What is considered a mental illness?  

In order of prevalence, the five most common mental illnesses are 

• Anxiety Disorders: 48 million people annually 

• Major Depressive Disorder: 17.7 million people annually

• Post-traumatic Stress Disorder: 9 million people annually 

• Bipolar Disorder: 7 million people annually

• Borderline Personality Disorder: 3.5 million people annually

Schizophrenia, dementia, ADHD, postpartum depression, eating disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder and many more fall under this title of mental illness.

1 in 5 US adults experience mental illness each year.

1 in 25 US adults experience serious mental illness each year.

I have Bipolar Type II. 

I have had it since childhood but was officially diagnosed in 2013 at age 40. 

I have also had 4 different eating disorders spanning 30 years.  I have had postpartum depression.  I have even spent 9 months in a psychiatric hospital at age 15 for suicide attempts. I am well acquainted with depression, extreme mood changes, and the battle for the mind. 

Fast forward to 2020. As various symptoms of bipolar visit me daily, (it is a life-long condition) I am thriving. God’s Word is my compass, my sustenance, my very breath. 

“For in him we live, and move, and have our being”

Acts‬ 17:28‬a‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

I now have many tools in my arsenal against mental illness that allow me to live joyfully, consistently win battles, and bask in the grace and provision of my beautiful God. 

Friend, if you are suffering, there is hope. 

God has resources for you to help you manage these frightening, life-stealing conditions. 

I want to share four resources God provides for us to help us live abundantly through these trials of the mind.

1. Scripture

2. Counseling

3. Medication

4. Life management skills

Scripture

Right now, this very moment, you can begin to gain peace in your soul. You may need the other three things on the list as well, but the use of scripture to bring peace will be your most powerful, reliable tactic.  Remember, the voice that created the universe is the same voice that speaks to you through scripture. God’s Word changes lives.

To begin, you must understand, believe and obey II Corinthians‬ 10:5‬. ‬‬‬

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;”

Even with bipolar, which can have severe and devastating symptoms, I am first a follower of Christ. I am to strive in every battle to obey this scripture. I will not be perfect. I will not always have victory but I will always strive to obey this commandment. This verse needs to become your mantra. 

Let’s break it down so you know how to use it as the most powerful weapon in your arsenal. 

Imagine a huge sky scraper. This will represent “the knowledge of God” which is the Word of God. This firm foundation of God’s Word is perfect, pure, everlasting, alive, sharp, discerning, sovereign, trustworthy, the final authority, and absolute truth.

Imagine a second skyscraper. This building represents our mind, our imaginations, our thoughts, and our beliefs. 

When we are dealing with mental illness, depression, anxiety, etcetera, our mind is busy!  What is our mind dwelling on?  Perhaps fear, despair, lies, a false reality, the unknown?  These thoughts will pull us down and secure us deeper into a frightening pit. It is our responsibility to take them “captive” and “cast” them from our mind. 

Picture the two skyscrapers side by side. Remember one is our thoughts and beliefs and the other is Gods Truth. If our thoughts are not agreeing with the truth of scripture and we do nothing to change them but instead we let them shape our lifestyle and daily living, then we are exalting our thoughts ABOVE God’s Word. We are allowing our skyscraper to raise taller than God’s. We are allowing our lies to be exalted above the truth of God because we are letting them go unchallenged by Truth.

“Let God be true, but every man a liar”

Romans‬ 3:4‬a‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

We are commanded to take action. 

Every time our thoughts compete with scripture we are to choose to capture them, put them in their place, and exalt God’s Word as Truth instead.

This principle is crucial to you getting victory in your mental health. Therefore, let me clarify this one step further. 

We say that God’s Word is our final authority. 

I am sure you are nodding your head and saying amen. 

BUT, if we let wayward imaginations reign in our mind and allow them to exalt themselves over scripture, we have chosen a different authority in that moment. 

The devil is a liar and the father of it. He seeks to destroy. We are either believing a lie or we are believing the truth.  They do not come from the same authority. God is not our final authority if we believe the lie instead.

You must actively begin to obey II Corinthians‬ 10:5‬ today, with the very next wayward thought. ‬‬‬

Look at the verse again.

“Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought 

to the obedience of Christ”

Choose to obey it. Let it become your mantra until you are in the physical presence of the very Word of God Himself. Replace those wayward imaginations with Truth. That is how you cast them down. Don’t give them an ounce of attention. Refuse to believe them.  Replace them immediately with scripture. 

I want to give you a second verse to meditate on. 

“Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”Isaiah 41:10.

‬‬Cling to this verse as much as II Corinthians 10:5. ‬‬‬‬

Isaiah 41:10 is full of powerful, precious promises. Read this verse and believe that God is talking to you. God cannot lie. These words are true. 

Get a small index card. Write both of the above verses on it, one on each side. Until you are more stable, say these verses over and over and over as you work on renewing your mind.  If there are different verses God leads you to use, great! 

I am promising you that this will work! 

Scripture proves it and my testimony attests to it. 

In 2013, my depression was very serious. I was dangerously suicidal.  

I tried for a year to make medications work for me, but I was allergic to everything and had horrible side effects. Medication was not going to be able to be a resource for me. 

It was at that time God taught me what I’ve just explained to you. 

He used the book called “God Is More Than Enough” by Jim Berg to begin teaching me this life-changing principal. 

Renewing my thoughts with scripture was extremely difficult at first because my mind was so frantic, fearful and full of anxiety that I could barely even comprehend how to do this. I had years of Scripture hidden in my heart, but it was so hard for me to remember any of them because I was so unstable. 

For the first several months, I mostly said those first three words to myself “casting down imaginations,” because I needed to replace the lies quickly and those three simple words of truth readily came to mind. Isaiah 41:10 was already deeply engraved upon my heart, so I also said that verse hundreds of times to overcome fear. I still do!

Now, seven years later, it is second nature for me to capture my wayward thoughts and replace them immediately with scripture. I would not be able to thrive in spite of my diagnosis if I had not taken this command seriously and captured my thoughts and cast them down and let God‘s Thoughts be exalted in my mind above my own. 

Begin doing this today. Your healing and freedom from your chains of mental bondage can begin right now. 

Counseling/Medication

Mental illness varies in its degrees of severity. Some are life-threatening.  Bipolar, (what I have) schizophrenia, and major depressive disorder, can be deadly. They are real. Not imagined. Not something we can just “snap” out of.

No matter what level of perfection I attain in my Christian walk, I will never be spiritual enough to make my symptoms of bipolar stop visiting.

A whole book could be written on just that sentence alone.

We’ve already established that renewing our mind is our responsibility and it is a command. Tremendous freedom and victory will be attained by applying this truth.

But you need to be very careful about going to a counselor that tells you that if you would just be more disciplined or if you would just be a better Christian then you wouldn’t be having this problem. 

Spiritual perfection does not cure mental illness.

If someone were to tell me that if I was just a better Christian my symptoms would be gone, I would be doomed to live a life of shame and failure, as I have done everything in my power to be the most pleasing to Christ as I can, but my symptoms still come. 

Not all cases of mental illness are healed with just the one resource of scripture. Remember, some mental illness is permanent and will not go away.  You may have to learn to live life with your illness. 

It is important to realize that there may come a point in your mental health battle that just seeing your pastor for counseling or going to a biblical counselor is not going to be enough to keep you safe. You may need to see a medical doctor or a psychiatrist.

Yes, you always have to be careful of a secular counselor or psychologist giving you principles that do not match scripture. But you have your Bible to sort that out. We are to be a students of His word. 

Don’t you take your emergency room doctor’s advice even if you are not like minded spiritually?  Does that negate their 10+ years of education in the field of medicine?  Do you dismiss the cardiologist because their doctrine is different? No, of course not.  

In the field of mental health, doctors and professionals have valuable insights and expertise to get you through this. You may be a person that must seek a secular psychologist/psychiatrist in order to get a handle on your mental condition. 

This is between you and God and you need to pray to Him and ask for wisdom. Fellow Christians can be very mean in this area. You must do what needs to be done to be safe, and to live your very best life for Christ. My secular psychologist that specializes in bipolar has helped me live my best life for Christ. The psychiatrist I saw for over a year in 2013 was a huge part of saving my life.

Concerning medications, sometimes it is necessary. That does not mean that you must permanently take them. And it doesn’t mean that you are a failure if you need them. 

Let me help you understand this by using the example of an asthma sufferer. God could choose to heal their asthma. But if He does not, then the asthma sufferer endures this chronic condition with encouragement and hope from God’s word and medical intervention, a.k.a., an inhaler! God’s Word, counseling, and medicine are not going to take this persons asthma away. But when they are in a crisis, they need that inhaler to get through the crisis. Have they been healed? No. But they had the help they needed to get through the crisis so that they could live abundantly again.

God’s Word, medication, and counseling take the same role in your mental battles. These are valuable tools that God has provided so we can get through the crisis in victory. They do not remove it, they get you through it.

You will need God‘s wisdom with every step when seeking medication. First, only a medical doctor or psychiatrist can prescribe medication. Secondly, you want to be sure you are properly diagnosed.  A medication that helps one mental illness can make another worse. Get a second opinion on your diagnosis if you need to. 

About half the people that I have met who have bipolar like me, are helped with medication and their lives are greatly improved.  The other half could not find the right medications to work, or could not tolerate the side effects. Finding medication that will help you is not easy. You must be your own advocate in treatment.  Research!  Ask questions. Some side effects are permanent. One of mine is. Some people must be on medication to be safe. God needs to be your constant companion as you seek wisdom to know how to move forward. 

Before we move on to the last resource, I must implore you to always take someone with mental illness seriously.

Sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, friends, Veterans and even pastors are committing suicide every day.In fact, 129 Americans every day in 2019 on average.

Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among the 10-34 year old age group

and the 10th leading cause of death overall in the US.

 

If a loved one is talking about suicide be sure they have access to an emergency number that they can call anonymously to get help.

Suicide Prevention Hotline

1-800-273-8255

Or text “NAMI” to 741741

Let them know they can also call 911. I actually called 911 for myself once after an attempted suicide when I was 15. 

You should also be aware that if someone who has been considering suicide suddenly seems content and has had a drastic measure of peace and there doesn’t seem to be an explanation, this may mean that they have made the decision to end their life. This decision brings them such relief that their suffering has an end date in the near future. 

If you are contemplating ending your life, keep choosing life! Help is out there. You have to keep asking for help until you get what you need. You can even check yourself into a hospital if your life is in danger or if you feel you will be a danger to others. There is help for you!

If you are the loved one that is watching someone go through this, beg God for wisdom to know what you can do for them. And don’t abandon your person. Don’t tell them it’s their fault. Fault doesn’t even matter at this crucial point. What matters is that a life is at stake and they are suffering and they need every bit of help we can offer. 

Life Management Skills

Lastly, so much of our mental challenges can be helped by employing daily life management skills. There are so many basic things that have been proven to improve mental health. Exercise, proper rest, and proper nutrition are probably the top three.

Learning time management skills, learning to recognize triggers and behaviors, and creating a game plan to help you navigate through mental challenges is equally as important to getting victory in your battle. We can learn to anticipate tricky paths ahead, learn ways to manage our time and energy, and preserve our walk with God. We can learn strategies to better handle our emotions, handle our workload, and create balance so that we can have victory in our mental health. 

 

An observant and trusted friend or family member would be a great resource in this area.  Ask them to help you see where your troubles are and come up with a plan together.

You can have a counselor help you with these things as well. Bipolar is complex so I found the observations and expertise of my counselor extremely beneficial.

In Conclusion

As we end our time together, I must offer one last key to victory. 

You must learn to be content being lonely with this battle. 

You must learn to be so dependent on God that He becomes enough. 

Most of this battle happens in the mind and the attack can be relentless. 

Yes, there are times to reach out, but for many, the suffering is continuous. If you reach out to people every time these symptoms overwhelm you, no one will want to be around you.

You must learn to let God be your sole comfort for the majority of your battle. 

You want to preserve your relationships with friends and loved ones as much as possible. Choose wisely who you seek for help and how often. 

Ask God for wisdom in this area. 

When I began to write this article, it was with tears running down my cheeks. Suffering brings forth beauty when God is involved. I don’t regret any of what God has brought me through.

God is my comfort. 

In my loneliness, God is enough for me. Psalm 139 is a great comfort to me. God knows me. He understands my mind and how it thinks. He understands my confusion and weakness. He understands the battle that is happening continuously. He is my hope. He sustains me through my weakness with His strength.

No one will understand you like He does. No one else knows how to help you like He does. Pour your heart out to Him.  Trust that He will bring the answers and wisdom you need. Trust Him that you can live free of the bondage of fear and dismay. 

You can trust that He is with you, that He is your God. You can trust that He will strengthen you, He will help you, and He will uphold you.

He upholds you with the right hand of His Righteousness!  

Wow! What provision, grace and mercy!

My tears stopped flowing early on in the writing process as I got excited about lifting up God as the answer.  Just talking about Him and focusing on His compassion, His truth and His love for me has again strengthened my hope. 

Mental illness is similar to other chronic conditions.  Clinging to God’s provision and grace will always bring relief.  We are deeply loved and cherished by God, even in our messiest state.

I have written a blog post on my website that talks more about mental illness and taking God at His Word even further. If you are struggling I invite you to take a look.  You can find it here. 

I also began writing one of my songs during my 2013 depression.  It is now finished with an important message for those struggling. It is called “Just Wait.” You can listen here and scroll to song #7.

I am praying for you. 

Don’t give up. 

You can live a beautiful life, even while facing these battles. Reach out to get the help you need. Be compassionate to those suffering. Let’s be cheerleaders for each other and do whatever it takes for all of us to reach the finish line for His glory. 

“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name.

Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies;”

Psalms‬ 103:1, 4‬ ‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

Statistics from the National Alliance on Mental Illness

And the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

**I am not a medical or mental health professional. All content is for informational and educational purposes and does not constitute medical or mental health advice.If you are in a crisis call 911 or dial the Suicide prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)