make us aware of mental health, the fact that we all have it (emotional needs to be addressed), we all need to care for it and there are many ways in which it can go wrong.’ She goes on to describe the debilitating battle with depression and anxiety which she faces every day: ‘The cycle of negative thoughts in my head is pretty non-stop, and this leads into my exhaustion. I fight the thoughts (as often as I have the energy) whenever they appear, but this takes up the majority of my mental capacity.’
It can be difficult for those who have never experienced the torment and torture of these negative thoughts to imagine what this is like, but to those who face these battles, it is helpful to have them articulated in such a way that others can begin to see the effects of these invisible illnesses. She goes on to say ‘I am exhausted by the fight. I feel like I am drowning in my own mind. I feel lost and broken, weak and hopeless. This is what mental health means to me. This is the life that I live, and the fight that I fight,’ yet ends ‘despite it all, I have learnt compassion, empathy, joy and hope through journeying through the darkest places my mind can offer. I am happy with my life. I would prefer it depression and anxiety free, but for now – this is where I am at.’
Such honesty is refreshing and helpful to all: to those who suffer in the same way, it is helpful to know that they are not alone in their struggles and to those who do not suffer in this way, it is helpful to be given insight into someone else’s way of thinking. As we are all urged to fit ‘every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ’ (2 Cor 10:5, The Message), let’s take this opportunity to find out more about mental health and to explore the impact of faith on our mental health. The ‘Mind and Soul’ website is a useful resource for those interested in these issues.
