Hey Christian- You don’t Need to Deny Your Mental Health Stuggles.
I‘m a mental health therapist at a Christian counseling center, but I was trained in secular psychology.
I believe God is our healer, but I am a proponent of different therapeutic techniques, as well.
Essentially, I see God’s involvement in all of it. I believe He can heal in many ways.
The thing is, though, it can actually be quite confusing to be a Christian in the world of therapy.
Especially when working with other Christians.
Because sometimes when I ask about their emotional well-being, they become defensive or withdrawn because they’ve been taught that big emotions and crying are an indicators of a lack of faith, and they don’t want to be judged or look like a “weak” Christian.
I will ask people about trauma they’ve endured, and I’m often met with “I surrendered that to God, so I don’t need to talk about it”, only to find that their trauma is very much impacting their daily life still.
It gets tricky when people come in who are upset that they even need to be getting help, because they think prayer should be enough. They are angry that God hasn’t just healed them.
So sometimes, they just hide it and deny it.
Struggling with mental health as a believer has its own set of confusion, because on some level, many believers feel that God should just take care of it.
I totally get this. And to be honest, God can take care of it however He wants to.
But sometimes, (oftentimes, I believe) God doesn’t snap His fingers and heal people because He knows how important the process of healing is.
He knows that a person is humbled when they need to ask for help.
He knows that connecting with and opening up to someone about our pain, even if they’re a professional, is SO important. Just speaking the words out loud takes power away from the darkness.
He knows that He could instantly heal us from trauma, but the healing process we will walk through is what will change us forever. It’s what will refine us.
He also knows it’s our own hardship that will allow us to empathize with others, and be a source of hope to those who go through something similar.
The healing process hurts. Sometimes it hurts worse before it gets better.
But if God wants you to walk through the healing process, it’s for a reason.
So, if you find yourself still struggling and wondering why God isn’t snapping His fingers and fixing it, it might be because He plans to use the healing process For His glory.
He doesn’t want you to deny it anymore, friend.
Remember, seeking help doesn’t mean God has failed in healing you.
It means He might want to use other means to heal you- sometimes that comes in the form of a supportive human or therapy.
Seeking help is not a “I-guess-Jesus-isn’t-enough” type of strategy. It’s not a “plan B”.
It’s taking care of your soul.
Seek help if you need it. Because Jesus is always involved in our healing no matter what form it looks like.
But please..
Don’t deny what God wants to heal.
~Kelli Bachara, The Unraveling Blog