The complexity and difficulty of Mental Illness

civic

Well-known member
In general, mental illness is considered to be a disorder affecting one’s mood, thinking, and behavior. The term mental illness covers a broad range of disorders from mild depression to schizophrenia, but for the purposes of this article, we will define mental illness as a condition that impairs a person’s ability to think, feel, process, and respond to life situations in appropriate ways. Our brains are physical organs like lungs and kidneys and are subject to illness and damage just as other organs are. However, because our brains control everything we do, their malfunction can distort our perceptions, leading to hurtful or harmful thoughts and actions. Mental illnesses can distort our view of God and others. Sometimes mental illnesses contribute to our sinful behavior. God has compassion for our struggles. He can help us learn to manage mental illness and even bring healing.

Mental illness is still not fully understood by medical professionals and may have a variety of contributing factors. Some factors are physical, such as brain abnormalities, hormonal imbalances, and neurotransmitter impairments. Even things like nutrition, exercise, and sleep affect mental health. Proper medication and competent therapy can help alleviate those symptoms. Other mental illnesses are brought on by traumatic events or abuse in childhood. Sometimes a “coping mechanism” that was helpful in one situation gets carried into later life where it is no longer useful or adaptive. Also consider the way our behavior feeds into our physical health and our physical health feeds back into our behavior. Sometimes unhealthy behavior causes our bodies to be unhealthy, which in turn leads to more unhealthy behavior; the cycle is difficult to break. Sometimes our own sin contributes to mental illness. When we obey Scripture’s commands, we can bypass some aspects of mental illnesses and know better how to respond when we do encounter mental illness in ourselves or in someone else (Romans 12:2). Often, multi-layered treatment is best because multiple factors are contributing to a mental illness.

Mental illness has another factor that is not often considered in designing treatment programs. Much of what we call mental illness has a spiritual component that, if left unaddressed, keeps a person in bondage. Human beings have a spirit. To be created in God’s image means we have life that is unlike the life of animals or plants. Our lives are directly connected to God’s life. Acts 17:28 says, “In him we live and move and have our being.” When we are disconnected from God, we cannot live as whole beings. We sense the void and try to fill it with other things. But those things ultimately fail us, and that can contribute to mental illness. Of course, the first step in becoming spiritually whole is to receive eternal life through Jesus Christ. But even for those people who have a relationship with God through Jesus, we still sometimes have misperceptions about who God really is that can negatively affect our view of ourselves, others, and the world and contribute to mental illness. Sin can also get in the way of our fellowship with God and negatively affect our mental health. We are better equipped to handle mental illness when we are steeped in God’s truth and in active relationship with Him.

Spiritual sickness is often a big part of mental illness. When our spirits are healed and whole, our minds can think clearly. Psalm 23:3 says that our Good Shepherd “restores my soul.” While many mental illnesses are directly caused by brain abnormalities, many others are due to souls that need restoration. Unforgiveness (2 Corinthians 2:10–11), bitterness (Hebrews 12:15), fear and anxiety (Philippians 4:6–7), and low self-worth can all cripple our souls. When our souls are wounded, we cannot think clearly. We see every life event through a distorted filter. A sunny day only reminds us of the day we were hurt. The sight of a happy couple walking down the street brings a surge of fury due to an unhealed wound. Casual remarks, normal life stresses, and inconsiderate treatment can all cause a person with an unhealed soul to react like a person with mental illness. When we continually give in to those wrong thoughts, we perpetuate our own struggles.

While Jesus directly healed people who were considered mentally ill, He also recognized demonic control in others and cast the demons out (e.g., Mark 1:34; Luke 11:14). The demoniac of the Gerasenes was a man psychiatrists would call mentally ill (see Mark 5:1–20). He was out of control, behaving in unacceptable ways, and today we would confine this man to an institution. But Jesus went directly to the real problem. He ordered the legion of demons to come out of the man. After they did, the man was “in his right mind” (verse 15). While not all mental illness is due to demonic involvement, there may be people diagnosed with mental illness today who are experiencing some sort of demonic influence. Such people need, first and foremost, the spiritual deliverance that surrender to Jesus would offer them.

Just as we have compassion on those who are physically ill, we must also have compassion on those who are mentally ill (Matthew 14:14). Just as we seek help when we are physically ill, we should also seek help when we are struggling with our thoughts, emotions, or behaviors. We need not judge the specific cause of mental illnesses in others; rather, we are to pray for them and offer support (James 5:14). We cannot assume that a mental illness is a result of sin or demonic influence; however, we should not ignore those possibilities when trying to help someone or when seeking help ourselves. We have many tools to help with treatment of mental illness, including medicine, psychiatry, community support, and education. We need to be careful not to neglect the spiritual aspect of mental illness. We can share the truth of God with those struggling with mental illness, encourage them as we are able, and support them in prayer. When we’re struggling with mental illness, we need to be vigilant to continue to seek out God’s truth, to come to Him in prayer, and to allow other believers to support us in our time of need (2 Corinthians 1:3–5; Romans 12:9–21; Galatians 6:2–10; John 13:34–35).got ?

hope this helps !!!
 
While Jesus directly healed people who were considered mentally ill, He also recognized demonic control in others and cast the demons out (e.g., Mark 1:34; Luke 11:14). The demoniac of the Gerasenes was a man psychiatrists would call mentally ill (see Mark 5:1–20).
And ironically because they do this that would make psychiatrists who deny what you've said above then that makes them mentally ill as well. Why? Because their thinking is twisted away from reality. Strange that people in Jesus day, even the Pharisees and such of old they recognized there were devilish spirits being a problem to the human race. Matt 12:24 They had no clue as to how to help them and probably really upset them that Jesus did.
 
And ironically because they do this that would make psychiatrists who deny what you've said above then that makes them mentally ill as well. Why? Because their thinking is twisted away from reality. Strange that people in Jesus day, even the Pharisees and such of old they recognized there were devilish spirits being a problem to the human race. Matt 12:24 They had no clue as to how to help them and probably really upset them that Jesus did.
agreed its dismissed by most in that field
 
you are right... mental illness is very poorly understood... even by those of us afflicted with it..... .i was officially diagnosed with schizophrenia when i was 13.... right after a very serious and almost successful suicide attempt... but everyone including me knew something was wrong long before that.. trouble is i didn;t tell anyone - even those i was closest to - what all was going on inside my head....i was afraid to... ...there are many reasons and many triggers for what manifests itself as mental illness... in my case it was caused by sexual abuse that started in early childhood (age 5)... and continued until i almost died at age 8 - almost 9 - from injuries and medical complications related to it......it;s a long and complicated story - and one very few people can stand to read or listen to...but to put it all in brief i was saved at age 8 on a church bus when i was just started to feel and show the symptoms of what almost killed me a few months later... ..the abuse and injuries/illness was all discovered at the same time after i collapsed at school and was rushed to a hospital where i went through several surgeries over a period of months... only coming out of the hospital just long enough to testify in a hearing that would send my mother and a few of her associates to prison....

i have no idea what the state of california was going to do with me but my older sister who had gone to to los angeles from hawaii when she heard about all that happened didn;t wait to find out... she took me out of the hospital one morning and had me on a plane coming to hawaii with her the same day.... i lived with her for a little over a year when she was murdered by her boyfriend.. all during that time things were happening in my head i couldn;t understand..hearing strange noises and voices of people that were not there ...and i only told her about it at that time - she in turn told me not to tell anyone else for fear i would be taken away from her... ...but after she died the voices and noises became more constant along with halucinations and horrific nightmares that did not stop even after i woke up .... i had moved in with the family of the paramedic who responded to my sisters house that night and he had a lot of connections with doctors and other people in the medical community ... and he was able to get me help with counsellors and other doctors.... ..officially i was still in the legal custody of the uncle my older had been in custody of when she first came to hawaii - but that uncle was only too glad to be rid of me and didn;t offer any resistance to me moving in with a different family...

fast forwarding as much as possible... treatment with medications and countless hours of therapy have helped me... but the symptoms of schizophrenia have never left me completely... sometimes it comes on stronger than others... i have learned ways to deal with some of it and also ways to deal with quacks and other people who claimed to know exactly how to fix me... and also how to deal with those who said it was all nothing but an emotional problem or that i was demon possessed... just before i turned 20 an extensive MRI was done on my head that showed abnormal brain development long associated with schizophrenia caused by early childhood abuse..and in recent years a much more technologically advanced one was done that showed much more..... it explained a lot of what was going on but not everything... but what it did for me was make me realize i could find ways to deal with it and even to live with it...

but there is a lot of things i cannot do... things other people and the government won;t let me do.... and a few other things i tried to do years ago .. just simple things everybody does like driving a car.... that ended in near tragedy so i never tried to do those things again.... ..or else was told i couldn;t.... in short i am officially listed as a disabled adult dependent of my adopted sister - who is a few years older than me - was instrumental in bringing me into her own family.... and who was also inspired to study psychology just to learn how to help me and eventually earned her phd in the field.... she and her father - my adopted dad (a retired paramedic and salvage diver)... have shared power of attorney over pretty much everything in my social world.. (medical-legal-official issues etc)... but i still make most of my own decisions in things where i am able to...

thing is.... if not for them.. and not for the grace of God who made it possible for me to be with them... i would have been like every other mentally ill person with no means of support and ended up homeless on the street... where i would have no doubt died long ago as the average life span of a person once they become homeless and hit the street is only about 3 years...... instead i have been able to work in ministries to the homeless and with groups helping to get trafficked children off the streets for many years now..... and to share the gospel with all of them in the process....

and that;s more than i have written on this subject since those days i first started giving my testimony on those older forums.... and it;s a lot more than i intended to write about it today too... .. but still a lot less than i use to write about it back then...
 
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you are right... mental illness is very poorly understood... even by those of us afflicted with it..... .i was officially diagnosed with schizophrenia when i was 13.... right after a very serious and almost successful suicide attempt... but everyone inclusing me knew something was wrong long before that.. trouble is i didn;t tell anyone - even those i was closest to - what all was going on inside my head.... ...there are many reasons and many triggers for what manifests itself as mental illness... in my case it was caused by sexual abuse that started in early childhood (age 5)... and continued until i almost died at age 8 - almost 9 - from injuries and medical complications related to it......it;s a long and complicated story - and one very few people can stand to read or listen to...but to put it all in brief i was saved at age 8 on a church bus when i was just started to feel and show the symptoms of what almost killed me a few months later... ..the abuse and injuries/illness was all discovered at the same time after i collapsed at school and was rushed to a hospital where i went through several surgeries over a period of months... only coming out of the hospital just long enough to testify in a hearing that would send my mother and a few of her associates to prison....

i have no idea what the state of california was going to do with me but my older sister who had gone to to los angeles from hawaii when she heard about all that happened didn;t wait to find out... she took me out of the hospital one morning and had me on a plane coming to hawaii with her the same day.... i lived with her for a little over a year when she was murdered by her boyfriend.. all during that time things were happening in my head i couldn;t understand..hearing strange noises and voices of people that were not there ...and i only told her about it at that time - she in turn told me not to tell anyone else for fear i would be taken away from her... ...but after she died the voices and noises became more constant along with halucinations and horrific nightmares that did not stop even after i woke up .... i had moved in with the family of the paramedic who responded to my sisters house that night and he had a lot of connections with doctors and other people in the medical community ... and he was able to get me help with counsellors and other doctors.... ..officially i was still in the legal custody of the uncle my older had been in custody of when she first came to hawaii - but that uncle was only too glad to be rid of me and didn;t offer any resistance to me moving in with a different family...

fast forwarding as much as possible... treatment with medications and countless hours of therapy have helped me... but the symptoms of schizophrenia have never left me completely... sometimes it comes on stronger than others... i have learned ways to deal with some of it and also ways to deal with quacks and other people who claimed to know exactly how to fix me... and also how to deal with those who said it was all nothing but an emotional problem or that i was demon possessed... just before i turned 20 an extensive MRI was done on my head that showed abnormal brain development long associated with schizophrenia caused by early childhood abuse..and in recent years a much more technologically advanced one was done that showed much more..... it explained a lot of what was going on but not everything... but what it did for me was make me realize i could find ways to deal with it and even to live with it...

but there is a lot of things i cannot do... things other people and the government won;t let me do.... and a few other things i tried to do years ago .. just simple things everybody does like driving a car.... that ended in near tragedy so i never tried to do those things again.... ..or else was told i couldn;t.... in short i am officially listed as a disabled adult dependent of my adopted sister - who is a few years older than me - was instrumental in bringing me into her own family.... and who was also inspired to study psychology just to learn how to help me and eventually earned her phd in the field.... she and her father - my adopted dad (a retired paramedic and salvage diver)... have shared power of attorney over pretty much everything in my social world.. (medical-legal-official issues etc)... but i still make most of my own decisions in things where i am able to...

thing is.... if not for them.. and not for the grace of God who made it possible for me to be with them... i would have been like every other mentally ill person with no means of support and ended up homeless on the street... where i would have no doubt died long ago as the average life span of a person once they become homeless and hit the street is only about 3 years...... instead i have been able to work in ministries to the homeless and with groups helping to get trafficked children off the streets for many years now..... and to share the gospel with all of them in the process....

and that;s more than i have written on this subject since those days i first started giving my testimony on those older forums.... and it;s a lot more than i intended to write about it today too... .. but still a lot less than i use to write about it back then...
Thank you for sharing your story. My older sister was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in her early adult years after having 2 children close together and having post pardon depression. She was also abused as a child sexually and as an adult by her psychiatrist who would give her shock treatments. She refused meds and lived anywhere she could find shelter. Later in life with meds she was able to live somewhat normal life and when she took her meds you wouldn’t know she had any mental illness.
 
Thank you for sharing your story. My older sister was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in her early adult years after having 2 children close together and having post pardon depression. She was also abused as a child sexually and as an adult by her psychiatrist who would give her shock treatments. She refused meds and lived anywhere she could find shelter. Later in life with meds she was able to live somewhat normal life and when she took her meds you wouldn’t know she had any mental illness.
thank you for telling your sisters story... ..God bless you and your family... ..it;s hard on everyone involved when someone in a fmaily has mental illness.... i didn;t realize that when i was young.. but i have learned it more and more as i have gotten older... ...
 
Wow I don't know how I missed this, this is the first time I've seen this thread. And boy can I relate. I'm pretty sure we can all relate to how the world tries to destroy us. I just read this this morning. https://berean-apologetics.community.forum/threads/promises-for-your-everyday-life.19/post-15346

I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but that You will keep and protect them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world (worldly, belonging to the world), [just] as I am not of the world. John 17:15-16

'Jesus has deprived the world of its power to harm us, and because we are in Christ, we are able to approach the challenges we face in life in a calm, confident manner.'

But until we have Jesus in our lives we are fair game. I was arrested for attempted murder at 15 years old. They send me to a psychiatrist and he diagnosed me as being antisocial. Well yeah. But the bad news is being antisocial is right below becoming a sociopath and a sociopath for all intents and purposes is the same as a psychopath. Needless to say it all went downhill from there. It amazes me I'm not doing life without parole.

The good news is when I heard the gospel it gave me hope that I could leave that old life behind. Since I've accepted Jesus I've definitely become a new creation that old man is dead. I do have the renewing of my mind as a reality in my life. Jesus set me free.

One other thing, all the kids that I ran around with are either in prison or in the cemetery. That's why I love doing outreach and street preaching to the homeless. I know where they are coming from and how the world beats you up. I also know the solution, His name is Jesus. I love Him.
 
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Wow I don't know how I missed this, this is the first time I've seen this thread. And boy can I relate. I'm pretty sure we can all relate to how the world tries to destroy us. I just read this this morning. https://berean-apologetics.community.forum/threads/promises-for-your-everyday-life.19/post-15346

I do not ask that You will take them out of the world, but that You will keep and protect them from the evil one.
16 They are not of the world (worldly, belonging to the world), [just] as I am not of the world. John 17:15-16

'Jesus has deprived the world of its power to harm us, and because we are in Christ, we are able to approach the challenges we face in life in a calm, confident manner.'

But until we have Jesus in our lives we are fair game. I was arrested for attempted murder at 15 years old. They send me to a psychiatrist and he diagnosed me as being antisocial. Well yeah. But the bad news is being antisocial is right below becoming a sociopath and a sociopath for all intents and purposes is the same as a psychopath. Needless to say it all went downhill from there. It amazes me I'm not doing life without parole.

The good news is when I heard the gospel it gave me hope that I could leave that old life behind. Since I've accepted Jesus I've definitely become a new creation that old man is dead. I do have the renewing of my mind as a reality in my life. Jesus set me free.

One other thing, all the kids that I ran around with are either in prison or in the cemetery. That's why I love doing outreach and street preaching to the homeless. I know where they are coming from and how the world beat you up. I also know the solution, His name is Jesus. I love Him.
Wow thanks for sharing brother. God can deliver us from anything and some like Paul are left with a thorn in the flesh that kept him humble. Some think it might have been his eyesight but who knows.
 
Heartbreaking yet so glad you came through.
I’m really happy that people feel safe enough to be open and share their stories here and not be judged for their past or even present circumstances. That’s entirely a God thing. I know people in real life personally who don’t share the things I’ve read here. The empathy and compassion I’ve seen from so many here is such a blessing. It’s nice to see an online community come together and support hurting people. To God be the glory!

And if I haven’t told you lately I really appreciate you even though we can disagree on some things. I don’t let that interfere with us as brothers in Christ.
 
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And if I haven’t told you lately I really appreciate you even though we can disagree on some things. I don’t let that interfere with us as brothers in Christ.

Thanks that means something to me.

An atmosphere where people don't feel judged is an amazing thing.

My mother struggled with mental illness the first half of her life, and communicated to me compassion for that.
 
you are right... mental illness is very poorly understood... even by those of us afflicted with it..... .i was officially diagnosed with schizophrenia when i was 13.... right after a very serious and almost successful suicide attempt... but everyone including me knew something was wrong long before that.. trouble is i didn;t tell anyone - even those i was closest to - what all was going on inside my head....i was afraid to... ...there are many reasons and many triggers for what manifests itself as mental illness... in my case it was caused by sexual abuse that started in early childhood (age 5)... and continued until i almost died at age 8 - almost 9 - from injuries and medical complications related to it......it;s a long and complicated story - and one very few people can stand to read or listen to...but to put it all in brief i was saved at age 8 on a church bus when i was just started to feel and show the symptoms of what almost killed me a few months later... ..the abuse and injuries/illness was all discovered at the same time after i collapsed at school and was rushed to a hospital where i went through several surgeries over a period of months... only coming out of the hospital just long enough to testify in a hearing that would send my mother and a few of her associates to prison....

i have no idea what the state of california was going to do with me but my older sister who had gone to to los angeles from hawaii when she heard about all that happened didn;t wait to find out... she took me out of the hospital one morning and had me on a plane coming to hawaii with her the same day.... i lived with her for a little over a year when she was murdered by her boyfriend.. all during that time things were happening in my head i couldn;t understand..hearing strange noises and voices of people that were not there ...and i only told her about it at that time - she in turn told me not to tell anyone else for fear i would be taken away from her... ...but after she died the voices and noises became more constant along with halucinations and horrific nightmares that did not stop even after i woke up .... i had moved in with the family of the paramedic who responded to my sisters house that night and he had a lot of connections with doctors and other people in the medical community ... and he was able to get me help with counsellors and other doctors.... ..officially i was still in the legal custody of the uncle my older had been in custody of when she first came to hawaii - but that uncle was only too glad to be rid of me and didn;t offer any resistance to me moving in with a different family...

fast forwarding as much as possible... treatment with medications and countless hours of therapy have helped me... but the symptoms of schizophrenia have never left me completely... sometimes it comes on stronger than others... i have learned ways to deal with some of it and also ways to deal with quacks and other people who claimed to know exactly how to fix me... and also how to deal with those who said it was all nothing but an emotional problem or that i was demon possessed... just before i turned 20 an extensive MRI was done on my head that showed abnormal brain development long associated with schizophrenia caused by early childhood abuse..and in recent years a much more technologically advanced one was done that showed much more..... it explained a lot of what was going on but not everything... but what it did for me was make me realize i could find ways to deal with it and even to live with it...

but there is a lot of things i cannot do... things other people and the government won;t let me do.... and a few other things i tried to do years ago .. just simple things everybody does like driving a car.... that ended in near tragedy so i never tried to do those things again.... ..or else was told i couldn;t.... in short i am officially listed as a disabled adult dependent of my adopted sister - who is a few years older than me - was instrumental in bringing me into her own family.... and who was also inspired to study psychology just to learn how to help me and eventually earned her phd in the field.... she and her father - my adopted dad (a retired paramedic and salvage diver)... have shared power of attorney over pretty much everything in my social world.. (medical-legal-official issues etc)... but i still make most of my own decisions in things where i am able to...

thing is.... if not for them.. and not for the grace of God who made it possible for me to be with them... i would have been like every other mentally ill person with no means of support and ended up homeless on the street... where i would have no doubt died long ago as the average life span of a person once they become homeless and hit the street is only about 3 years...... instead i have been able to work in ministries to the homeless and with groups helping to get trafficked children off the streets for many years now..... and to share the gospel with all of them in the process....

and that;s more than i have written on this subject since those days i first started giving my testimony on those older forums.... and it;s a lot more than i intended to write about it today too... .. but still a lot less than i use to write about it back then...
Sharing about stuff that we've been through takes the power out of it. The positive things we do today for people that are hurting, That's storing up treasures in heaven. That's exactly why Jesus came to heal the sick and the Brokenhearted.
 
I’m really happy that people feel safe enough to be open and share their stories here and not be judged for their past or even present circumstances. That’s entirely a God thing. I know people in real life personally who don’t share the things I’ve read here. The empathy and compassion I’ve seen from so many here is such a blessing. It’s nice to see an online community come together and support hurting people. To God be the glory!

And if I haven’t told you lately I really appreciate you even though we can disagree on some things. I don’t let that interfere with us as brothers in Christ.
that;s one of the reasons i don;t go online at very many sites.... only a small handful of christian forums which up to now were all started by... and associated with.. the same group of people that praise_yeshua and rogue-tomato know about.... ... ..... but i have stayed away from direct involvment in most everything else online... ... and even on those few websites i do get involved with i don;t often stay online for long periods.... and might even go many months between visits to them....... the hardest part of dealing with mental illness is knowing how other people see me... hearing what they say about me... ..or in the case of websites reading what they say......and even on those places where i felt the safest there were still people who did and said things it was hard to believe came from a fellow christian...

other people with physical and very visible disabilities can relate to that because they experience the same things... except their disability is often right out there in front where everyone can see it.... .nobody questions why someone in a wheelchair who is paralyzed or missing legs has trouble getting up a flght of stairs.... but with mental illnesses the damage that;s causing it cannot be seen.... and people tend to make wrong even harmful assumptions about things they can;t see and don;t understand....

take seizures for example.... we now know that seizures are caused by a disorganized storm of electrical activity in the brain that can be set off by any number of things... including flashing lights... chemical and electrolyte imbalances... injury due to physical trauma...etc.... and we know that anyone could have a seziure if the stimulus or trauma was great enough... .people who are epileptic have a very low threshold for the kind of stimulus that can cause a seizure and so they require meds to elevate that threshold and prevent them.....

but 2000 years ago even the most intellegent and well educated mortal humans on earth had no idea what caused a seizure... but it scared the daylights out of them to see one.... . and so they wrote all such things off as demonic activity....and declared the person afflicted with seizures as being possessed by devils or demons.... and as a result in some cases committed barbaric acts of violence against them in an effort to drive the demons out.......

Jesus fully understood the human brain and knew exactly what was causing a persons seizure... He also knew what was causing mental illnesses... and knew what caused some to hear voices.. ... but He understood there was no way people of that time period would be able to comprehend or even accept that kind of knowledge or information.... but He felt compassion for them so He healed them and their familys out of love for them without trying to explain what they were not ready to learn....

in another part of scripture when asked about divorce Jesus explained to His disciples that God had allowed men to put away their wives in the time of moses due to the hardness of their hearts.... but that it was not a condition He wanted men to stay in....... ..in the case of seizures and mental illnesses i believe Jesus allowed men to continue believing it was demons that caused those things due to the hardness of their heads as well as their hearts... so He taught them to pray... have faith...to care for them.. and show compassion rather than to torment the afflicted and mentally ill further or cast judgement on them....
 
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He also knew what was causing mental illnesses...

My take is we should never assume one or the other, it could be either or both.

We need to be careful to realize an abused truth is not a case against that truth.

Certainly Christ was clear that evil spirits are real and do real things.

I've gotten burned on many things and overcorrected too hard to the other side—it's human nature I think.
 
that;s one of the reasons i don;t go online at very many sites.... only a small handful of christian forums which up to now were all started by... and associated with.. the same group of people that praise_yeshua and rogue-tomato know about.... ... ..... but i have stayed away from direct involvment in most everything else online... ... and even on those few websites i do get involved with i don;t often stay online for long periods.... and might even go many months between visits to them....... the hardest part of dealing with mental illness is knowing how other people see me... hearing what they say about me... ..or in the case of websites reading what they say......and even on those places where i felt the safest there were still people who did and said things it was hard to believe came from a fellow christian...

other people with physical and very visible disabilities can relate to that because they experience the same things... except their disability is often right out there in front where everyone can see it.... .nobody questions why someone in a wheelchair who is paralyzed or missing legs has trouble getting up a flght of stairs.... but with mental illnesses the damage that;s causing it cannot be seen.... and people tend to make wrong even harmful assumptions about things they can;t see and don;t understand....

take seizures for example.... we now know that seizures are caused by a disorganized storm of electrical activity in the brain that can be set off by any number of things... including flashing lights... chemical and electrolyte imbalances... injury due to physical trauma...etc.... and we know that anyone could have a seziure if the stimulus or trauma was great enough... .people who are epileptic have a very low threshold for the kind of stimulus that can cause a seizure and so they require meds to elevate that threshold and prevent them.....

but 2000 years ago even the most intellegent and well educated mortal humans on earth had no idea what caused a seizure... but it scared the daylights out of them to see one.... . and so they wrote all such things off as demonic activity....and declared the person afflicted with seizures as being possessed by devils or demons.... and as a result in some cases committed barbaric acts of violence against them in an effort to drive the demons out.......

Jesus fully understood the human brain and knew exactly what was causing a persons seizure... He also knew what was causing mental illnesses... and knew what caused some to hear voices.. ... but He understood there was no way people of that time period would be able to comprehend or even accept that kind of knowledge or information.... but He felt compassion for them so He healed them and their familys out of love for them without trying to explain what they were not ready to learn....

in another part of scripture when asked about divorce Jesus explained to His disciples that God had allowed men to put away their wives in the time of moses due to the hardness of their hearts.... but that it was not a condition He wanted men to stay in....... ..in the case of seizures and mental illnesses i believe Jesus allowed men to continue believing it was demons that caused those things due to the hardness of their heads as well as their hearts... so He taught them to pray... have faith...to care for them.. and show compassion rather than to torment the afflicted and mentally ill further or cast judgement on them....
I posted this in our guideline section under freedom of speech.

You do not have to believe like us and can disagree with me all you want and never have to worry about retaliation, censorship, banning, ridicule, mockery, bullying etc.......

The one and only thing we ask here is to respect the beliefs of others and treat them as you would like to be treated- the Golden Rule. Its your right to believe the way you do and to feel safe about it. And its ok to question the beliefs of others and disagree with them. An online forum is designed to discuss those differences, defend them and give a reason why you believe the way you do without fear of intimidation by others. I don't have to agree with you and vice versa but we can respect one another and treat each other as adults and act like adults in the process and not like children throwing tantrums which is evident on many other online places.

We welcome people of all faiths and for example if you are a Catholic you will not be mocked or ridiculed about Mary , the saints , sacraments or anything else in your faith. That is disrespectful. Even though I personally disagree with Catholics on many things about doctrine I will not let it interfere with a friendly discussion on what you believe and why you believe it. I watched on another forum recently the admin/moderator mocking the poster for believing in Mary and ridiculing them. That is despicable and it will not happen here or be tolerated. It’s your right and you are free to believe and think differently than I believe. I will respect your beliefs and we can talk about them as adults. The same goes for any unitarians, modalists or any other religious beliefs. You will not be mocked or ridiculed.

If you ever see me doing this please call me out. I'm accountable to everyone here. And just because this is my forum doesn't mean I can behave any differently than you and I have a free pass to act like a hypocrite. That is what Pharisees did which Jesus condemned.

hope this helps !!!
 
My take is we should never assume one or the other, it could be either or both.

We need to be careful to realize an abused truth is not a case against that truth.

Certainly Christ was clear that evil spirits are real and do real things.

I've gotten burned on many things and overcorrected too hard to the other side—it's human nature I think.
just out of curiosity... do you work in a field where you provide medical care or other services for the mentally ill?.... ...if so.. what would you say - in your experience - is the breakdown or percentage..between cases of mental illness with a medical - physical - or traumatic cause... versus those where demonic activity or even simply an unresolved sin issue is to blame?.....

actually... i would like to ask that question of everyone involved in this thread.... .. how much of what you see out there in the way of mental illness do you attribute to factors other than medical - impared development..or trauma?... how much of it would you say is demonic activity?........ and for the record i consider mental illness brought on by drug and substance abuse to be in those same categories as medical and trauma....
 
Thank you for sharing your story. My older sister was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in her early adult years after having 2 children close together and having post pardon depression. She was also abused as a child sexually and as an adult by her psychiatrist who would give her shock treatments. She refused meds and lived anywhere she could find shelter. Later in life with meds she was able to live somewhat normal life and when she took her meds you wouldn’t know she had any mental illness.
i wanted to say more about this last night.... and i am sorry i couldn;t finish what i started write... .. but what you shared is heart breaking and unfortunately all too common... it left me in tears thinking about it...... one of the ministrys i help with is toward helping single mothers who are homeless or who have been abused by a spouse or domestic partner... .. and in many cases they too suffer from some of the same mental health problems your sister had.... and we all understand why none of us wants to take meds and why some refuse to..... the meds are often harsh and have horrendous side effects.... almost 1/3 of the meds i am on are designed to counter the bad side effecst of other meds.... they all have to be taken following a strict regimen and it;s easy to get frustrated and want to give up.... but like you said when i am on them and they are in balance working the way they should i can appear to other people like am as normal as they are..... that has gotten more important to me as i get older for some reason....

but what you said about your sister being abused by a psychiatrist was especially troubling.... and something we seldom hear about.... thankfully i can say i was never treated poorly or mishandled by any medical professional... and i can;t even imagine what it would have done to me or how it would have destroyed my confidence in things if i had been....... you didn;t mention if your sister was still living.... is she still alive and doing well today?....
 
No, I don't, sorry.
that;s ok.... i was just curious.... my dad was a paramedic for almost 35 years... and in that time he came across countless mental health emergencies.. ..possibly numbering in the thousands.... (including having to deal with me when i moved in with them).... ... he said there were only 3 times - (not counting murders and other cases of extreme violence)... when he and his crew thought at first there might be demonic activity involved.. .. and one of those turned out to be a clever hoax...

my dads work and career inspired me to work for a degree in pre-med biology..... (was hoping to go to medical school but that didn;t work out).. .... and growing up with me clinging to her side inspired my adoptive sister to study psychology and earn her phd.... . she doesn;t work as a clnical psychologist though... ..she is in another line of work where psychology is put to other uses...... but i still rely on her heavily when i need help or have questions...

both of them were on older christian forums the same time i was.... but now she has no time for it ... and since he retired our dad has gone back to being the old school guy he was before his job first introduced him to computers - and he wants nothing to do with them unless he absolutely has no choice....
 
that;s ok....

I do recommend Derek Prince's book "They Shall Expel Demons" if you are wanting to know more from another perspective.

I understand a lot of deliverance ministries get very hokey, inaccurate and unbalanced, and this is a little more level.

I still think it's a vital ministry.
 
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