Mental Illness Sin

[redblue22]

I've recently been dealing with people who don't believe in mental illness. It seems the whole Christian world thinks that mental illness is just the outcome of unrepented sin. Apparently Christians think psychology and psychiatry are all wrong. No wonder I've faced judgment and fear when I tell people about my struggles.

Does anyone know why they believe this? Or possibly where I might look to find out their reasoning? I mean, if it is just that simple I'd be willing.

I feel so alone. Mental illness is a lonely disease in my opinion. There's no one who just cares and listens. There's always anger, judgment, disbelief, and suddenly no one has time to talk.

Feeling sad tonight.

 

[OCD=Owie]

I've recently been dealing with people who don't believe in mental illness. It seems the whole Christian world thinks that mental illness is just the outcome of unrepented sin. Apparently Christians think psychology and psychiatry are all wrong. No wonder I've faced judgment and fear when I tell people about my struggles.

Does anyone know why they believe this? Or possibly where I might look to find out their reasoning? I mean, if it is just that simple I'd be willing.

I feel so alone. Mental illness is a lonely disease in my opinion. There's no one who just cares and listens. There's always anger, judgment, disbelief, and suddenly no one has time to talk.

Feeling sad tonight.

I don't know for sure why these people believe what they do. I think you need to realize though that some people are just very judgemental, and can come up with all sorts of reasons to tell you that something about you or your actions is repulsive and wrong.

Read John 9:

"As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, 'Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?' Jesus answered, 'It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him."
John 9:1-3

Just because someone is going through something hard doesn't automatically mean that it's because they've sinned.

Besides, look at your case. You're obsessive compulsive, right? I'm sure that, like the rest of us here on this forum, you do not want the intrusive thoughts and such that come with OCD. You probably want to do God's will as well as stop the OCD.

Our biggest problem, however, tends to lie in our over-exaggeration of circumstances. You might worry to great excess that some trivial thing that you did was a sin, when in reality, it's not that big a deal. Thus, by thinking that our OCD symptoms are horrible sins that are completely our fault, we are only making the situation worse for ourselves. How is guilt supposed to solve a problem like this?

Whether people believe that OCD is a mental illnesses or not, I think that it's pretty clear how we cure it. We need to learn to ignore our irrational fears and refuse to give into our obsessions by performing compulsions. Otherwise, we won't be able to function properly in everyday life, and thus, we won't be able to serve God as well as we would otherwise.

Hope that helps.

 

[kaykay9.0]

Definitely not all Christians believe that. Sometimes people are judgmental when they haven't personally experienced something or had anyone really close to them experience it.

 

[canamer]

Sometimes it's easier for folks to ignore (or worse yet condemn) that which they don't understand. People that don't have a mental illness can't possibly understand how it affects somebody else. They just can't. You could try to explain it to them or have them read an 'OCD Book For Dummies' and they still wouldn't get it. If people were smart they would keep their mouths shut when they have nothing good to say but, as we know, when does that happen anymore?

The nature of OCD in and of itself means that its victims are going to feel alone. It's a very lonely battle indeed. As I was venting to somebody in an email at 3:00 AM this morning .... I'm expected to 'act normal' and 'be normal' and go pay the bills (lying in bed all day isn't an option when I have a family to provide for) and yet I have to do all of that with my hands tied behind my back. I mean that's how I feel. I feel defective and handicapped - in the brain.

The best thing that we can do - especially as fellow Christians with OCD - is stick together, vent together and encourage one other. We KNOW how it feels to have OCD. We can relate with each other on that basic fact. It is true that OCD have many different tentacles and it wraps itself around each of our brains in a different manner but the disease is the same.... it is totally the same. And so let's keep supporting each other and encouraging each other. It's ultimately the ONLY way to survive through this.

 

[redblue22]

I'm sure there are understanding Christians--like you guys. (smile) I still don't feel very safe with most religious people. I doubt I would believe in mental illness if I didn't have any experience with it. I've been dealing with this my whole life and so I'm really good at hiding it. The result is that people say things to me when they think none of "those people" are around. The mental health workers I've known are some of the worst offenders. I've heard many of them say that taking mental medication is sinful.

I still wonder where many Christian mental health workers come off saying that it is caused by sin. If that's true, I wonder why most Christians don't have a mental illness. And what on earth do these people think I did that was so sinful when I was 5 years old. I feel like I'm dealing with the mother from Carrie.

I got a little overwhelmed last night as I was searching for alternate theories on just why I deal with all this. Then I saw that sooooo many religious books blame the person suffering. The so called "loving thing to do" is to confront them on their sin! I want to understand their reasoning, but I just don't get it.

Then I started thinking back to all the people I loved and thought loved me. And once they discovered that part of me, well, they were gone.

Even as I write this, I'm feeling like I should just erase everything I've written and say, "I'm all better now. sorry to bother you." ugh. I'm going to have some faith and hit send.

 

[Theofane]

Even Christians strong in the Lord can be mistaken about many things. This attitude towards mental illness is ugly. It's ignorant. IMO, it's an example of how the enemy turns our faith against us. Who is a better theologian than Satan? No human person, surely.

I myself have a dual-diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome and Bipolar Disorder. Thanks be to God, I never had to face the misguided Christian sentiment that my mental health issues were/are indicative of unrepetentant sin. Could it be that I am the way I am for a reason? Could it be that God put these challenges in my life for His purpose?

 

[canamer]

The people that blame the person for their condition because of sin are no different than the people in Jesus' day who blamed the blind man for being blind because he must have committed some type of sin. And we all know what Jesus said to that - he said that was a bunch of bologna (to give you a quick paraphrase).

There are a whole lot of 'religious' and 'spiritual' people out there these days who are just that - in name only. Heck, it's almost vogue to be 'spiritual' these days, didn't ya know? That doesn't mean anything though. Pay those folks no heed because if you're going to get some bad advice it's probably going to be from those kinds of people.

On a final note, if somebody comes to find out that you have OCD and they can't handle that without turning and walking away from you then remember that THEY are the one that has a PROBLEM. NOT YOU.

 

[kaykay9.0]

Even Christians strong in the Lord can be mistaken about many things.

This statement above right here is a VERY strong statement we have to keep in mind. Like one of my OCD friends told his son when he went off to college. "just because someone knows a lot about some things doesn't mean they know something about everything!"

 

[redblue22]

I am losing what little faith I have left in Christian people.

I still do want to know the rationale these people have on sin/illness. That's the ocd researcher in me. I feel the need to leave no rock unturned--however unlikely.

But my heart is dying. I've wondered more and more if the present church is the antichrist. I've come to expect the very worst of Christian leaders and those who follow. I feel like I am living in a very dark time period of history.

This issue of sin/illness isn't a big deal. It is just one nail in the coffin. The problem is that there always seems to be one more nail. No one thing seals it all shut, but over time the nails add up.

The weird thing is that I would have thought that my faith in God would be in danger. Instead, I feel a growing love and trust in God. My faith does not hang on the church otherwise I would have walked away a long time ago.

I didn't grow up in a church, but I read the Bible. I remember when I first started going. I didn't know what to expect. The people I met really matched up well with the people groups I had imagined when reading the Bible. The problem is that they matched the religious people who hated Jesus. I've never quite gotten over that.

It isn't just a lack of knowledge I'm seeing. It is something much more darker than that.

 

[canamer]

My friend, do not be surprised at this. Jesus himself predicted this would happen. He said there would be all kinds of impostors and false teachers before he came back. At times, it is indeed hard to decipher who is truly with God and who is truly not. The thing here is... don't put your trust in people! Put your trust in God. People will ALWAYS let you down in the end. It's only humanity at its finest. Even a non-Christian would be able to tell you that. It's the same for everyone. Every single one of us have been let down by somebody at some point.

The only reason why I'm still in this ballgame is because I believe God is still looking out for me. I think the church has its purpose (and I do think God still has his true church in this world) but for whatever reason or another I just never have felt very 'included' in the church world. So, I'm not banking on the church to do anything for me either. It has been my experience that when I needed the church most they weren't there for me. So, that is why I have the opinion of them that I do. I do hope to find what I'm looking for in that regard someday but even if I don't.... my faith in God will remain. My faith and hope is in the God who saved me. Not the church. The church in and of itself cannot save anybody - I think it's important to remind ourselves of that.

 

[redblue22]

This is actually all pretty scary for me to write. After I hit send, I was feeling so mixed up. What did I write?! How dare I say such things. And now I'm judging the church.

I don't mean to stand in judgment of Christians. But I am truly torn inside. I feel like maybe church is offensive to God. There is a serious disconnect between me and church culture. On a good day, the whole thing looks really ridiculous. I say "culture" because I want to be nice. But I really think some of it goes beyond culture difference.

I have a different perspecitive as an outsider. As an outsider I can definitely understand why someone will show up and soon walk away hating both Christians and God. I don't think church Christians can see or hear or smell it. And it is not offense at the gospel.

Meanwhile I neglect the gathering and don't practice loving my brother and sister in Christ. Of course all that would require knowing someone who actually wanted to know me and be my friend.

Now take all that, mix it with a bad OCD day, add mental illness being my fault, pepper it with rejection, and here we go again.

 

[OCD=Owie]

Canamer is right: people will let you down. You look at any group of people from any walk of life and you're going to see greed, selfishness, hypocrisy, and anger. It's a human thing, and it's unfortunate that the church hasn't broken that mold.

Also, I don't think that it's at all wrong to be disappointed with the way the modern church is. In fact, I share your disappointment. I see plenty of hypocrisy and legalism within the church, and sometimes it just makes me mad.

Faith in Jesus is what saves us, not all the goofy extra stuff that people like to add to it.

Maybe you could try attending another church? Perhaps people elsewhere will make you feel more comfortable.

 

[gracealone]

Hi Redblue,
It is so painful to be afflicted with OCD and even more painful to have your family in Christ blame you for it. The thing is, we must expect this. It's not a new thing. If you read the book of Job, which is said to be one of the oldest books in the Bible you see that Jobs closest friends assumed all sorts of wrong things concerning Jobs condition, not just about Job but also about the role of God in all of it. For me, a very good lesson from all of this is that I have to recognize this attitude in myself concerning others. I have been quick to assume things or to answer a matter without knowing all the facts. And there will likely be situations/circumstances in the lives of others, for which I will never be able to know all the facts. Therefore, I have to acknowledge my own ignorance and leave off making snap judgements about those things. This has helped me to be patient with those who speak errantly concerning my OCD. It's not so much that they are mean as it is that they are ignorant or uninformed about OCD. I try to look for opportunities to educate, in a loving manner, those who are willing to listen and to learn, but I also realize that there are always going to be those who are unteachable. They are wise in their own eyes even though they have no basis for their assumptions. It's just human nature displaying it's twistedness. So now I ask God to show me whenever I'm acting in this way and He does and thats been a real eye opener.
With OCD we beat ourselves up quite enough so it's pretty painful when others add to the blows.
Praying for you.
Mitzi

This is actually all pretty scary for me to write. After I hit send, I was feeling so mixed up. What did I write?! How dare I say such things. And now I'm judging the church.

I don't mean to stand in judgment of Christians. But I am truly torn inside. I feel like maybe church is offensive to God. There is a serious disconnect between me and church culture. On a good day, the whole thing looks really ridiculous. I say "culture" because I want to be nice. But I really think some of it goes beyond culture difference.

I have a different perspecitive as an outsider. As an outsider I can definitely understand why someone will show up and soon walk away hating both Christians and God. I don't think church Christians can see or hear or smell it. And it is not offense at the gospel.

Meanwhile I neglect the gathering and don't practice loving my brother and sister in Christ. Of course all that would require knowing someone who actually wanted to know me and be my friend.

Now take all that, mix it with a bad OCD day, add mental illness being my fault, pepper it with rejection, and here we go again.

 

[Theofane]

This statement above right here is a VERY strong statement we have to keep in mind.

Do you disagree with it? Does strong faith make one inerrant?

 

[redblue22]

Christians aside. I got a little off topic. People are not exactly kind regarding mental illness. I'm expected to continue to run even though my leg is broke. I've wondered why things are the way they are and then I read Christians who tell other Christians that it is my own fault and not to help or care. I'm up to no good, the cast is fake, my leg is fine, I just want attention, I'm just trying to get out of doing my part. The loving thing to do is treat me as one grossly sinning and refuses to repent. Repent of what? I'm not sure.

 

[kaykay9.0]

Do you disagree with it? Does strong faith make one inerrant?

No, sorry if I was unclear. I meant that I VERY much AGREE with your statement! Very true indeed!

 

[redblue22]

Thank you for listening. Given the responses on this thread, I can't just say "the whole church." It really must be just some people who ruin it for the rest of us. I'm missing the forest for the trees. Maybe it is my own fault in who I pick out. And I'm forgetting the Christians who have cared. And last night I met some very supportive Christians. I feel bad now. I feel stupid. Sorry.