Posted January 18, 2025
- Educate yourself. Educating yourself about mental health is the very first step in breaking the stigma, because change starts with us. We can’t expect others to be educated, aware, and accepting if we aren’t living up to that either. Educate yourself about mental illness and the importance of mental health. There are so many reputable resources out there, from websites to podcasts to a plethora of books. You can start anywhere.
- Be willing to talk about it. If there is anywhere that should be a safe place to talk about mental health, it’s the Church. As the body of Christ, we are called to love one another, bear one another’s burdens, and be Christ to one another, and if we aren’t willing to listen to others’ struggles and share our own, we are failing to do that. One of my biggest reasons for starting this blog was to be a voice in the Church that was willing to speak up about something that still carries so much stigma within Christian circles. The more we talk openly about mental illness, the less fear of judgement there will be, and all it takes is one person to be honest about it for others to feel they are safe to talk about it as well.
- Be conscious of your language. I’m certainly not suggesting that words like ‘crazy’ and ‘insane’ be considered foul language, but I definitely think it is important to be aware of how we’re using them and be intentional about not referring to people in this way. Similarly, throwing around phrases like ‘I’m so OCD/depressed/[insert mental illness here]’ isn’t helpful to anyone, especially those who actually struggle with these mental illnesses, as it downgrades and invalidates the significance of the actual illness.
- Normalize mental health treatment. The truth is, sometimes God’s method of healing includes therapy or medication. We wouldn’t tell someone with diabetes or cancer to just ‘pray more’ or just ‘turn to scripture’ – we’d all agree that they needed to utilize the medical help that is available to them. In the same way, we should not only accept others decisions to seek professional treatment for mental illness, but encourage it. There is no shame in seeking help.
- Be intentional about creating safe spaces. “I believe,” wrote Steve Austin, author of Hiding in the Pews, “if the church is ever truly going to become the hope for the world that Jesus offered in his ministry, we need the courage to be vulnerable in a safe community…The church needs to become a place of true belonging. But as Brene Brown says, ‘True belonging only happens when we present our authentic, imperfect selves to the world.’”
the fire journey 