One in five people struggles with mental wellness.
Let that sink in.
One in five. Twenty percent. That means if you’re sitting at a table of ten people, two of them are struggling with mental health issues. Maybe one of those people is you.
In the faith community, we are often not encouraged to go outside the church to take care of our mental health. When I would go to pastors or mentors to talk about what I was feeling, they would tell me to “go pray.”
Ok… and then what? We’re supposed to live joyful, exuberant, productive lives. We should enjoy it! But what happens when we don’t?
There are a few things we can do to partner with God in His wisdom to take care of our mental well-being.
Get Help!
Yes, Jesus is everything. He is the Healer. But sometimes the way He heals us is through others, and through the help they can offer. I love the t-shirt that says, “Jesus AND therapy!”
So often, we hear the advice to “pray it away.” Then, after we’ve prayed and fasted and whatever else, when “it” doesn’t go away, we can end up angry with God. We did the thing, and He didn’t heal us. But we’re not meant to be isolated creatures. We’re really not! This is why God puts therapists and counselors and other helpers around us to help us with our suffering.
The church can sometimes cast shame on those people who seek professional help for mental and emotional issues. Trust me, there is no shame at all in admitting we need others. None. Everybody’s got problems; maybe they hide them in the bottle they drink every day, or the 14 hour days they work.
Be in Community!
Allow yourself to be seen and to be loved by people. Allow them to nurse you back to health. Community heals so many things!
The enemy loves to get us isolated, thinking that we’re the only people who have ever struggled this way. Remember the statistic from the first paragraph? You are not alone!
Maybe community has been hurtful for you. I get that. But you will not be able to practice mental wellness without being vulnerable. Yes, I get it.
Vulnerability can be terrifying. But what is more terrifying, letting people in–or living your life isolated, alone, and hurting? Healthy communities exist! They really do!
Take Care of YOU!
Sometimes we don’t realize that the ways we eat, sleep, drink, etc. are contributing to our mental unhealth. We take our bodies for granted, assuming that we can treat them badly and things will just keep working.
That’s not the way any of this works. Our bodies need the proper amount of fuel: food, sleep, exercise, water, etc. We allow ourselves to run on fumes and think that we’re going to have a healthy brain.
Have you ever seen a toddler have a meltdown? What’s the first thing we say? “Somebody needs a nap!” You can’t stay up till 2 am, get up at 5 am, and expect to be at your best. Getting enough sleep is crucial to mental health!
Drink your water! Take your vitamins. Eat nutritious food. Exercise. Move your body! I love to dance. The music and the movement bring me so much joy! You might be surprised at how you feel after developing some of these habits.
Sometimes you just need to put your wellness first, body, mind, and soul. Put your temple first.
Take care of your soul and your spirit
How do you begin your day? When I wake up, the first thing I do is put on music that feeds my spirit. Often, how you choose to start your day will dictate how the rest of your day will go. Set your mind on the things of God! Connect with the Holy Spirit, first thing!
I’ve been meditating on Colossians 2:3 for a while now. I will repeat that verse to myself, over and over and over. As I do that, the living and active word of God gets all down into my being. I feel it!
Consider what you are feeding yourself, beyond food. Is your diet full of meaningless arguments and “news” on social media? Are your hours spent on things that are unhealthy for you?
And who gets to speak into your life? Have you surrounded yourself with people that will speak life to you, or are they speaking something else? Consider which voices you will listen to.
Ultimately, being intentional about our mental health will lead to greater feelings of peace and joy, and more productivity and creativity in our lives. That is Jesus’s plan for all of us.
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