Mental Illness

Dear Victorious,

Is mental illness really a human problem that's appropriate to treat with human methods? Or is it a spiritual problem that requires spiritual treatment?

Dana I. - Tampa, FL

Dear Dana,

That's a difficult question to answer. Quite frankly, I'm sure we could find strong arguments in both camps. I believe it can't always be definitively one and not the other.

In my experience, learning and observation, I have come to the conclusion that much of what we call mental illness has a spiritual dimension. I've seen people with depression, addictions, compulsions, anxiety and other so-called mental illnesses walk free when their spiritual condition was addressed (through Jesus Christ). In some cases, I've seen people walk away from prescription medications as well.

But that's not to say that all people can overcome mental illness with spiritual treatment. Surely there are physiological causes of some mental illnesses. Chemical imbalances, brain injuries, and other causes are quite real and shouldn't be disregarded.

My advice would be to pray for discernment and trust the Lord to lead you in addressing what presents itself as mental illness. You may find that therapy or medication are good tools, but that Jesus Christ is the ultimate solution. And my guess is that much of what we treat as mental illness today could be better addressed with both the human tools and the intervention of Jesus Christ.