May Is Mental Health Awareness Month
People of faith can help dispel ignorance that hinders treatment and hope.

Is It Really True …?

• One in every five persons will experience a serious mental or emotional disorder at some time in his or her life. Yes, according to the 2001 Surgeon General's report, about 20 percent of Americans will have a diagnosable mental disorder in their lifetime.
  
  

• Check This Out Read Pastor Cindy Miller's story and other great columns in our Life Advice Files.

  "Sometimes it just hurts to be me." Spoken words? No, but they were frequently in my mind. I knew something was terribly wrong with me and it had to be my fault. I examined my relationship with Christ and looked for character flaws. If I shared my emotions with other Christians, I often felt shunned. Why couldn't I figure out what was wrong? And fix it, or at least hide it? [Read more...]

  Psychiatric disabilities (major depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders) destroy a person's intelligence. Not usually, but cognitive function can be impaired if not treated.
  
  
• Mental illnesses are really biologically based and often carry a genetic history with them. Yes, depression and other psychiatric disorders are often caused by chemical imbalances in the brain and can arise from a genetic propensity triggered by environmental factors.
  
  
• Recovery from these disorders is possible now, and most people can return to fairly normal living. Yes, if treated properly with medications, counseling and other services.
  
  
• Mental illnesses most often strike the poor and uneducated. Not necessarily, but if the illness goes untreated it can lead to job loss and inability to care for one's self and family. Biological brain disorders can occur in people of all economic and educational groups.
  
  
• God loves and values every person, no matter what his or her mental ability or disability. Yes: "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" (1 John 3:1).

What Can I Do?

• Pray
  Dear God and Father of All, give me an open heart and mind to sincerely love and accept people with all kinds of mental disabilities. Give me insight and empathy for their loneliness and challenges. Help me be willing to reach out and give them a place to belong, a place to contribute. Because You love and care for them, teach me to listen to and serve those who live daily with mental and emotional disorders. Amen.
  
  
• Rethink Assumptions
  The church is not a house for saints, shielded from human suffering. Rather the church is a hospital where broken lives can be healed. Is there room for brokenness and the struggler in my circle of caring?
  
  
• Learn and Take Action
  Education about mental health organizations, illnesses, treatment and resources builds understanding and compassion. Take advantage of FaithCEP's [Faith Communities Education Project] Loan Library books and videos. Expand your outreach to the residents of group homes, who usually have little or no family.
  
  
• Gather Resources
  Mental health issues arise in every family at some point in a lifetime. Know where to turn for education and support. NAMI is a grassroots organization of more than 240,000 persons, families and friends who strive to improve the lives of those challenged by severe and chronic mental illnesses. They offer free education courses and support groups. Visit the Web sites below for valuable resources: www.nami.org
  www.congregationalresources.org/mentalhealth.asp