Scientists have often said that there's a fine line between genius and madness.  I absolutely agree!  Not just for scientific reasons but because I truly know how fragile the human mind is.  In honor of Social Work Month I decided to take my next few posts and combine my two passions together to delve into a difficult and often taboo topic, Mental Health.  More and more we see people being diagnosed with this and diagnosed with that or treated for xyz.  Nobody ever stops to examine the connections between the two worlds.

First I must say that mental health disorders are spiritual health problems. Period, point blank! You need proof?  Let me give you some from the Bible. In Mark 5:1-20 we have the story of the man in the tombs..

(v1-15) And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshiped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Now at first glance all you may see is demon possession, but if you look a little more carefully you'll see self-mutilation & self-harm,  dissociative identity disorder, suicidal behaviors, and you could even argue depression and necromancy.  Let's Dig into this a little bit deeper.   Let's back up and look at where he was living first of all... he was in the tombs, there was nothing there but dead things.  That alone was the first sign that there's something wrong. Then we're told that he was wild and nobody could tame him or lock up him.  Who do you know that tears apart chains and shackles?  Nobody I know...

Moving on we find that the man in the tombs was demon possessed to the point that he no longer had control of his own thoughts, body, or even speech.  What person in their right mind would cut themselves with stones?But people do it every day for so many reasons.  Some to numb the pain of a traumatic event, some simply to feel something, anything at all, and others because they like looking at their own blood. Lots of different reasons, but the same source...

If you notice, Jesus didn't ask the man what his name was.  He called the unclean spirit to come out of the man first and then asked its name.  Jesus knew the man wasn't the one speaking.  When it identified itself the demon said my name is Legion: for we are many.  When you research the word legion you find out that a legion was a military term used to refer to a group of soldiers numbering anywhere from 1,000 to 5000 soldiers depending on the time period. If you're asking why this matters let me explain.  The spirit realm  is organized in hierarchies with ranks and offices just like the military.  So imagine having a couple thousand voices in your head, a couple thousand different people all fighting for the spotlight in your mind.  For some people this is their reality ever day. This is what Schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder look like.

There's so much I could pull out of this passage but I just wanted to shed a little light on it to get a conversation rolling.  When will we as the church, as communities, and individuals stop sweeping these things under the rug?  In so many communities, especially among African Americans, mental health issues are rarely talked about.  People don't believe in seeking therapy when they need it and hide the fact that something isn't quite right with what's going on in their brain.  Sometimes it hereditary, sometimes it's passed on through contact and soul ties, and other times it's allowed because we've opened ourselves up to demonic activity. No matter how it came to be, there's help and there's absolutely nothing wrong with seeking help.

I know I've talked about some big diagnoses but let's talk about a few of the ones that get overlooked or written off..  depression and grief.  At some point or another we'll all experience these two but they should never become our norm.  It's never been God's intention for us to feel constantly depressed, sad, or be in a state of loss and emptiness.  A lot of times churches teach that Christians don't get depressed but that's a lie! We do, we're human and life happens.  The thing is, we shouldn't stay there.  If we can't overcome our feelings of depression, it's time to seek help.  Any time I'm feeling depressed I give myself a time limit to have a pity party, be sad, cry or whatever I need to do.  Then I do like David did when the child he and Bathsheba created died.. I get up, wash my face, and move forward.  In the times when I can't do that, I go speak to someone who can help me work through what I'm feeling.

Whether you're dealing with depression, grief, loss, self-harm, hearing voices, seeing things that nobody else sees, or just feeling like there's chaos going on in your mind.  Reach out for help... no fear, no shame, no condemnation... just do it for yourself!  If this isn't your struggle, check on those around you.  Be present and attentive... you never know what's hiding behind some one's smile...



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